A former Newfoundlander is on a crusade to outlaw the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores across several Canadian cities, including St. John’s.
It sounds like a tall order, but Dean Maher is optimistic.
“I say, ‘never say never,’” laughed Maher.
The former St. John’s resident now lives in Toronto and works in telecommunications. He recently ran for a council seat in that city and part of his platform included a promise to introduce a bylaw banning the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores. Maher was unsuccessful in his run for office, but still believes this is an issue that should be discussed.
He has also been in contact with councillors in cities such as Mississauga and Toronto. Richmond, B.C., he points out, has already passed a ban.
Animal shelters across Canada are full or nearly full, he argues, so why continue selling animals in retail locations?
“I don’t understand why people would buy a cat (or dog) from pet store when there are so many animals waiting for adoption,” he said.
A ban would have the additional benefits of eliminating impulse buying of animals and would be the first step in the larger goal of putting “puppy mills” out of business, he said.
Maher has assembled a small proposal for the bylaw and forwarded it to St. John’s city Coun. Sheilagh O’Leary, chairwoman of the city’s animal care and control committee.
O’Leary intends to bring up the proposal during the committee’s next meeting in a few months. It will be discussed, and if it’s deemed appropriate, city staff will be asked to look into the matter further.
The process of passing a bylaw could take up to a year, if the proposal even gets past the committee, O’Leary said, adding the matter is not a priority for the city at this moment.
“Staff have really felt they’ve had a good relationship with the pet shops,” she said.
In researching Maher’s request, city staff told O’Leary an all-out ban on selling cats and puppies is not the route most cities have taken.
“The sentiment has generally been to go with tighter regulations as opposed to a ban,” she said.
The Telegram contacted a local pet store, which sells cats and dogs, for comment. Staff at the store forwarded the request to the store’s corporate office, but no response was received by deadline.
None of this fazes Maher. He’s been encouraged by how quickly he was contacted by the city.
“Out of all the cities I’ve dealt with that was probably the quickest response I got,” he said.
He’s also under no illusions.
A person selling puppies can still advertise online or in the media, they could also move to a nearby community and start over.
Maher calls his proposal “a small but significant step towards that greater goal,” of shutting down abusive animal sales.
But it would seem his proposal already has at least one supporter in the city.
When contacted for her opinion on the matter Debbie Powers, SPCA shelter director, was nothing but supportive of the idea for a ban.
“In a ideal world wouldn’t that be wonderful,” Powers said.
Given the approaching holiday season the issue is timely, the 35 year SPCA veteran said, given that impulse buys of cats and dogs are at their highest during holidays.
Powers brought up one example to illustrate her point.
Last Christmas two MUN students came to the SPCA asking to adopt two dogs. Given the potential for the home to be unstable the SPCA refused the request. Those same students then went to a local pet shop and purchased two puppies at considerable expense. A few months later those puppies were dropped off at the shelter because their new owners couldn’t handle them.
Stories like that are heartbreaking, Powers said.
“It’s not right … but you’re not going to stop people when they decide they want something,” she said.
A former Newfoundlander is on a crusade to outlaw the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores across several Canadian cities, including St. John’s.
It sounds like a tall order, but Dean Maher is optimistic.
“I say, ‘never say never,’” laughed Maher.
The former St. John’s resident now lives in Toronto and works in telecommunications. He recently ran for a council seat in that city and part of his platform included a promise to introduce a bylaw banning the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores. Maher was unsuccessful in his run for office, but still believes this is an issue that should be discussed.
He has also been in contact with councillors in cities such as Mississauga and Toronto. Richmond, B.C., he points out, has already passed a ban.
Animal shelters across Canada are full or nearly full, he argues, so why continue selling animals in retail locations?
“I don’t understand why people would buy a cat (or dog) from pet store when there are so many animals waiting for adoption,” he said.
A ban would have the additional benefits of eliminating impulse buying of animals and would be the first step in the larger goal of putting “puppy mills” out of business, he said.
Maher has assembled a small proposal for the bylaw and forwarded it to St. John’s city Coun. Sheilagh O’Leary, chairwoman of the city’s animal care and control committee.
O’Leary intends to bring up the proposal during the committee’s next meeting in a few months. It will be discussed, and if it’s deemed appropriate, city staff will be asked to look into the matter further.
The process of passing a bylaw could take up to a year, if the proposal even gets past the committee, O’Leary said, adding the matter is not a priority for the city at this moment.
“Staff have really felt they’ve had a good relationship with the pet shops,” she said.
In researching Maher’s request, city staff told O’Leary an all-out ban on selling cats and puppies is not the route most cities have taken.
“The sentiment has generally been to go with tighter regulations as opposed to a ban,” she said.
The Telegram contacted a local pet store, which sells cats and dogs, for comment. Staff at the store forwarded the request to the store’s corporate office, but no response was received by deadline.
None of this fazes Maher. He’s been encouraged by how quickly he was contacted by the city.
“Out of all the cities I’ve dealt with that was probably the quickest response I got,” he said.
He’s also under no illusions.
A person selling puppies can still advertise online or in the media, they could also move to a nearby community and start over.
Maher calls his proposal “a small but significant step towards that greater goal,” of shutting down abusive animal sales.
But it would seem his proposal already has at least one supporter in the city.
When contacted for her opinion on the matter Debbie Powers, SPCA shelter director, was nothing but supportive of the idea for a ban.
“In a ideal world wouldn’t that be wonderful,” Powers said.
Given the approaching holiday season the issue is timely, the 35 year SPCA veteran said, given that impulse buys of cats and dogs are at their highest during holidays.
Powers brought up one example to illustrate her point.
Last Christmas two MUN students came to the SPCA asking to adopt two dogs. Given the potential for the home to be unstable the SPCA refused the request. Those same students then went to a local pet shop and purchased two puppies at considerable expense. A few months later those puppies were dropped off at the shelter because their new owners couldn’t handle them.
Stories like that are heartbreaking, Powers said.
“It’s not right … but you’re not going to stop people when they decide they want something,” she said.
