Update: This bill failed.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would require that the name of the state where the dog was bred be posted on the cage of each dog in a pet store. In addition, the state would establish a toll-free hotline for reporting sick animals at pet stores, and pet store would be required to refund a consumer’s money if the pet store sells a puppy that dies within six months of being sold. Finally, the bill would allow for a fine of $5,000 for pet stores operating without a license.
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This bill helps to keep consumer informed by disclosing where the puppies offered for sale in pet stores were bred. Puppies sold at pet stores often are bred at puppy mills. These “mills” are facilities at which animals are mass-produced and then transferred to commercial venues for re-sale. Because profits are tied to the number of animals produced, these breeding facilities sometimes increase profits by restricting the amount of space offered to each animal, providing limited or no access to veterinary care, and offering minimal opportunities for socialization and individual attention. Furthermore, the provision establishing a hotline for reporting sick animals also benefits consumers as well as animal welfare. Healthy, well-socialized animals make better companions and tend to stay with their human families for longer periods of time, thereby benefiting the families, ensuring animal welfare, and reducing the pressure on animal control agencies, animal rescue organizations, and animal shelters. Finally, sixteen states already have enacted so-called “lemon laws” — consumer protection measures geared to provide recourse to members of the public who purchase sick or diseased animals from pet shops.