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Health & Fitness

Pet Store Puppies and Redress for Consumer Fraud

Animal welfare advocates are cautiously calling 2013 "the year of the dog." Huge strides are being made thanks to a combination of legislation, education and activism. Last week Senator Flanagan (R, C, IP-Huntington/Smithtown) had this to say when he voted to strengthen last year's Puppy Lemon Law.

Too many times, New York consumers welcome a pet into their home as a part of their family only to realize that the animal has a serious or fatal medical condition.  This legislation is aimed at helping provide these families with some reassurance that their new 'family' member is healthy and, if that is not the case, provide them with an ability to recover their costs.  While this legislation cannot help protect families from the sadness they will feel if an animal becomes ill, it will provide them with some needed financial protection when dealing with pet shops,” stated Senator Flanagan.

The Puppy Lemon Law, aka Charlamagne's Law, took effect last year to protect consumers against what then sponsor, Senator Greg Ball (R, C-Patterson) rightly called "an epidemic." Here's what he had to say in 2012 when his law passed:

"Many people throughout New York State have been affected by Puppy Mills. I am happy to be the sponsor of this bill that will now protect these animals and their owners,” said Senator Ball. “I’ve had constituents whose families have suffered through extreme emotional and fiscal costs, while the businesses that kill these animals make high profits. It is my belief that government should stay out of the way of small businesses, but when it is harming animals and families, it’s time to intervene.”

“Puppy Mills” house dogs in shockingly poor conditions, solely for the purpose of breeding. After their fertility wanes, these animals are often killed, abandoned or sold cheaply to another mill. The result of all this breeding is millions of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems. Puppy Mills continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting consumers who see these poor animals in pet store windows and on legitimate-seeming websites.

“Hundreds of thousands of puppies per year are bred in puppy mills, facilities known for their filthy, overcrowded conditions and the unhealthy animals they produce; and the numbers have only been growing,” said Senator Ball’s Animal Advisory Council Chair, and animal rights advocate, Lisa Giordano. “Senator Ball is committed to stopping the sale and abuse of these animals, protecting the rights of consumers and bringing awareness to this epidemic.”

When any Republican wants to intervene in business, especially small, local business, we should all take note!! 

A fair question here is, if puppy mill abuses and unscrupulous pet stores are so well-known that we need consumer protection laws one year and even stronger laws the next, including an initiative by the NYS Attorney General (read below), why is it allowed to continue at all? If our elected officials know pet stores are selling sick animals, believe me, so do the pet stores. Yes, our local Long Island pet stores that swear up and down they hate puppy mills and do not use them are lying to you. All of them use puppy mills. NYS health certificates, available through FOIL requests, prove this.

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This unfortunately, is why the cycle of puppy mill cruelty, sick pets, vet bills and heartache continues. None of us want to believe we are being lied to about an innocent puppy and until last year, if the puppy got sick there was no real recourse. You fought with the pet store, which insisted you see "their vet" not yours for a diagnosis and fought you again over refunds. Ironically, some of the worst pet stores happily fork over a full refund so you will not report them to the state. 

The NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets has only one woman acting on complaint forms for the entire state. Inspections are done if the complaint is serious enough but there is little the state can do. Local regulation of pet stores is actually prohibited, but a wonderful bill by yet another senator, Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo), co-sponsored by LI East End Senator LaValle would put the power to deal with pet store issues in local hands. If you think S3753 is needed, I urge you to click here to sign the ASPCA petition the minute you finish reading this as their session ends this week. Any pet store/puppy mill law is difficult to enforce due to lack of state resources. Municipalities have eyes and ears on the ground and are in the best place to regulate pet stores. Imagine preventing some of the worst behaviors even before the Puppy Lemon Law is needed.

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My pet store puppy got sick. Who can I turn to?

Without local regulation, it nearly impossible to find help. You call the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Affairs only to find this out. They do not even have the correct referral information, frustrating consumers even more. There are two places that will take your complaint very seriously and help you navigate the proper channels now that we have a law. 

The non-profit, Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) has been instrumental in shutting down some horrible puppy mills and pet stores. They have a clear, simple online complaint form and work tirelessly on your behalf. I urge everyone to share this article and fill out the form even if the store made restitution!

http://www.caps-web.org/component/rsform/form/3-pet-purchase-complaint-form?Itemid=259

The Senate and Assembly will never know the full scope of the problem unless we tell them. CAPS does the work for you.

In addition, just last month the NYS Attorney General launched the "Animal Protection Initiative," which includes "Protection of Consumers From Unscrupulous Pet Sellers." It also includes dog fighting. That is a stark indication of how bad the puppy mill/pet store problem is. Nassau and Suffolk Consumer Complaint forms can be downloaded at this link:

http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/Filing-a-Consumer-Complaint

You can also call them at 1-800-771-7755. 

If you are still not convinced that buying a puppy in a store or online (even worse) is not fraught with buyer beware, please read the full press releases from our senators. I have also included a link to the ASPCA educational site, with over 10,000 pictures of USDA-licensed puppy mills. Pet store owners claim their sources follow strict Animal Welfare Act and USDA guidelines. My prior blogs put these claims to shame with documented proof of wretchedly poor oversight of these guidelines that were last updated in 1966!

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