Detroit Free Press July 12, 2006 (3 articles)
Detroit Free Press, July 12, 2006
CAPS provided a considerable amount of information to investigative reporter Steve Neavling with the award-winning Detroit Free Press for the July 12, 2006 series of articles on pet shops and puppy mills. “Dog Buyers Beware,” an article about pet shops, had the following: “This is an industry that is counting on consumer ignorance and impulse,” said Deborah Howard, founder of the nonprofit Companion Animal Protection Society, which monitors breeders and has campaigned to warn consumers of the risks of buying dogs from stores that buy from large breeders. “It’s all about the cute puppy in the window.”
“Agency Faulted for not Cracking Down on Violators,” an article about USDA, had a compelling quote from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio): “I think there is a desire by the USDA to let the industry regulate itself,” said Kucinich, who has two dogs. “Where is the compassion? These are poor, defenseless creatures who rely on human kindness and trust for their own survival, and it is the worst type of cruelty to subject animals to these kinds of conditions. The cruelty is compounded when you understand it’s all for profit.” Kucinich stated that he was going to call for oversight hearings in July but failed to do so. If you live in Congressman Kucinich’s district, please remind him of his promise to ask the House Committee on Government Reform, of which he is a member, to hold hearings on the USDAs failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act as it pertains to commercial dog breeding and brokering facilities. CAPS lobbyist Ed Green aptly summed up the inherent problem with USDA, which he called a cumbersome, incompetent bureaucracy that fails to use its limited resources wisely: “The USDA has a broken culture,” Green said. “They just do things the same old way because that is how they’ve always done it.”
“In Buying Dogs Online Has Risks,” Deborah Howard stated that CAPS receives complaints almost daily from people who bought sick puppies over the Internet. The CAPS website has a downloadable fact sheet on Internet puppies.
