How much (of a problem) is that doggie in the window?

Re: “Legislation seeking to ban dog, cat sales in pet stores,” Feb. 1 news story

It is true that there are some pet stores that may sell “puppy mill” dogs, but the proposed legislation by Rep. Monica Duran paints with too broad a brush! When we purchased our female cockapoo from Just Pets in Lone Tree, we were assured that they do not get their dogs from puppy mills and that their breeders are careful in producing puppies. Our dog is now a happy, healthy 9-year-old, and we owe that to the care she received as a pup before we bought her.

To put good people out of business because of some bad ones is wrongheaded in the extreme. There ought to be better ways of enforcing proper care of dogs (and cats) for sale. When the time comes, we would not hesitate to purchase a pup from Just Pets.

James Barnard, Highlands Ranch

Your article fails to mention the thousands of adoptable pets this legislation could benefit, as well as the benefit to all Coloradans by reducing the unwanted pet population. A quick, cursory search reveals over 200 adoptable puppies within 25 miles of Lone Tree, for example. Most listed are mixed breed but some are pure breed; nearly a thousand total dogs are available just in that small area of Colorado.

Our municipal shelters, funded by our taxes, are charged with addressing the pet overpopulation issue. This legislation benefits not just dogs and cats, but all Coloradans.

As for small pet stores, we buy our supplies from a small boutique pet store that doesn’t sell animals, but rather, sells their love of our animals.

Amy Christianson, Lakewood

The pit bull debate

Re: “Pit bulls go from death row to probation,” Jan. 24 commentary

Krista Kafer is a fan of the pit bull breed. She doesn’t tell us why. I’ll take the advice of a trained and experienced dog trainer I used for the training of my large breed dog a few years ago. According to this well-qualified and respected trainer, who has provided obedience training to a full range of breeds over many years, she began without any negative prejudice against any breed but her experience led her to shun training certain breeds, including pit bulls, due to their higher than normal unpredictably aggressive behavior. Sorry, Krista, I’ll take the advice of an individual with years of experience over that of an opinion columnist with undefined warm, fuzzy feelings for a breed she doesn’t even own.

Don Tarrence, Denver

Kudos to Krista Kafer for her column on pit bulls. Her comments are always measured and well-reasoned, and this one was no exception. There are no bad breeds; however, there are some bad dogs that are likely due to bad owners. Now I’m going to love on my old yellow lab before I take him out.

Curt Todd, Denver