Erick Gonzalez Speech 104 Mrs.

Washburne All Dogs Can Go To Heaven It seems to me lately that solving the issue of dog overpopulation feels a lot like chasing one's own tail. There seems to be a patchwork of laws throughout the states dealing with the issue by euthanizing, neutering or holding adoption drives with mixed results. What is becoming evident is that it is costing us more than we think to half-heartedly attempt to solve the dog overpopulation. I feel the problem has been brushed to the side for long enough. The truth is that every dog deserves a home. Dogs are an animal that we as humans have decided to domesticate, and so as a society it is our duty to care for them responsibly. We can no longer allow the problem to go unchecked. California communities are banning the sale of puppy mill animals through retail outlets. First it was South Lake Tahoe, then West Hollywood, followed by others. Altogether, 19 communities have banned the sale of puppy mill animals, and the latest is Los Angeles, the second largest city in the country. A puppy mill is a mass-breeding operation where dogs are housed in one location by one group of people with the intent of profit. This ban is worth implementing for solving dog overpopulation and cutting costs in the long run, and only bans breeding operations of more than fifty dogs. The initiative to ban puppy mill sales in L.A. has been led by Council Member Paul Koretz. The bill was introduced by Councilman Paul Koretz, who told Huffington Post that he was moved to introduce the bill after his own puppy died due to an illness he believes was caused by conditions at the puppy mill that sold him the dog. The full council approved the motion, and ordinance 11-0754 went into effect on October 31st of 2012.

The new law becomes operative 6 months from the effective date, meaning that this is when it will begin to be enforced. The ban is temporary though, and expires on June 30, 2016 unless it is extended by ordinance. The reason given for it lasting for three years is to get statistics on how effective the ordinance is in increasing adoptions and reducing the number of animals euthanized per year and decide if it is worth enforcing. This ban is being fought against, but one of the things I want others to know is that this ban is not permanent and it is my hope that soon we can get numbers down to a level where this ban wont be needed. Throughout my life I have been to the Northridge mall and malls across Los Angeles and run across pet stores. These are not Petco or Petsmart. These are stores that specifically sell pure breed animals. Puppies and kittens are put and displayed behind windows. They live in a small glass holding place no bigger than a microwave. They grow up in that cold, hard place and are left with minimal supervision or care from opening until closing hours. And for eight hours or more they they lay there and try to shut out the noises from people tapping at their window. It is because of this that the puppies that do not sell right away grow up with muscle problems later in their lives and can have trouble running. I do not know what they do to them once they have grown up and can't fit in that little holding place but I hope that at least they take them to a shelter. Even so, just taking them to the shelter does not make things right and is not a nice option. This just contributes to overcrowding in shelters and they can end up being put down anyway. Four million cats and dogs are put down each year, about one every eight seconds, according to the Humane Society. So to say the government is intruding upon private enterprise is a selfish complaint when the same business owners are taking advantage of the system and leaving their 'leftovers' for shelters to deal with. There are so many dogs in the street, according to the Washington Post, 6 million dogs are run over every year in the United States alone. And many are left to die on the street, hardly any are ever given care. There is even a law in West Virginia that allows citizens to keep animals they run over to

eat. It is obvious that there is a wide differences in the way people think about animals. I am here to encourage adoptions and support for this ban on puppy mills. The first published national study on lost pets found that the percentage of lost dogs safely returned to their homes was higher than expected. Dr. Emily Weiss, a certified-applied animal behaviorist and vice president of shelter research and development for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported, I think we have made an assumption about the stray pets in shelters. While some of those dogs and cats are in fact lost, many of them are likely to be dogs and cats that are truly homeless. The ASPCA conducted a survey of 1,015 pet households, and the findings of its five-year effort were published in the June 2012 issue of the journal Animals. Among the findings were that only six percent of lost dogs were found by their owner at a shelter. Also, each year, owners acquire about 7 million dogs, with only 13 to 15 percent of these from a shelter. Putting two and two together, around twenty percent of of these animals should be there, the rest are animals thrown away and abandoned by irresponsible breeders. Abandoned animals from these puppy mills may be burdening the system more than has been previously understood. Three to four million cats and dogs are killed in U.S. shelters each year. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of dogs, and three-fourths (75% of cats) that enter shelters are killed. There are approximately 4,000-6,000 animal shelters in the United States. There are estimations that the cost to taxpayers to impound, shelter, euthanize, and dispose of homeless animals reaches $2 billion a year. This is not a trivial issue that affects only a certain group of people, this is a real issue that has real implications for us all. Now its true that this is not a black and white issue, and both sides are guilty of trying to paint it that way. Some oversimplify the issue, and it can only lead to long term misconceptions that will make the problem worse. Some say the United States is a country of choices, and the choice of where and how to get a pet is no different and should not be stopped in any way. The truth is it wouldn't have to

