A new ordinance in the city of Houston requires that stores that sell puppies only get them from humane sources such as animal shelters, private shelters.

HOUSTON – The City of Houston Humane Pet Shop Ordinance becomes effective Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

The ruling requires pet stores that sell puppies to only source them from humane sources, such as animal shelters and private shelters. The law comes as pet stores are increasingly under fire for selling animals raised in puppy mills.

The Humane Society of the United States reports that their 2019 undercover investigation video in Frisco, Texas shows puppies at the Petland store suffering from abuse and a rampant disease. Such conditions are common in pet stores when animals come from a puppy factory, animal advocates say.

“The goal of a breeder is not to humanely care for animals, but to make a profit,” Tena Faust said. “So, often these animals are unhealthy. [and] they get sick later in life. It’s not good for the animals or the consumer.”

Lovie Langston says she bought a one-pound Maltese puppy from Houston Petland in 2021.

“One minute she’ll be fine, the next minute she’ll be lethargic,” Langston said. “She was staggering, falling, very tired.”

Her pet, little Ziva, had regular seizures, she said, and her veterinarian told her that the pup had severely infected stitches from a hernia. Langston says she was never told about the dog’s illness and demanded a refund. When it was forbidden, she says she did her best to take care of Ziva at home. A few months after the next attack, the dog died.

Now, 18 months later, Langston says she’s still paying back the thousands of dollars it cost to buy a puppy.

Langston says the new ruling is a step in the right direction. Houston PetSet, which advocated for the change, says that given the conditions that animals have to live in at the puppy factory, and given that our local shelters have to euthanize healthy animals for the sake of space, this is the right thing to do.

Houston is now joining cities like Austin, San Antonio and Dallas in passing ordinances to ban the sale of pets coming from puppy mills.

Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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