Minggu, 07 Juli 2013

100


Evan Lips/Register


BRANFORD >> More than one hundred residents squeezed into a sweltering senior center conference room for Tuesday night's Rules and Ordinances Committee meeting regarding a ban on pet sales, prompting warnings from the Fire Department to close the meeting, as members voted to pass the matter along to an ad-hoc subcommittee.


Simply put, it was a night where passions ran hot, yet both supporters and opponents of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter Commission's proposal to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits were respectful in laying out their talking points.


The measure gained traction last month as Annie Hornish, the Humane Society's Connecticut director, met with members of the commission to help them draft a game plan for convincing Representative Town Meeting to adopt the ban, a move aimed squarely at the 'puppy mill' industry.


FIX IT: What is the best way to stop the sale of pets from so-called puppy mills?

If adopted, it would make Branford the first town in the state to institute such a ban.


Hornish was in attendance last night as Shelter Commission Chairman Lori Fogler-Nicholson led the packed room through a PowerPoint presentation designed to show the underworld of puppy mills - the term used to describe super-breeder businesses accused of profiting off raising expensive dogs in less than ideal conditions.


Also present was Hartford lobbyist Linda Kowalski, a Branford resident who worked to help the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) convince the state Legislature to take the teeth out of a bill that would have banned the commercial sale of dogs statewide.


At the center of attention Tuesday night was All Pets Club, a pet store chain featuring a popular Branford location employing over 40 locals, many of them part-time high school students who showed up in support.


Co-owner Ed Foucalt told the committee he is an 'avid animal lover' and added the business paid more than $40,000 in property taxes to the town last year. Continued...


'We do this because we love the line of work,' he said. 'Local government is here to help business and not drive people out of business.'


However, documents introduced at the meeting by Heather Bradley, a Guilford resident and president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Puppy Mills, showed All Pets Club had until recently bought hundreds of puppies from Kansas-based Dot's Little Doggies, a breeding company recently cited by the USDA for several infractions.


Foucalt pointed out his business no longer purchases from Dot's.


Fogler-Nicholson however used her presentation time to outline what she described as 'poor' USDA standards. She showed a photo of what she said is the typical cage large-scale breeders use to house puppies.


'A little cage that adheres to the Animal Welfare Act that is at a minimum of six inches (in head clearance) height allowing them minimal director to move,' she pointed out. 'They are a crop, but the only thing is this crop suffers, has feelings and forms relationships.'


Charles Sewell, external affairs executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based PIJAC, countered that 'when it comes to all of our members we have zero tolerance for substandard animal mills.'


'Singling out one company that does its due-diligence, putting 40-plus people out of work, that just doesn't make sense and you're not solving the problem of puppy mills.'


Sewell pointed to the task force that came out of the state Legislature's original bill to ban the sales. The bill's new language states the task force is charged with 'studying the proliferation of dogs and cats sourced from inhumane origins and sold in Connecticut pet shops.'


Kowalski disclosed that PIJAC is one of her clients and added she is familiar with the legislation.


'The Humane Society is also a member of that task force,' she said. 'We feel the task force should do their job and a ban in Branford that only affects one pet shop is not fair.' Continued...


Some of the most poignant points, however, were made by residents. Supporters of the ban, who donned stickers reading 'BranfordSaysNo.com' - a reference to the website Fogler-Nicholson launched Tuesday night - sat on the opposite side of the room from opponents, who wore contrasting stickers that read 'Support Pets, Save Our Pet Store.'


North Branford resident Ed Boutin, speaking as a customer of All Pets Club, told an emotional story about growing up fearful of dogs yet falling in love with a puppy named Teddy that he bought at the store.


'That dog never saw an ounce of cruelty,' he said. 'I'm sure there are bad breeders out there but do we go about changing standards by writing a law that tells half the room what it can and can't do?'


Bridgeport resident Timothy Sheehan, however, had a different story.


He recalled buying a bloodhound puppy from All Pets Club that had been given a clean bill of health. Yet after one night owning the dog Sheehan said he had to have it hospitalized for pneumonia. He alleged that All Pets Club renegged on covering the medical costs, which totaled over $5,000, and instead offerd him $500 in store credit.


After the meeting committee member Adam Hansen said it 'felt like Deja Vu' as he had recently finished leading another ad-hoc committee charged with studying whether to ban the sale of guns in town after a hunting store open near the Town Green.


The proposal was eventually dismissed.


'I was shocked with the massive turnout and it's obvious we have many citizens who feel very strongly and stand on both sides of this issue,' Hansen said. Continued...


Hansen noted that any ad-hoc committee would have to be selected by Representative Town Meeting Moderator Chris Sullivan.


'The Firearm Ad-Hoc Committee I just shared also dealt with the possibility of prohibiting sales of certain products, only this time we're not talking about firearms, it's puppies.'


