HomeMy WebLinkAboutJustin Kerr 8.3.211
Danielle Marshall
From:justin@puppylandwa.com
Sent:Tuesday, August 3, 2021 4:26 PM
To:Danielle Marshall
Subject:Puppyland comment D-194
Chair Matson and Committee,
Thank you for your time to hear my concerns about why I oppose this ordinance.
My name is Justin Kerr, I am the owner of Puppyland in Puyallup and Renton. I would like to tell you why I agree that pet stores need
regulation, but disagree with the current proposed language.
First, this bill will force us to close our doors as currently written. These proposed regulations are not reasonable for us to stay open and
continue to operate. Puppyland Renton currently employs about 30 people and since opening in February has collected over $400,000 in tax
revenue for Washington, all of this will be gone if this ordinance passes.
The thought to propose a bill to ban or regulate pet stores started before Puppyland ever existed, it has since turned into an all out attack on
Puppyland and my wife and I personally. We have had our personal address and our pictures posted online, we have received death threats
and voicemails telling us we should kill ourselves. They have turned this into a personal attack, it is no longer about making pet stores humane.
It’s about bullying us and closing down our business. The organizations pushing this type of legislation has seemingly endless amounts of
money to push their agenda, we don’t stand a chance against this. Puppyland is just a small local family owned and operated business,
constantly fighting to survive the rumors and misinformation spread by these aggressive animal rights groups.
Why are these ordinances such a priority? The rescue industry is fearful of competition, so they want to monopolize the industry by using
legislation to regulate us out of business! They continue to import large amounts of animals from out of state and other countries, sometimes
illegally. Rescue transport is not up to USDA standards, and there have been many accidents involving animals being brought to Washington
state. Why is it ok for a rescue to transport their animals in a make-shift trailer with no ventilation, heat, or air circulation from other states, but
not a pet store using a clean and safe transport system? Sounds like a double standard to me.
Washington rescues are not transparent to their future pet owners, they are not able to be! How can rescues give someone a history of a dog
that they don’t know the source of? They cant, they import dogs from unknown places with unknown histories. Rescues don’t guarantee health
of their dogs, but they will still charge you thousands to take one home.
Visit Gingers Pet Rescue’s website, they currently have 40 dogs on their website, primarily from Asia & Mexico. Their fees can be several
thousand dollars, all for a dog they likely have no history of. They have several poor reviews related to their poor practices as well.
https://www.gingerspetrescue.org/adoptable-dogs/
Check out the below article’s on another shady rescue in Washington, this is just a couple examples of the many that operate with little to no
oversight. They continue to wrong consumers in Washington, they just change their name.
https://www.seattledogspot.com/worst-dog-rescue-washington-2/
https://www.seattledogspot.com/furever-homes-animal-control/
We are just one store, we are regulated and inspected. The real issue lies with the countless rescues that operate like the examples above.
Rescues like these put Renton resident’s at risk both physically and financially. We do believe we should be regulated, but not regulated out of
business like this. We need regulations that are actually achievable and beneficial, this is not it.
Puppyland has health guarantees in place, we are confident in our breeders! This ensures if a customer does have a concern after taking their
new puppy home, we are here to help them. If they cant keep the puppy for some reason, we have a rehoming program to make sure they find
a good home, sometimes even taking their puppy to our own personal home’s until the right match comes along, we want to make sure our
puppies don’t end up in shelters. We are committed to our customers and puppies long term in every way we can be.
Puppyland has multiple veterinarians we work with to ensure our puppies get the care they deserve, we receive at least one weekly visit from a
vet to check all new puppies and any that might need a checkup. We have a special ventilation system in place to ensure constant fresh air.
Water is available 24/7 to all puppies, food is given several times throughout the day. We have a group of staff who’s sole job is to break down
and disinfect our store and all enclosures, providing fresh water, bedding, food and clean toys. We have about 30 employees on staff, we want
to ensure we provide the best possible care to our puppies and future pet owners.
Washington has very few USDA breeders, I believe only 3-4, limiting sourcing to only local breeders will force us out of business, there just isn’t
enough breeders, and that’s assuming the few that exist meet the requirements. Also, if we are worried about the quality of breeder, we should
want to have as many breeders to choose from the best all over the country. The requirements Washington has for breeders is the same or
lower than most states, so this will not ensure any better quality breeders.
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While being transparent with our customers is one of our priorities, the requirement to publicly post this information will encourage animal rights
activists to come in our stores and harass customers and employees. They will take it upon themselves to self regulate us rather than leave it to
the authorities and customers. Our breeders have families, they will be harassed if this information is on display for animal rights groups to
gather and distribute amongst themselves, it has happened before.
Ask yourself, what is a “puppy mill”? Is it the care they receive, the number of dogs, the fact that they breed at all? Or is it simply that they sell to
a pet store? Animal rights groups make this term confusing so that people think the term “puppy mill” could be all of the above, it is such a
broad term that can encompass anyone who breeds dogs. We have purchased from veterinarians who health test, DNA test, have 4-5 dogs. By
the animal rescue group standards, these Veterinarian’s would be considered a puppy mill just because they sell to a pet store, even though
they excel in every area of concern and are excellent breeders. The idea that a great breeder is suddenly a puppy mill just by selling to a pet
store show that the real intention of these ordinances, to shut down pet stores.
Rescue’s claim that because we use a broker, that breeder information is not provided to the customer. This is the farthest from the truth, and
completely ignorant for someone to speak of a business that they do not understand. Our paperwork clearly lists the breeder information, and is
shown to every single customer before purchase. We are proud of our breeders, they work hard to take care of their dogs and we want to show
that to our customers! There is no need for us to be secretive or hide anything, we are completely transparent from start to finish. We have
pedigrees, health testing, breeder videos, parent pictures, vet records and more to show our customer before they decide to take a puppy
home. We travel to visit our breeders several times a year, we want to make sure we are only supporting good breeders. Our goal is to find the
right home for the customer, not just make a sale. We know exactly where each and every puppy comes from and if we don’t like a breeder, we
don’t use them.
We continue to hear this and other allegations, all from organizations who not only have zero experience in this industry, but have likely never
even stepped foot into our store. I would be happy to arrange a meeting for any council members interested to meet my wife Kayla and myself
for a personal tour of our store to show you what we do and who we are as people. We are extremely proud of what we do, and we are excited
to show you why.
Thank you all again for your time, and please do not support this ordinance as it will force us out of business.
Justin Kerr
Puppyland