No one walks into a retail store motivated by a wish to support cruelty to animals. However, that is the impact of purchasing a puppy mill-bred dog at a pet store. We need legislation to halt such sales in Florida for the good of animals and the protection of consumers.

Imagine being lured into an Orlando pet store by an adorable, tiny, eight-week-old puppy. The sales associate assures you the puppy came from a wonderful breeder and is healthy as can be. If the price tag of several thousand dollars makes you balk, they are quick to sell you on “low interest” financing.

You end up buying the puppy and your whole family instantly falls in love. But this fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare when you discover the puppy is sick, requires expensive veterinary care and your financing deal carries an extremely high interest rate.

Only then do you realize you have unknowingly bought a puppy from a mill.

It should not be that way, and Florida State Rep. Sam Killebrew (R-District 41) wants to put an end to such cruel and demoralizing outcomes. House Bill 45 would prohibit Florida pet stores from selling puppies and kittens. Rep. Killebrew’s measure would codify into state law an approach already enacted by nearly 80 cities and counties in Florida.

Anyone who doubts the need for H.B. 45 in our state need only look at the situation in Orange County. Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office filed a lawsuit against a Petland location in Waterford Lakes following 19 complaints from customers. According to complaints, the pet store allegedly led consumers to believe the puppies were healthy, high-quality animals and fit for sale. “In some instances, puppies died soon after being purchased or suffered from congenital or other hereditary disorders,” said Moody in a press release.

Since the attorney general’s office filed its action, they have received 33 additional complaints about the same store. In October, an Orlando news channel investigated the claims of a dozen customers sold sick puppies costing them thousands of dollars in veterinary care bills. One family reportedly spent $6,000 on a puppy and $4,000 in veterinary bills trying to save the puppy’s life, only to have her die three weeks after purchase.

The Humane Society of the United States is all too familiar with the situation in Florida, having received more pet store complaints in that state through our puppy mill tip line than any other. The most common complaints involve illnesses, congenital defects, and/or temperament problems. Reports also include complaints about broken promises, deceptive marketing and health contracts that stores did not honor.

It is worth noting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned consumers of the risks of pet store puppies. Since 2016, puppy-selling pet stores have been at the center of an antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter outbreak that has so far infected over 150 Americans across at least 20 states, resulting in dozens of hospitalizations. In 2018, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County linked two Orlando puppy-selling pet stores to cases of Campylobacter.

The fact that pet-store puppies are often sick, and sometimes even transmit infections to humans, is not surprising. Most are born into deplorable conditions, taken from their mothers too early, transported long distances with other vulnerable puppies, and then handled by inexperienced pet store staff and an endless string of curious and intrigued shoppers. Pet stores respond to this by pumping puppies up with antibiotics. When the CDC tested puppies linked to the Campylobacter outbreak, they found 95% had been given antibiotics.

Florida residents should see H.B. 45 as a humanitarian measure needed to protect consumers and safeguard animal welfare for the long term. Through our public policy and pet acquisition choices, we can replace Florida’s yearly importation of thousands of puppy mill puppies with a shift in the pet market, one that relies on more humane sources like shelters, rescues and responsible breeders who sell directly to the public and never through pet stores. It is achievable and we will be glad we worked together to make this state a better one for people and animals alike.

Kate MacFall is the Florida state director for the Humane Society of the United States.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-ban-puppy-kitten-sales-at-pet-stores-20201218-7z3ebdura5cavehwooyo534f54-story.html