Call Evan Lips at 203-916-3027.


BRANFORD >> More than one hundred residents squeezed into a sweltering senior center conference room for Tuesday night's Rules and Ordinances Committee meeting regarding a ban on pet sales, prompting warnings from the Fire Department to close the meeting, as members voted to pass the matter along to an ad-hoc subcommittee.


Simply put, it was a night where passions ran hot, yet both supporters and opponents of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter Commission's proposal to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits were respectful in laying out their talking points.


The measure gained traction last month as Annie Hornish, the Humane Society's Connecticut director, met with members of the commission to help them draft a game plan for convincing Representative Town Meeting to adopt the ban, a move aimed squarely at the 'puppy mill' industry.


FIX IT: What is the best way to stop the sale of pets from so-called puppy mills?

If adopted, it would make Branford the first town in the state to institute such a ban.


Hornish was in attendance last night as Shelter Commission Chairman Lori Fogler-Nicholson led the packed room through a PowerPoint presentation designed to show the underworld of puppy mills - the term used to describe super-breeder businesses accused of profiting off raising expensive dogs in less than ideal conditions.


Also present was Hartford lobbyist Linda Kowalski, a Branford resident who worked to help the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) convince the state Legislature to take the teeth out of a bill that would have banned the commercial sale of dogs statewide.


At the center of attention Tuesday night was All Pets Club, a pet store chain featuring a popular Branford location employing over 40 locals, many of them part-time high school students who showed up in support.


Co-owner Ed Foucalt told the committee he is an 'avid animal lover' and added the business paid more than $40,000 in property taxes to the town last year.


'We do this because we love the line of work,' he said. 'Local government is here to help business and not drive people out of business.'


However, documents introduced at the meeting by Heather Bradley, a Guilford resident and president of the Connecticut Coalition Against Puppy Mills, showed All Pets Club had until recently bought hundreds of puppies from Kansas-based Dot's Little Doggies, a breeding company recently cited by the USDA for several infractions.


Foucalt pointed out his business no longer purchases from Dot's.


Fogler-Nicholson however used her presentation time to outline what she described as 'poor' USDA standards. She showed a photo of what she said is the typical cage large-scale breeders use to house puppies.


'A little cage that adheres to the Animal Welfare Act that is at a minimum of six inches (in head clearance) height allowing them minimal director to move,' she pointed out. 'They are a crop, but the only thing is this crop suffers, has feelings and forms relationships.'


Charles Sewell, external affairs executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based PIJAC, countered that 'when it comes to all of our members we have zero tolerance for substandard animal mills.'


'Singling out one company that does its due-diligence, putting 40-plus people out of work, that just doesn't make sense and you're not solving the problem of puppy mills.'


Sewell pointed to the task force that came out of the state Legislature's original bill to ban the sales. The bill's new language states the task force is charged with 'studying the proliferation of dogs and cats sourced from inhumane origins and sold in Connecticut pet shops.'


Kowalski disclosed that PIJAC is one of her clients and added she is familiar with the legislation.


'The Humane Society is also a member of that task force,' she said. 'We feel the task force should do their job and a ban in Branford that only affects one pet shop is not fair.'


Some of the most poignant points, however, were made by residents. Supporters of the ban, who donned stickers reading 'BranfordSaysNo.com' - a reference to the website Fogler-Nicholson launched Tuesday night - sat on the opposite side of the room from opponents, who wore contrasting stickers that read 'Support Pets, Save Our Pet Store.'


North Branford resident Ed Boutin, speaking as a customer of All Pets Club, told an emotional story about growing up fearful of dogs yet falling in love with a puppy named Teddy that he bought at the store.


'That dog never saw an ounce of cruelty,' he said. 'I'm sure there are bad breeders out there but do we go about changing standards by writing a law that tells half the room what it can and can't do?'


Bridgeport resident Timothy Sheehan, however, had a different story.


He recalled buying a bloodhound puppy from All Pets Club that had been given a clean bill of health. Yet after one night owning the dog Sheehan said he had to have it hospitalized for pneumonia. He alleged that All Pets Club renegged on covering the medical costs, which totaled over $5,000, and instead offerd him $500 in store credit.


After the meeting committee member Adam Hansen said it 'felt like Deja Vu' as he had recently finished leading another ad-hoc committee charged with studying whether to ban the sale of guns in town after a hunting store open near the Town Green.


The proposal was eventually dismissed.


'I was shocked with the massive turnout and it's obvious we have many citizens who feel very strongly and stand on both sides of this issue,' Hansen said.


Hansen noted that any ad-hoc committee would have to be selected by Representative Town Meeting Moderator Chris Sullivan.


'The Firearm Ad-Hoc Committee I just shared also dealt with the possibility of prohibiting sales of certain products, only this time we're not talking about firearms, it's puppies.'


Call Evan Lips at 203-916-3027.


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