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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJoy Hollingsworth 1.29.21 Attachment 1F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ FMS GlobalStrategies "We Bring People Together" FMS GlobalStrategies "We Bring People Together" Pictu r e d : P u pp yl a nd o w ner and b r eed ers W A H u m a n e P e t F a c t s v s . M y t h s Prevent back yard breeding and puppy mills Address irresponsible pet owners Stop puppies from being sold in parking lots Reduces Demand for Puppy Mill Puppies - MYTH! Taking away pet stores leaves consumers not knowing how to find a puppy. If this bill passes it will put YOUR state and constituents at risk. Black market, imports, unscrupulous resellers, and many others will swoop in on this opportunity. Craigslist, online scams, and meeting strange people in a parking lot to get puppy are very real scenarios that will be taking place in your city. Your residents will not be protected by these predators! There are not enough breeders in WA state to supply the demand for puppies, and often times there are long wait lists, racial biases, and minimal health guarantees. Aside from this, this bill does not do anything to Business Friendly - MYTH! The majority of pet stores in WA state don’t offer puppies- but they are large box stores that have established themselves and manage to secure discounted merchandise. They have such large buying power that our wholesale pricing offered is the same or higher than their online stores! How are we supposed to survive in a market where you can get something online, delivered within 2 days for free, for a better price?! Petsmart and Petco DO sell live animals- they sell fish, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, and other small animals. They also offer pet adoption days-something we, Puppyland, tried to do when we first opened! Doesn’t Support Consumer Choice OR Protection - FACT! Often times people don’t know where to start to find a puppy. They go on CL, FB, and google. Adoption processes can be intimidating, and many breeders don’ have puppies available for years. IF there is even a breeder in-state for the breed you’re looking for- most of the time you have to go out of state to find it. What happens if you put a deposit on a puppy, fly your whole family to the breeders to meet it, and you don’t like it…or your kid is allergic… or you find you actually didn’t think the breed was like this. You’re out your time and money! Pet stores create a safe space to meet different breeds to make sure you and your family are taking home the best option for your furry family member. Breed clubs do not prohibit breeders from sending their puppies to puppy stores. Our breeders consist of clubs such as AKC, ACA, and they are often board members for local and state breeders association. FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l Protecting Consumers? Puppyland offers health guarantees to customers to make sure they are safe in the long run! Our puppies are vet checked prior to customer’s taking them home, but what happens if there is something underlying? We make sure they’re taken care of with a 10 year health guarantee! They Say it Addresses Public Health? The Campylobacter outbreak was an isolated incident and did not make it’s way to WA pet stores. However, anywhere you go in life you’re at risk to catching something! Look at COVID-19, the flu, etc. Addresses a Legislative Loophole Why does completely banning out of state breeders make sense? Why not only import ones that are coming from the RIGHT places? F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l Q&A’s What problems do puppy selling pet stores pose? None. Puppyland is transparent. Each puppy goes home with their breeder information in their packet. There is no gain in lying about health, behavior, and breed- it only creates an upset customer that will never refer us to friends/family and unlike these organizations make you thing, we have hearts. Not only do we care deeply about our puppies but we want our customers to have a great experience with their new furry family member. How will I buy a puppy if this bill passes? Nationwide 4% of puppies are purchased at pet stores. This may not reflect WA where we have less breeders and options! In 2 years Puppyland has sold approximately 2920 puppies in Washington State. There is clearly a demand for what we do! In 2017-2018, before Puppyland, Pet Sales accounted for 48.9 million out of 335.5. million in WA state. Why don’t responsible breeders sell to pet stores? Of course they do. Breeders fear meeting strangers and bringing them into their home or kennel to meet their puppies. Parent dogs and litters can be stolen, viruses can be tracked in on shoes and hands, and breeders have been murdered before. Aside from that they want to focus on what they love- raising puppies! That does not make them a sociable person that wants to interact with the public and sift through applications. It’s time consuming and intimidating. Q&A’s (Continued) At Puppyland we get to know our customers through conversation instead of a paper application. We ask them about their lifestyle, if they have kids/pets already, and if they have a backyard. We educate them on breeds and get to know which one may work best with their families. This is considered “open adoptions” and is encouraged by the ASPCA. How will this bill impact pet stores? This bill will force pet stores to close. Unfortunately it’s not realistic to expect us to survive off of only selling pet supplies. Big box stores, like Petco and Petsmart, have such large discounts for the amount of supplies they order we cannot compete with their retail prices. We receive discount rates that only bring supplies down to the cost of what you can purchase them on Chewy.com for. How are we supposed to compete with lower prices on top of free shipping? Will animal shelters/rescues benefit from this bill? Yes! This bill is monopolizing the industry. Often times rescues and non-profits receive grants and donations to cover personnel salaries and then charge adopters a fee on top of this. But where does this money go? We find most directors are making 6- figure salaries. As stated above, Puppyland reached out to MANY rescues when opening to try to offer our store space to them on weekends for adoption events. None of them wanted to participate. What about restricting the source of pet store puppies? You’re already doing this if this bill is passed! You’re telling us we can only get our puppies from ONE specific party. Not all breeders are good, and not all rescues are good! Why not put in the work to give us another option? Research shows that pet products and services dominate the nearly $100 billion pet market Petsmart and Petco DO sell live animals- they sell fish, ferrets, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, reptiles, and other small animals. Are these not counted in the “pet stores that don’t sell animals”? Puppyland revenue per sq ft: $1700 For example: Seattle King County Humane Society claimed $10.5 million in revenue in 2017 $4.9 million of that went to salaries which equates to 46% Often times rescue dogs are imported form out of state. When they are adopted out some organizations don’t disclose medical problems, behavioral problems, and previous adoptions that didn’t work out. If a dog doesn’t work out with an adopter they often charge to take the dog back