Joliet, Illinois City Council Promotes Inhumane Treatment Of Dogs In Puppy Mills

Shame on the Joliet, Illinois City Council for ignoring their constituents and passing up the opportunity to help make a difference for dogs suffering in puppy mills.

Concerned citizens of the town of Joliet, including a small dedicated group, Safe Pets for Joliet, have worked hard for years educating the residents of their town that pet store puppies come from puppy mills. They’ve spread awareness to thousands and they’ve certainly opened the eyes of many. But after a very frustrating and discouraging City Council meeting last month, it’s apparent that all but one of the town leaders are not interested in helping make a difference for dogs who spend their lives trapped in small cages in commercial breeding facilities.

Harley’s Dream, an organization whose sole mission is to educate and create awareness about large-scale commercial dog breeding, sent letters to Joliet Mayor Bob O’Dekirk plus every City Council member. Not one response was received. It can only be assumed that the letters were ignored. Concerned citizens, locally and nationwide, sent letters and emails and made countless phone calls, but seven out of eight Joliet City Council members made it evident that their personal interests are more important than the interests of their constituents or the welfare of animals in their community.

This is a huge step backwards for Joliet, especially considering neighboring Chicago recently passed a city-wide ordinance prohibiting pet stores from selling puppies, thereby refusing to support the cruel commercial dog breeding industry. Currently there are more than 250 cities and municipalities nationwide that have initiated such a ban. On a grander scale, in October 2017, California became the first state to ban pet stores from selling puppies in an effort to reduce the mass-breeding of dogs in puppy mills.

Morgan Drdak , co-founder of Safe Pets for Joliet, provided the following statement which clearly explains her frustration and dissatisfaction. “The Joliet City Council’s decision came as no surprise; the Council had clearly indicated that they disagreed with us, but more disturbing was the fact that they just didn’t seem to care. We spent three years researching one particular pet store in Joliet; we uncovered the source of their puppies and provided factual evidence to the Council. We showed documentation proving the puppies came from puppy mills, and we even provided proof of the breeders’ horrible Animal Welfare Act violations. We supplied photos from USDA inspections, undercover videos, everything to prove that this pet store was buying from puppy mills, and we explained that the City Council could be the ones to end it. But it became painfully clear, especially as decision time came closer, that they weren't listening. Our emails received no response. Requests for meetings went unanswered. We had more than 2,500 signatures on a petition, at least 300 emails from residents, and nearly 400 signatures on a letter from our local rescue community members. But in the end, the City Council’s decisions were based on personal, uneducated experiences with pet stores and a lack of interest. It wasn't about representing their constituents - it was about ignoring what was real and painful, and taking the easy way out.”

Peggy Grandahl, also a member of Safe Pets for Joliet, provided more information and insight, "It was an extremely disappointing decision. Setting aside the heinous commercial dog breeding industry - to have your city officials take the easy way out is unsettling. They duplicated existing state legislation that is unenforceable. It's a waste of taxpayer dollars; it's simply giving the impression that they're doing something when they're actually doing nothing at all. By putting this ordinance into law, they've opened the door for more pet stores to believe that Joliet is a good place to hang out their shingle. There was considerable testimony along with information emailed to the council detailing the business practices of the pet store industry. They were made well-aware that consumers seeking to acquire a dog will always have a choice through rescues, shelters and even reputable, responsible breeders.

Grandal further explained, “We felt very positive that once the appellate ruling in Chicago came down which banned the sale of pets from large commercial breeders, Joliet would move forward with the ordinance we have been working toward for more than two years. I firmly believe that would have happened but for the pet industry stepping in to tout the so-called success of a law [favoring puppy mills] which passed in Springfield, IL earlier this year. They sold that to our city leaders the same way they pitched it to legislators downstate. We provided them with information explaining how the weak ineffective sourcing laws were left in the act in exchange for the preemption clause to be removed and home rule restored. We fought for Illinois communities to retain home rule which would allow them to create ordinances protecting their consumers, and the City of Joliet turned their back on it. We explained to them that no one supported that act except the pet industry and that all other parties were neutral, but the watered down, ineffective act was made benign enough for legislators to agree to vote for it. We are deeply disappointed in our city officials with the exception of Jan Quillman, the sole supporter of the humane ordinance."

Learn more about Safe Pets for Joliet: www.safepetsforjoliet.org

Read about Harley’s Dream: www.harleysdream.org

What are puppy mills, and why are they so bad?

• Puppy mills are commercial breeding facilities that breed dogs for profit without regard to the health or welfare of the animal. They are essentially puppy factories where the dogs are living in cruel and inhumane conditions. Puppy mills sell their dogs to pet stores.
• Puppy mills are distinct from responsible breeders who carefully screen buyers, care for the health of their animals, and never sell to pet stores or over the Internet.
• The inhumane conditions in puppy mills are well-documented and include: over-breeding; inbreeding; minimal to non-existent veterinary care; insanitary conditions; lack of adequate food, water and shelter; lack of socialization; lack of adequate space; and the euthanasia of unwanted animals.
• Puppy mills are a problem in every community. There are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States and over 2 million puppies bred in mills each year, while an estimated 3 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters every year. Every puppy born in a mill leaves behind two parents to suffer for often their entire lives. Hundreds of commercially-bred puppies are sold from Joliet pet stores each year.
• Puppy mills can be large or small; some house hundreds or thousands of dogs. An estimated 172,739 dogs are currently living in USDA-licensed commercial facilities for breeding purposes.
• Breeding parents often spend their lives in 24-hour confinement to wire cages that are frequently stacked on top of each other without adequate protection from heat, cold, or inclement weather. Dogs living in puppy mills often receive little to no veterinary care and live in unsanitary conditions.
• Mothers are bred every heat cycle and are often killed when they can no longer produce.
• While commercial breeders are regulated by the USDA and Illinois Department of Agriculture, oversight is insufficient and regulations do not come close to providing adequate protection for the safety or well-being of the dogs.
• Puppies are taken from their mothers too young and are more likely to develop serious health or behavioral issues due to the conditions in which they are bred and shipped, leading to expensive veterinary bills, heartbreak, and stress for their owners.
• Puppy brokers, which are “middle men” that purchase dogs from puppy mills to sell to pet stores, supply more than two-thirds of the dogs to stores. The use of puppy brokers makes it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to find information about the breeders of dogs they are purchasing from pet stores.

The above puppy mill information was provided by Safe Pets for Joliet; adapted from fact sheets developed by the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.