be, if only all these choices were made responsibly. In reality it must be regulated just as any other choice that is abused and harms society as a whole is regulated. Another justification is that the dogs that come out of these stores are healthier than those from a shelter. There definitely can be a sense of assurance with buying a dog from a responsible and certified breeder or from a store. However, these dogs are not things that you can buy with an extended warranty. Dogs in shelters can live long lives just like any other dog and are not all malnourished or 'reject' dogs. Plus, dogs can develop behavioral and physical problems from neglect, and this only occurs in large dog breeding operations like the ones that are being covered by the ban. These dogs are not guaranteed any more than a shelter dog, and expecting a perfect dog because you spent more money on it is just not being real. The people that sell dogs are also conflicted about the ban and many have voiced their opinion on it. They say it is just another roadblock for small businesses and will kill more jobs and shrink a vital part of the US economy. There is definitely ways to make money and make a honest living in breeding animals and this ban is not infringing on that. The ban limits the amount of dogs one can breed at a time to fifty, this is not destroying the industry. This can help honest individuals make money instead of a couple few creating a monopoly while extracting profits in an unethical manner. The flow of money is not being choked, only the greed of a select, uncaring few. Some say that purebreds will be lost forever and lead to dogs with indistinguishable mixes of breeds. Though it is true that shelters have many mixed dogs, also referred to as mutts, there are plenty pure breeds as well. The ban still allows for licensed breeders and the preservation of pure breeds will be better handled by single trainers and pure breed associations. They can work together with DNA institutes and cryobanks where these breeds can be saved for future generations. In the end this is just another cheap scare tactic and all it takes is reading the ordinance to understand that. So, is the ban a good idea? When we take these animals for granted, we lose a bit of our dignity. It is a privilege to have dogs at our side, and it is also a responsibility. Thankfully, there is a shift in

thinking taking place around puppy mills and the retail pet stores that sell them, but this is far from a one sided war. Ending the sale of puppy mill animals will lead to a long term solution to overpopulation, but at ever corner is a wall looming to stop us from reaching it. Certain dog breeders are howling about the Los Angeles ban, but it is the right thing to do. I hope I can help others understand the issues at stake and help support the cause for adopting.

Works Cited "City Council Votes 12-2 For Ban On Sale Of Commercially-Bred Pets" CBS Los Angeles. 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/10/24/city-council-votes12-2-for-ban-on-sale-of-commercially-bred-pets/>. Daugherty, Phyllis. "Villaraigosa: Is L.A. Puppy Mill Ban an Assault on Business?" OpposingViews. 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/animalrights/villaraigosa-la-puppy-mill-ban-assault-business>. Duchon, Richie. "L.A. City Council Moves to Ban the Sale of Animals from Puppy Mills OurWeekly. 7 July 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ourweekly.com/los-angeles/la-city-councilmoves-ban-sale-animals-puppy-mills>. Kirkwood, Kyra. "Dogs Life Magazine Puppy Mills." Dogs Life Magazine. Spring 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://dogslifemagazine.com/puppymills/>. "LA Becomes Largest City to Ban Sale of Dogs, Cats, Rabbits." SFGate. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/LA-becomes-largest-city-to-ban-sale-ofdogs-4001239.php>. "Pet Stores without Puppy Mills." Los Angeles Times. 05 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/05/opinion/la-ed-pet-stores-ban-los-angeles-20120805>. Solomon, Corri. "Los Angeles Bans the Sale in Pet Stores of Puppy Mill Pets."Examiner.com. 1 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.examiner.com/article/los-angeles-bans-the-sale-petstores-of-puppy-mill-pets>. Watson, Brantley. "L.A.'s Ban on Pet Sales From Breeders Follows Weho's Lead" West Hollywood Patch. 2 Nov. 2012. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://westhollywood.patch.com/articles/city-councilapproves-ban-on-pet-sales-from-breeders>.