Officials review pet stores

Palm Beach County has started reviewing how it could strengthen the enforcement of rules that aim to stop puppy mills.

The review comes after an animalrights group leveled accusations earlier this month that pet shop owners were not complying with new rules requiring them to only purchase animals from breeders in good standing.

The Humane Society of the United States, wanting to check if the shops were following county rules that took effect Oct. 1, conducted a hidden-camera probe of pet stores in late January.

Animal-rights groups have long argued that retail pet sales help to prop up substandard breeders known as puppy mills that put profits ahead of animal welfare.

The Washington, D.C.-based group turned over its findings to Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. In a report released Friday, Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve wrote that her department could not find evidence to verify many of the group’s allegations. The county did find at least one pet store purchased animals from a breeder that had a recent violation issued by federal inspectors, she wrote.

Sauve wrote in her review that the county’s “audit findings did not fully support” the Humane Society’s claims. Still, she wrote that further steps could be taken to strengthen the rules.

Among the paths to strengthening its enforcement:

A recently hired county employee is being trained to enforce the county’s rules.

Citations will be issued if violations are deemed to have occurred.

The county is considering amending the rules to require stores submit breeder inspection reports monthly.

Despite the county’s efforts, the Humane Society is advocating for the county to ban the sale of dogs and cats at pet stores entirely.

“Our findings show that sourcing laws are extremely limited in their ability to protect consumers from the unknowing purchase of dogs from puppy mills,” said John Goodwin, senior director of the puppy mills campaign.

In its report, the Humane Society accused stores of buying from breeders not in compliance with the county rules. It also accused stores of failing to provide information to customers on the health and origin of animals for sale.

The county’s report found two stores visited by the Humane Society were in compliance with the rules on buying

from breeders, contrary to the group’s allegations. County officials also found during their visits that notices were posted providing information to consumers, although they advised the stores to move them closer to the puppy enclosures.

The last time the county took up the issue of pet store regulations was in the fall.

Billed as a compromise between the pet industry and animal rights advocates, the County Commission passed rules prohibiting the sale of dogs and cats at all new pet stores in Palm Beach County and its 39 cities, while allowing existing shops to keep selling them.

About eight pet stores in the county sold puppies or kittens when the rules were adopted last year, and the regulations allowed them to continue doing so as long as they buy from breeders without serious federal violations on their record.

In late November, the county sent a round of warning letters to pet stores advising they weren’t complying with all of the new rules. Then county officials met with pet store owners in December to educate them, Sauve said.

In the report released Friday, the county determined that one store, Heavenly Puppies in Boca Raton, purchased from a breeder who had a direct violation. The violation involved a dog that had an eye injury, according to a federal inspection report.

Kevin Lottermann, the store’s owner, said while the dog had an injury, additional inspection reports showed the dog received veterinarian care, and the issue was addressed.

“We are doing our best to be in compliance and above reproach,” he said.

Heavenly Puppies was not among the stores that attended the county’s informational meeting in December, according to the county report. The difficulty of obtaining records is hindering the county’s enforcement efforts, Sauve said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture removed inspection reports for breeders from its website on Feb. 3. The documents are available through a Freedom of Information Act request, but that process can take months and even years.

That means county investigators can’t verify whether animals sold in Palm Beach County are coming from reputable breeders. Pet stores owners also can’t access records to verify their breeders are maintaining clean records.

The county is considering amending the regulations to require pet stores to obtain inspection reports directly from breeders and submit them with their monthly reports.