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www.pbgv.org
December2013
ISaberTails
Prologue.Bythetimeyoureadthis,theUSDA’sretailpetstore
finalrulewillbeineffectforapproximatelyonemonth.Hasthe
worldasweknewitended?Well,yes.Andno.
T
henewruleupdatestheretailpetstoredefinitioninthe
federalAnimalWelfareAct(AWA).Retailpetstoreshave
alwaysbeenexemptfromfederaloversight—licensing,
feesandinspections—duetothenatureofthesaleofpets.
Inapetstoresetting,thebuyer,thesellerandthepetare
presentinthesameplaceatthesametime,andthebuyeris
abletoseetheconditionoftheanimalanditssurroundings
priortothesale.Puppiesandotherpetssoldinpetstoresare
almostalwayssuppliedbylarge-scalecommercialbreeders
whoaredefinedasdealersandthereforesubjecttofederal
regulationundertheAWA.Theyarelicensedandinspected
byAnimalandPlantHealthInspectionServices(APHIS).
Hobby,showandperformancedogbreedersusuallysell
directtotheconsumerandareexemptfromtheAWA.
About25yearsago,organizedeffortstolimitorstop
entirelythesaleofpuppiesinpetstoresshrunkthemarket
forlarge-scalebreeders’puppies.Morerecently,theInternet
becameapowerfultoolformarketingandselling,andmost
commercialbreedersturnedtoInternet-directsales.
TheLawofUnintendedConsequences.Littledid
weknowthatshuttingpetstoreswouldactuallyforcedown
thenumberofdogsproducedbyallbreeders.Thepublic
remainedunawareofthedifferencesbetweenpuppiesfrom
petstoresandthosefromhobby/showpeople,artisanbreeders
whosemotiveswerenotnecessarilyfinancial.Whenlarge-
scalebreedersturnedtotheInternet,therewasakindof
wildwestattitudewhereunscrupulous,evenfraudulent
breederstookadvantageoftheanonymityoftheInternet
andsoldalotofpuppiesunderfalsepretenses.Consumers
madecomplaints,andwereinformedthatthebreederof
theirpuppywasn’tlicensedbytheUSDA.Thepublic,
encouragedbytheanimalrightsgroupslikeHSUSandPETA,
blamedtheAKC,whoseonlypossibleactionwouldbeto
pullregistrationprivilegeswiththesebreeders.Thepublic
wasdisappointed,andtheanimalrightsgroupstook
advantage,raisedmillionsofdollarsandcontinuedtoattack
theAKC.(www.naiaonline.org/articles/article/disparage-
regulate-prohibit-monopolize)
Offensevs.Defense.AKCChairmanoftheBoardAlan
KalterquotedDonDraper,acharacteronTV’sMadMen,in
hisJune,2013report:“Ifyoudon’tlikewhatthey’resaying,
changetheconversation.”Asinteamsports,winning
requiresastrongoffenseaswellasdefense.Thedogfancy
hasfocusedondefense...untilnow.
ChangingtheConversation.Thisdiscussionhas
alwaysbeenconsideredananimalwelfareissue,butwhatif
itwerechangedtoaconsumerprotectionissue?Isitgood
businesstosellsubstandardmerchandiseusingfalseadver-
tisingandemotional,guilt-inducinglanguage?Thathas
beenthetrendindogsformanyyears.Bydisparagingpure-
breddogswithnegativetermsandusingtheshortcomings
anddisabilitiesofshelterdogsassellingpoints,theanimal
rightsmovementhassucceededinmakingpeoplefeelguilty
fordesiringapurebreddog.Substitutinghealth-certified
puppieswithunknownrescuedogshurtspeople,turnsthem
offofdogsaltogetherinmanycases,destroystrustinpure-
breddogsanddoesn’tdomixed-breedshelterdogsany
favorseither,aspoorhealthandbehaviorproblemsarevery
commoninthesedogs.Theseproblemsoftenresultintheir
beingsurrenderedtoasheltermorethanonce.Somuch
instabilityfurtherdamagesthesedogs,andsomeareso
carelesslybredandpoorlysocializedthattheysuffera
lifetimeofanxiety.Theirownerssufferfromstressaswell,
believingthattheyhavefailedtheirpet,andmayeven
resenttheamountofworkrequiredtomanageit.Yetthey
continuetoblamepurebreddogbreeders.Why?Because
manyshowbreedersactuallyagreedwiththeseinsults,
joininginthenamecallingandfingerpointing.
RescueTransportPhenomenon.Thereissomerelief
onthehorizon.PBGVbreederscansurvivetheimplementa-
tionofthisrulewithsomeforethoughtandtotalhonesty,
whilemanyrescueorganizationsmaynotbeabletocon-
tinuebusinessasusualsincetheadoptionofthisrule.The
problemof“humanerelocation”willbeaddressedbythe
USDA’s“dealer”definition.Rescuegroupswithoutfacilities
pulldogsfromdisparatesources,packthemintocrateswith
nofoodorwater,anddrivethemlongdistancesinunheated
semitrailerstonorthernandnortheasternstateswherethere
isashortageofshelterdogs.(Note:Thisisnothowthe
RescueCommitteeofPBGVCAoperates.)Thesenon-profit
groupsmakealotofmoneywiththese“rescuetransport”
schemes.Itisverylikelythattheywillnowneedtobe
licensedbytheUSDA.Thisisagoodthing.Ifanybreeder
orwholesalebrokertreateddogsinthisway,theywould
becrucified,andrightlyso.Thesegroupsraisetax-free
cashbythebushel-on-volunteerlabor,andoperatewithout
oversight,hidingbehindthebadgeof“rescue.”Donations
comeinasaresultofgreatmarketing(donated)andsocial
mediapagesbeingsharedexponentially.
FindingCommonGround.Thesurvivalofthedog
fancyisatstake,nothingless.Wehavebeen“separate”from
otheranimalinterests,yetdividedamongstourselvesfora
longtimeandwefindourselvesvulnerable.Allanimal
interestshaveacommonenemy,butoftenthedogfancy
hasdeniedthatweneedothergroups,especiallywhenthose
groupsdothingsdifferentlythanwedo,suchascommercial
breeding.Formingallianceswith
Continuedonpage24
IPBGVLegislation
byCharlotteAllmann
char.allmann@gmail.com
ArticlebyPattiStrandreprintedwiththepermissionoffromthe
NationalAnimalInterestAlliance,www.naiaonline.org.
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TheRetailPetStoreFinalRuleYou!