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- The "extra" thing we did on my birthday
Do you ever see something like this on streets near where you live?
Here in Mesa, AZ there was a woman who sells puppies out of an X-pen in the grassy area near the Starbucks on the corner of Val Vista and Southern Aves on many weekends. At first I thought we must not have a city law regarding the sale of live animals on the streets, or she would not be so bold as to set up shop right there in front of Starbucks patrons and all.
The times that I have driven by and seen her there, which are many, I noticed the crowd around her X-pen is ever-growing. All I can think of as I drive by is how many of those pups are really going to have healthy, long-lived lives, and how many will actually end up neglected, shunted to the backyard, or worse....surrendered to the pound. After all selling live animals on the street is akin to Point-of-Purchase sales displays at the checkout counter of your local grocer; they WANT you to impulsively buy that invitingly sweet, comfort-providing, late-night friend, the......chocolate bar.
Oh, you thought I was talking about a puppy?
I was.
Anyway, you see where this leads; guilt and remorse over the impulse buy, and the need to do something to get rid of it. To tell you the truth, I think most people find it easier to get rid of an unwanted puppy, than to get rid of the weight gained from eating an impulsively bought chocolate bar. Which path is actually taken is the real question.
Can we control what impulses people have over buying either chocolate or puppies? I don't think so, but we can control Point-of-Purchase sales both in stores, and on our streets.
Last Sunday we again drove by this woman with the puppies for sale. Since it was my birthday, and I was feeling especially cheerful, and we were on our way to getting Birthday-Massages, I felt my heart drop with much more force upon spotting that woman on the grass yet again. I turned to Mae, since I was driving, and "impulsively" asked her to call the city police and ask them if they have a law regarding the sale of live animals on the street. Lo and Behold they do! They asked for all the pertinent information...as they should; height, weight, age, hair color, what is she wearing, location, race, do we want to remain anonymous....hell yes we want to remain anonymous!
Well, that didn't last long....here I am telling you all about it. I couldn't keep quiet about it. I wanted to make the point that just because you see someone on the streets selling live animals, doesn't mean they are allowed to be there.
Yes, she'll probably find another location, and set up shop all over again. So what if she does? What if every time she is spotted on the streets someone calls the city police and asks if there's a law? What if there IS a law each and every time the call is made? She'll be made to move, each and every time. She'll be forced more and more underground, having to now pay for advertising, spend more money than perhaps she is taking in. She can't be charging that much for the pups. Point-of-Sale items are always cheap. Will we have killed the beast at that point? Maybe.....
Maybe she'll get discouraged, and find some other way to make extra money.
Posted by Mesa Pet Sitting Expert at Tuesday, September 21, 2010 9:27 AM 
Categories: Rescue, Stories, Pet Health, Rants
Tags: pets for sale dogs selling live animals on the street rescue city laws
Categories: Rescue, Stories, Pet Health, Rants
Tags: pets for sale dogs selling live animals on the street rescue city laws
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