Testimony of:   Deborah A. Howard, Founder/President, Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS)
Submitted to:    Las Vegas City Council
Regarding:        Bill No. 2025-35 (Pet Shop Ordinance)
Date:                November 5, 2025

Mayor Berkley and Honorable members of the Las Vegas City Council, on behalf of CAPS and its supporters in Las Vegas, I thank you for considering my testimony on behalf of 2025-35. We strongly urge you to give pet shops one more year to sell puppies, kittens and other animals instead of three.

Mission

Founded in 1992, the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals from cruelty in pet shops and puppy/kitten mills. CAPS addresses animal suffering through investigations, outreach, legislation, legal advocacy, consumer assistance, rescue, and shelter reform

Background

When consumers buy puppies and kittens from pet shops, they condemn the parents to further inhumane treatment in mills – large commercial breeding facilities, most of which are USDA-licensed, that mass-produce puppies and kittens for resale in pet shops and online. By its very nature, the pet shop and puppy/kitten mill industry creates an endless cycle of animal overpopulation, mistreatment, and consumer deceit, causing needless shelter euthanasia and costing defrauded consumers millions of dollars each year.

CAPS’ Expertise

With decades of experience focusing exclusively on all aspects of the pet shop and puppy/kitten mill industry, CAPS is uniquely qualified to provide expert testimony and investigative evidence. We have strong relationships with key players in all levels of government, other nonprofits, and the media. CAPS is the only national organization that investigates inside USDA-licensed dog and cat breeding facilities (more than 1,000 to date).  Our investigators have worked undercover at the largest USDA dog broker in the country and at the most notorious dog broker/breeder, who had a facility with 900 adult dogs and 400 puppies and was convicted and lost her USDA license based on our evidence.

Ordinance Work

CAPS has generated and worked on municipal ordinances banning the retail sale of pet shop puppies, kittens and IB in cities and states across the country.  Times and Newsweek have covered CAPS’ work as the national leader in the pet shop ordinance movement. Since our West Hollywood ordinance passed in 2010 – the genesis for the ordinance movement in the United States and Canada –  municipalities and states in the United States and Canada have passed more than 500 ordinances and state laws.

Pet Shop Investigations 

CAPS is well-versed in pet shops that sell puppies and kittens. Two of our investigators worked undercover at Petland franchises. “Dateline” featured some of our Petland evidence in the hour-long segment, “A Dog’s Life,” which took 13 months of close work between the producer and CAPS. The exposé, which examined every aspect of the pet shop/puppy mill industry, won a Genesis award. CAPS has conducted undercover investigations of every pet shop selling puppies/kittens in New York, California. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington and Oregon, and around half of the pet shops in Florida. We have also investigated pet shops in numerous other states. After investigating the pet shops, we investigate the puppy and kitten mills selling to them.

CAPS Investigation of Las Vegas Pet Shops

CAPS investigated nine of the city’s 13 pet shops. There are 13, not 12 pet shops. Puppy Town relocated from Clark County in June 2025, where it appeared to still be selling puppies for about 18 months after the enactment of that county’s retail ban ordinance

There are video exposés about David Salinas and his stores, Puppy Heaven, and Petland. CAPS has a long history of investigating and being involved with litigation against Salinas and his stores and Puppy Heaven. Our investigator could not investigate The Puppy Store Las Vegas because they required identification. However, he went to The Puppy Store Henderson, which uses the same brokers and breeders and makes the same misleading, even fraudulent, statements.

A CAPS Investigation of David Salinas

A CAPS Investigation of Puppy Heaven Las Vegas

A CAPS Investigation of. Petland Las Vegas

Nevada pet shop investigation reports

Enter “Nevada” in the pet shop search box to find the  pet investigation reports

Three Years is Too Long for Pet Shops to Continue to Sell Puppies; Language Need Amending to Prevent Loopholes 

Banning the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in Las Vegas – and making shelter and rescue animals available through retail establishments and mobile adoption – will save lives. Many more people will have opportunities to meet and adopt these animals when they are available outside of shelters and rescue facilities..

I urge the council, however. to only allow pet shops that are selling puppies, kittens and other animals to have just one more year of animal sales, not three. I also urge you to amend the language to cover the loopholes currently being used by pet shops in New York, where we investigated all of the state’s 100 pet shops and were behind the state retail ban law. Stores are selling “special order” puppies through their websites, via email addresses and social media messaging and by appointment only. Some have puppies in the store only at certain times. CAPS has extensive experience in drafting ordinances and state laws. We worked closely with the city attorney of National City to draft their ordinance when the California retail ban was being circumvented by people like David Salinas. We would be willing to provide assistance in drafting this ordinance to close loopholes.

Thank you for your consideration.