CITY HALL — Two pet shops plan to appeal the court ruling that cleared the way for the city's so-called puppy-mill ban to take effect, while threatening a defamation suit against advocacy groups that have tarnished their reputations.
"Not only do they get shut down, but they get slandered in the process," said Sean Patrick, attorney for the Park Pet Shop in Mount Greenwood and Pocket Puppies in Lincoln Park.
Patrick insisted neither store deals with puppy mills. "Park Pet Shop has been around 57 years. It's a nice old man and his son," Patrick said. "They have a firm to vet their breeders," he added. "They're not puppy mills."
According to Patrick, the same goes for Pocket Puppies, owned by Lane Boron, who deals exclusively in boutique lap-dog breeds. "None of Lane's breeders are puppy mills," Patrick said.
Patrick said neither can survive under the city's new law, which allows only pets obtained from "shelters and other humane adoption centers," such as rescue operations, to be sold within the city limits. It also forbids stores from acting as go-betweens for breeders and prospective pet owners. Violations can yield fines of $100-$1,000, as well as the loss of a business license.
Clerk Susana Mendoza, who sponsored the ordinance and pushed it through the City Council, defended the new law. "Our ordinance encourages pet adoptions, prevents cruelty and protects consumers," she said. "Last week’s federal court decision was a clear win for animal advocates, and Chicagoans should take great pride in that. The city intends to defend our law vigorously and we’re confident we can overcome any roadblocks."
While city officials waited for the suit to be decided before enforcing the law, and have promised an informational campaign for pet shops before cracking down, Patrick said the two stores are already feeling the effects.
"There has been a decrease in business," he said. "And of course they're preparing for the chance that this law is not successfully repealed."
But Patrick is out to do just that, charging that the law is overreaching and makes no distinction between legitimate pet shops and those dealing with puppy mills, known for abusing and overbreeding animals.
He blamed the law on "a drive-by advocacy group" with "an agenda of getting rid of retail puppy stories," charging that it goes from city to city lobbying for cookie-cutter ordinances that wipe out pet shops indiscriminately.
"This is not a victory or a loss for puppy mills," Patrick said of the Chicago ordinance. "It is a loss for mom-and-pop shops that all they do is retail dogs."
Patrick blamed a group of nonprofit organizations, but specifically named the Humane Society and the Puppy Mill Project. He charged that the Humane Society had turned from stray animals, less of social issue these days, to a crusade against puppy mills as a way to sustain funding and public interest, adding, "Now they have nothing to do but to try to shut down retailers."
"These allegations are false and defamatory, and are of no more value than these attorneys’ losing arguments before the court," responded Cheylin Parker, Humane Society spokeswoman. "The ordinance itself and the court’s decision clearly reflects that the purpose of the ordinance is to crack down on puppy mills and the people that peddle puppy mill dogs — nothing more."
Patrick added that Pocket Puppies and the Park Pet Shop had basically been tarred and feathered. "There's consideration of a defamation suit," Patrick said. "They want to make their point. They want to clear their name."
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