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I’ve been following the story of the move some cities in California made to ban all pet stores that actually sold animals. This was made in an attempt to curb the sale of dogs and cats sourced from puppy mills and kitten factories. I talked about how, as a teenager, one of the only stores I ever liked stopping at in the mall was the pet store. I wondered where that pet store got its animals.
The era of pet stores in malls might be coming to an end. California-based company Macerich, which owns shopping malls all across the country, has taken steps to eliminate pet stores from its locations. It decided that it will not renew any of the leases on pet stores in its malls. The Tucson Citizen (many of these malls are based in Arizona) reports.
In the place of these pet stores many of the malls are instead opening their doors to storefront-style locations for local humane societies. The move echoes that by national pet store chains like Petco and Petsmart, which for years have included space in their shops for animals from local shelters. It’s not clear if partnering with the shelters is part of overall corporate Macerich policy, or if it’s a decision being made at an individual managerial level. Either way the corporate decision not to renew leases certainly makes it easier for rescues to get a foothold in malls.
A recent poll conducted by the Hartz Mountain Corporation (a pet supply company) shows that more and more people are looking to shelters for their animals. The survey of over 1,000 pet owners showed that only 4% would think of purchasing their next pet from traditional stores (rather than adopting). Having shop-style locations for shelters only helps; many prospective pet owners feel wary about adopting from shelters because they think the locations are depressing. That’s why so many rescues are trying to get into places like Petco, even if it’s just for an adoption event for a few hours one evening, to avoid that deterrent.
As with the ban on pet stores in some cities, the move by Macerich, while for the greater good, hurts honest store owners in the process. The Tucson Citizen interviewed Frank and Vicki Mineo, who run their father’s business Puppies ‘N Love. They’ve had to close two of their four locations, and they’re waiting to see what happens when the lease runs out on their other two. The Mineos get all of their dogs from breeders approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Such breeders are put through intense testing to verify that their methods and conditions are humane.
Once again it seems like some honest pet lovers could be hurt in the process of trying to stamp out puppy mills, and once again I feel conflicted about it. It’s absolutely wonderful that more and more rescues are getting footholds in malls and other retail locations, because I know from personal experience with my local rescue how much of a boost that is to adoptions. I’m also very glad to hear that people’s perceptions are changing about where they can and should get their animals.
I’m just saddened that good pet-loving people are hurt in the process. I still don’t understand why it’s not possible to impose stricter regulations on puppy mills and the stores that use them, without hurting legitimate places in the process. Time will tell, though, as work continues to be done to eliminate puppy mills.
Related Articles:
Six Reasons Why You’ll Never Regret Adopting a Dog
Shelter Cats are Healthier than Pet Store Cats
Support Your Pets and The Earth with Planet Petco
Legal Woes for Maryland Pit Bull Owners
*(This image by toolmantim is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
