Baltimore Humane Society Skeptical of Pet Store Legislation

When Beth Lacey Gill graduated from St. Lawrence University and moved back home to Baltimore County, she knew right away she wanted a Golden Retriever.

"They have great smiles and are very loyal," Gill said. "I didn't want a dog for protection. I wanted a dog that was my friend."

Gill found that dog in 13-year-old Gonzo, who was named for the Muppet, and the father of "Gonzo Journalism," Hunter S. Thompson.

Gill adopted Gonzo from GRREAT, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue of Golden Retrievers in the mid-Atlantic. Gonzo was 3-years-old when Gill adopted him.

There are rescue organizations for just about every breed imaginable, said Wendy Goldband, marketing director for the in Reisterstown.

"The misconcepton is that if they want a certain pedigree or breed, they need a pet store," Goldband said. "But there’s a rescue group for every breed there is."

According to Goldband, there are few reasons to go to pet stores, which often buy from substandard breeders, like the so-called "puppy mills," she said.

in the Maryland House of Delegates that would hold pet stores who buy from such breeders more accountable. But Jen Swanson, the Baltimore Humane Society's executive director, had some doubts.

"I think it’s a good bill on its face. I’m not a legislator by any means, and politics isn’t my game, but in reading it, it makes good sense. I just don’t know how enforceable it would be," Swanson said. "The Humane Society’s position is that puppy mills are bad. There’s just absolutely no reason for them when there’s so many homeless dogs and cats already."

Swanson said the conditions at puppy mills are deplorable. The pups grow up in wire cages and are lucky if they ever see the light of day before being sent to a pet store, she said.

But the pet industry said not every pet store is selling animals that were raised in such poor conditions.

“Extreme groups like to say, 'Well any pet store puppy is a puppy mill puppy,'’’ said Michael Maddox, vice president of governmental affairs and the general counsel for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which represents the pet industry.

“The fact of the matter is, quality pet stores and quality breeders are the norm, and not the exception, and they abhor the substandard breeders as much as anyone else,” he added. “It gives them a bad name. We want these bad folks out of business.”

But Swanson said the only way to stop the "cycle of abuse" was to shun pet stores that sold animals from breeders.

"A lot of the the pet shops say they only buy from registered USDA breeders, but it doesn’t take anything to become a registered breeder," Swanson said. "The rules set forth by USDA are not enforced.

"They would have to hire I don’t know how many animal control officers just to go out and police these breeding facilities."

For people like Gill, who originally wanted a younger dog, adopting from a rescue operation turned out to be a good decision.

"I thought I wanted a puppy, but I realized a puppy was going to be more work than I had time for," said Gill, who is the director of marketing, communications and rentals for in Owings Mills.

Now, she says Gonzo is a great buddy. The two live together in Catonsville, where Gonzo keeps busy during the day by making sure Gill's cats stay off the counters.

"Even people who are not dog people love Gonzo," Gill said. "He's an overall really good boy."

Patch reporter Lisa Rossi contributed to this story.

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