Back in 1981, legendary actor James “Jimmy” Stewart, the star of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and too many other classics to list here, went on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” to share his hobby: poetry. The piece that Stewart read was titled “I’ll Never Forget a Dog Named Beau” about his golden retriever.
At first, the poem made Johnny and the audience laugh, but it had a very different effect in the end. Describing it can’t do it justice; it’s something you have to see — and feel — for yourself, so check out the video and read the text below.
Almost every commercial pet store in Orange County will no longer be allowed to sell dogs, cats and rabbits, starting Wednesday.
An ordinance that passed with a 4-3 vote last summer is now in effect.
The health services department said the ordinance was drafted due to dogs and cats in large-scale pet stores having their health and welfare disregarded in order to maximize profits.
Supporters said it will stop puppy mills that commonly breed thousands of often sick puppies and sell them to stores nationwide.
People in the county will still be able to foster and rescue pets from local animal shelters and animal rescues. Pet stores will also be allowed to provide space and shelter for local rescues and animal shelters.
Three Orlando-area stores challenged the rule, saying it would bankrupt their businesses, but a judge allowed the ban to stay.
Only one store in Ocoee is exempt from the rule after city commissioners voted to opt out.
A long fight to end the practice of retail puppy sales in Orange County might be moot if the state legislature passes a new law.
A “pet protection” act under consideration in Tallahassee would overturn local bans on the sale of puppies and kittens while putting in place a framework for inspections and regulation of the sellers. The ban was passed in Orange County last year after the horrible conditions at several local Petland stores were made public. The Humane Society points toward the chain as the push behind the bill.
“Petland has 15 locations in Florida, a state with over 80 puppy-selling pet stores, and the company has almost certainly concluded that stripping local governments of their ability to regulate puppy sales will prove unpopular, especially at a time when many locally funded shelters across Florida are at capacity,” they wrote. “That’s why this legislation is crafted to appear to regulate the very industry it is designed to protect. It includes 20 pages of weak and unenforceable language that would do little but maintain the status quo for stores like Petland while harming shelters by pumping more puppy mill puppies into Florida communities.”
“The puppy mill to pet store pipeline would flourish under this Trojan horse proposal, and so would the practices we’ve exposed and campaigned against—the sale of sick puppies, the deception of consumers and exorbitant financing rates and hidden fees,” Humane Society CEO Kitty Block shared in a statement.
The bill is part of a continued push by the supposed party of small government to supercede local authority. Florida Republicans have consistently trounced on their commitment to “small government” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, undoing local emergency orders and pushing for legislation that would allow business owners to overturn the votes of local authorities.
After three hours of debate, Ocoee opted Tuesday night to delay a decision on an ordinance regulating retail pet sales.
City commissioners were poised to override an Orange County rule forbidding pet stores throughout the county from selling puppies, kittens and bunnies — and essentially grant a monopoly without any local oversight to Chews A Puppy, the only pet shop in the city that sells puppies.
But the board fretted about how to police the family-owned store, which has been tagged with an F-rating by the Better Business Bureau.