in and don’t offer a refund. F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l 6-foot distancing Frequent surface disinfecting (hourly and after each use) Face masks or shields to be worn in-store Occupancy limit to allow for social distancing requirements Plexiglass barriers in multiple places around the store Process to limit time indoors and be completed virtually or outdoors Other rules in-store to limit time, touch, and exposure Puppyland also has a large ventilation system in-store that constantly pulls air up and out. Fact Sheet: Consumer Protection Puppy stores provide a safe space for customers to purchase a healthy happy puppy. We provide health guarantees, health certificates, and breeder info to our customers. COVID 19 Just like all other businesses puppy stores are taking precautions to protect their employees, customers, and other people they work with. We found that nearly all shelters and rescues continued to adopt out animals during the first months of the pandemic. Puyallup and Olympia Petcos and Petsmarts continued to sell the other live animals they offer. In-store we have followed all requirements and recommendations Continues Sales Amidst a Pandemic Pet stores were deemed essential by the Governor at the beginning of the pandemic. Puppyland and Puppyworld have sold pet supplies in addition to puppies since the first day they opened. Not only that, but having a companion during these difficult times also help those in need. Puppies absolutely play a role in mental health and provide emotional support. Terrie is a single female in her 60’s that felt extremely isolated during the pandemic. She couldn’t see her family, friends, and she was working from home. Groceries were delivered to her and she had no contact with anyone. Starting to dip into a depression she decided she needed a companion. We were able to help her find one, provide an entire experience virtually, and deliver her puppy to her safely. Assuming we are open does NOT mean we are putting people at risk. If we were told by local authorities to close we would not have defied those orders and would have complied. The information that is given to you regarding this is inaccurate and paints us in a negative light. F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l Fact Sheet: Consumer Protection (Continued) Disease Outbreaks The Campylobacter outbreak was isolated and did not happen in WA state. You cannot lump one (or many) pet stores or breeders with all of them. Considering we did not experience this outbreak it’s highly likely that none of our system overlaps with these stores- hygiene, breeders, holding facilities, transport, etc. “Taking advantage” “Unfortunately, wealth in this country is unequally distributed by race-and particularly between white and black households.” “African Americans have less access to stable jobs, good wages, and retirement benefits at work- all key drivers by which American families gain access to savings.” (https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-inequality/) All families should have equal opportunities to take home a healthy, happy puppy. Just because you don’t have the money in savings to purchase a puppy doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to own one. Have you ever financing something? People can budget and plan accordingly when they don’t have to pay a large lump some in full. As stated in our other handout many minorities purchased puppies from pet stores rather than adopting from rescues and other organizations. Systemic racism, unequally distributed wealth, and lack of resources. When someone utilizes puppy payments they are told what their interest rate is, how much they are paying for the puppy itself, and how much they are paying in fees long term. For example, the family that is being referred to that was in the media: 12/12 Customer applied for puppy payments. Went over all payment information and told the customer to take home the contract to read and decide if it was the right decision. 12/22 Customer returned and wanted to purchase a puppy. They stated that they wanted to use their tax money they would received and opt for the “early buyout plan” where they would pay only a small sum more than what they purchased the puppy for. 1/2 Customer contacted to see about re-homing- we assisted with this. 1/10 A couple came in to Puppyland and was approved for puppy payments. They wanted to purchase the Husky we had in store, but we directed them to purchase the puppy through the re-homing program. Original customer recouped some of her money and still had every intention of paying off the remaining amount when they received their income taxes back. They were not obligated to pay the $7279.40 F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l Background Pet stores are often demonized and lumped into being bad actors by non profit agencies and rescues. They seek to monopolize the industry so they can import puppies themselves and turn a profit. Without pet stores they have little to no competition, so they use emotional propaganda and spin webs of incorrect information to sway politicians towards their opinion. Pet stores need to be heard and start showing that we provide a necessity to the public! Puppyland goes above and beyond what is required, as do our breeders! Firstly they are professional, licensed, and have clean inspection reports for a minimum of 2 years. We look for things like exercise programs, socialization programs, veterinary programs, and retirement programs when we chose which breeders to work with. We attend continuing education seminars with our breeders and have assisted hands-on with a mobile veterinarian doing OFA health testing on the parent dogs. (All of our breeders must be willing to participate in health testing.) We very much want to show people the tour breeders love their dogs and only want to breed healthy puppies. Before we get our puppies in our store they are all taken from breeders to one central location for a few days. At this holding facility, you can call it a broker if you want, they are microchipped, checked by a licensed veterinarian, and their paperwork is entered into the computer, so we have a digital copy of their files. After this the puppies are on their way to us! Transport consists of specialized vans that have trained kennel technicians as drivers, special ventilation systems, and secured kennels. They drive 24/7 so the puppies don’t have to be in transit very long. When our puppies arrive they are checked by a local licensed veterinarian again and we hold them for a few days to monitor them before we send them home. Our puppies get daily checks from head to tail by our amazing kennel staff every day, and we have both a 15 day health guarantee and a 10 year health guarantee for our customers. We care about our customers, employees, and our puppies very much! It’s not about the bottom dollar, it’s about providing a safe place for someone to come purchase a healthy, happy puppy! F MS Global Strategies "We Bring People Together" FMS Global Strategies, LLC PO Box 2941 Renton, WA 98059 O: (206) 823-9344 E: info@fmsglobalstrategies.com W: https://www.fmsglobalstrategies.com/ H u m a n e P e t S a l e s B i l l LAWSUITS Whatcom Humane Society Lawsuit Whatcom Humane Society Defamation Lawsuit Outcome of Defamation Lawsuit Seattle Humane- Violating Laws King County Lawsuit Racketeering Lawsuit Irresponsible Charity Click Title For Link