We at CGHS/SPCA who are committed to our mission of placing homeless companion animals also feel very strongly that the public has a right to choose other alternatives. This piece, by AKC representative Sheila Goffe and reprinted with permission, reflects our position:
“Scanning the news from around the country, it’s nearly impossible to miss states trying to legislate away freedoms of personal choice and lifestyle. New Yorkers are not immune, with lawmakers in Albany now going after another part of the family — our four-footed ones.
If some lawmakers have their way, average New Yorkers could soon lose the ability to choose a source or breed of their pet.
Bringing a new pet home is a serious commitment. When selecting a pet, thoughtful owners should be able to choose one with knowable characteristics. Predictability in characteristics — such as size, temperament, exercise and grooming needs — and health-tested parents are hallmarks of purpose-bred and purebred dogs. Getting the right fit the first time is more than a feel-good issue; it’s crucial for the long-term well-being of pet and owner. The ability to make an educated choice is also likely one of the reasons that fewer than 5 percent of the dogs in U.S. shelters are purebred.
Bills (A6298/S4234 and A6299/S593) currently under consideration in Albany would ban pet stores from selling animals from regulated U.S. breeders, and require them to sell only randomly sourced pets from rescues or shelters. On its face, this sounds altruistic, but this regressive proposal also puts the single most regulated and health-checked source of pets out of reach for average pet owners — and tips the scales in favor of unregulated retail rescues, unscrupulous pet sellers and pet importers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an untold number of dogs are imported illegally into the U.S. each year — many for the giant American rescue market.
A similar measure that passed in California in 2017 is now being linked to an uptick in the sale of sick pets there.
Great pets can come from a variety of sources, including breeders, shelters, rescues and retail pet stores. New Yorkers should not be limited to arbitrary choices because of inaccurate and discredited prejudices about pet professionals.
Our New York lawmakers don’t need to rubber-stamp California’s bad ideas. A better approach is to improve consumer protection laws that cover all pet buyers and sellers, improve transparency and expand consumer education — and protect our freedom of choice.”
Sheila Goffe of North Carolina is vice president of government relations for the American Kennel Club.
Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044 or visit www.cghs.org. Stop down and see us at 111 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. every day. The Food Bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours. All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $76 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available 10-11 a.m. every Saturday at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs. Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted at cghsaaron@gmail.com.
Johnson Newspapers 7.1