Letters to the Editor
I am saddened by the uninformed coverage of the protest directed at True Breeders Pet Shop in Ridgefield. Despite the hour long interview Leslie Kohl and I gave Mr. Reid and the ream of information about the pet shop/puppy mill connection, The Ridgefield Press simply took the word of the store’s owners about where the puppies came from without any investigation about the truth of their statement.
Since the article did not mention any of the impeccable sources we provided Mr. Reid with, perhaps you will print a snippet here.
1. The Humane Society of America has asked all pet shop owners in Fairfield County to sign a pledge that they will not sell puppies to “prove it is not necessary to support the cruel puppy mill trade to run a pet shop.”
2. On their Web site, the ASPCA boldly states, “Do not buy a puppy from a pet store, in fact, do not buy a puppy from any place that does not let you meet the mother dog.”
3. From Friends of Animals: “Virtually all of the puppies sold in pet shops come from puppy mills.”
4. From North Shore Animal League: “One hundred percent of puppies sold in pet shops come from puppy mills.”
In closing, True Breeders say their dogs are from Connecticut, but they do not say our state has puppy mills in it as do Pennsylvania and Missouri and many more. From CNN’s report in 1997 of a truck on I-84 crammed with 100 dead and dying puppies, to last month’s news that a puppy mill in Milford was closed down, it happens here, too. It would be nice if we dog lovers could change the circumstances for puppies everywhere, but at least the compassionate citizens of Ridgefield can say, “Not in my town”!
Jane Stern, Ridgefield, Jan. 22
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