Massachusetts Legislature Must Protect Pets, Consumers, Pet Stores from Cambridge City Council

Across Massachusetts, thousands of pets have been placed in loving homes thanks to the hard work of the responsible pet industry. These partnerships between prospective pet owners and local retailers are now at risk in Cambridge, thanks to a ban on the sales of companion animals that the City Council appears close to enacting.

I am the owner of dogs and fish, and Vice President of Government Affairs for an organization dedicated to placing healthy pets into forever homes. On both a personal and professional level, the Cambridge ordinance and the dishonest way it was represented to the public impinge on closely held ethics surrounding the treatment of pets. Pet stores are heavily regulated by federal and state laws, as well as industry best practices. Yet Cambridge's City Council allowed what should have been a debate on the merits of pet sales to become a circus, with hard-working partners in retail pet care cast as villains.