Pets

The Burbank City Council's decision to draft an ordinance to ban the sale of puppy mill dogs in pet stores made me proud to be a resident here. However, it is appalling that the council wants to write in an exemption for one store. The communities abutting Burbank's city limits have already become humane. Glendale and Los Angeles both have banned the sale of mill animals. By allowing this grandfathering, Burbank will remain a centralized pocket of inhumanity - all because one business has claimed that they, unlike every other pet store in the surrounding cities, simply cannot keep their business alive by adopting this new policy.

Puppies and kittens are lifetime commitments, not gifts or toys to be played with for a short period of time and then tossed aside, disregarded or replaced by the next latest and greatest “thing.” This is what happens when these adorable little balls of fur and fluff are purchased as presents and it is easier than ever to buy a pet in a store or online. With just one click, a life can be purchased. Internet sales tragically have become a major forum for puppy mills to sell directly to the public without any regulations.

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- Pet photographs are being accepted now from owners of pets adopted at the Burbank Animal Shelter for the city's Pets of Burbank 2002 calendar. Pets and owners must live in Burbank, and pets must have been adopted from the Burbank Animal Shelter. Some of the entries will be included in the calendar. To enter, send in by Nov. 5 your name, the pet's name, the date the pet was adopted, a description of the animal, name of persons in photo with pet, address and phone number to Burbank Public Information Office, Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91502.

Budah and Bunny are a bouncy, bonded pair that must be adopted together. Budah is a spunky all-black mini satin rabbit who is medium in size. His girlfriend is a large, beautiful brown bunny with charming white spots. They are learning how to use the litter box. Budah may seem a bit shy, but happily interacts with humans when Bunny is around. Bunny is very outgoing, loves attention and is quite curious. Budah and Bunny would be happy to be your only pets, but can be placed in a home with children and other pets.

In homage to the 2000 feature film “Best In Show,” Actors and Others for Animals presented a parody of the hit movie at its annual “Celebration of Caring” fundraiser luncheon held at the Universal Hilton Hotel and Towers this past Saturday. Stars of the film, Fred Willard and Jim Piddock, reprised their roles, serving as commentators as the animal welfare organization staged its own best-in-show competition that pitted the pets of numerous celebrities against one another with their owners making comedic pitches and showing video presentations on their behalf.

Denise Fleck - a longtime volunteer at the Burbank Animal Shelter who owns a business teaching people how to perform CPR on dogs and cats - is a finalist for "Woman of the Year" honors by a national pet industry organization. The Oregon-based Women in Pet Industry Network received more than 60 nominations across the country to recognize women working in the pet industry as groomers, dog sitters, veterinarians and pet advocates. "Regardless of who wins, I hope we'll leave a combined legacy of improving the lives of animals and the lives of the people who love them," Fleck said.

By joining the politically correct trend to ban puppy sales in pet stores, the City Council did a great disservice to the Burbank citizens it serves. Have any of our illustrious council members tried to adopt a dog at a shelter? Well, we did, several times. At the Burbank Animal Shelter, they distribute popular small dogs via a lottery system, sometimes getting as many as 30 families hoping to get one dog. At another Burbank rescue, our application was denied because we live in the hillside district, too close to coyotes.

Under a ban adopted Tuesday by the City Council, cats or dogs sold at Burbank pet stores must be obtained only from animal shelters or rescue organizations. The city is following a trend that has been growing in recent years across the nation, albeit perhaps too slowly in the eyes of people concerned about animal welfare. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been championing the cause, helping to write legislation in some states and dedicating resources to get the word out to all that commercial breeders do not always care about the animals.

Burbank this week joined the growing list of cities that have banned the retail sale of pets, but built in a six-month grace period for existing pet stores. Under the ban adopted by the City Council Tuesday, pet shops in Burbank can only obtain cats and dogs from animal shelters or rescues. During the six-month grace period, pet shops are required to obtain the animals from breeders licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and must post the name, address and license number of the breeder, as well as information on how the consumer could trace the animal's origin.

We were shocked and very disappointed to learn that Burbank has not yet joined other progressive cities to ban the sale of mill animals from retail pet stores. With all the information about commercial breeding facilities available, it seems unbelievable that these barbaric places still exist and that a large percentage of the public are still unaware. The reality is state and federal laws are slow to change and it is easier to pretend this is not going on. This is why we depend on the Burbank City Council to listen to us and to make important changes that will trickle out and up. By individual cities banning pet stores from selling what are really substandard products, these breeding factories would cease to exist.

Puppies and kittens are lifetime commitments, not gifts or toys to be played with for a short period of time and then tossed aside, disregarded or replaced by the next latest and greatest “thing.” This is what happens when these adorable little balls of fur and fluff are purchased as presents and it is easier than ever to buy a pet in a store or online. With just one click, a life can be purchased. Internet sales tragically have become a major forum for puppy mills to sell directly to the public without any regulations.

'Tis the season of giving - pets, apparently. Local animal shelters have experienced a spike in pet adoptions in recent days in Burbank and Pasadena, and many more were expected to occur this weekend. On Dec. 15, when the Burbank Animal Shelter welcomed people to adopt animals at a 50% discount, 25 animals - mostly cats and dogs and a few rabbits - were adopted, about double the typical volume. “They're hoping to maybe get an animal for their children,” said Brenda Castaneda, superintendent of the Burbank Animal Shelter.

The Nov. 28 letter to the editor by Glen Forsch is a case in point for education on the puppy mill ordinance. His “facts” are simply untrue. He states that an outright ban would do nothing to solve the puppy mill problem, but supply and demand is a basic business principle. Ban stores from stocking mill animals, and fewer mill animals will be produced. His fear that big-box stores will not comply is completely unfounded; the top two big-box stores are already rescue-only. Forsch suggests that proponents of the ban should take the route of anti-smoking campaigns.

The Burbank City Council's decision to draft an ordinance to ban the sale of puppy mill dogs in pet stores made me proud to be a resident here. However, it is appalling that the council wants to write in an exemption for one store. The communities abutting Burbank's city limits have already become humane. Glendale and Los Angeles both have banned the sale of mill animals. By allowing this grandfathering, Burbank will remain a centralized pocket of inhumanity - all because one business has claimed that they, unlike every other pet store in the surrounding cities, simply cannot keep their business alive by adopting this new policy.