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Dogs from a Midwestern puppy mill arrive at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison on Aug. 24, 2009, to be rehabilitated and adopted. A New Jersey bill would require pet stores post breeder information on the cages of cats and dogs

(File Photo)

TRENTON — New Jersey pet stores would have to post information about where their kittens and puppies came from under a bill that has begun advancing in the state Legislature.

The purpose of the bill, which the state Senate Economic Growth Committee approved today, is to make consumers aware of whether their pets were born in “puppy mills” that house the animals in inhumane conditions.

“New Jersey pet store consumers should not be duped into unwittingly supporting the cruel puppy mill industry, or into buying puppies exposed to this unique set of physical and behavioral problems created by this substandard upbringing,” said Kathleen Schatzman, New Jersey director for the Humane Society of the United States.

Under the bill (S1870), when selling a cat or dog, pet stores most post on its cage or enclosure the breeder's name, address, phone number and United States Department of Agriculture license number. The information would be required in internet and print advertisements as well.

The label would also include instructions of how to view the breeder’s Department of Agriculture inspection report on the federal department’s website.

The bill was also amended to ban stores from selling from out-of-state breeders whose standards are not up to New Jersey's code. The same would go for breeders that have been cited for one severe, or direct, violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act, or three less severe, or indirect, violations.

Pet shops that fail to include the information would be fined $500 for each violation.

Nancy Sasso, a Holmdel resident, said she bought her son a playful, energetic Chihuahua from a pet store and named it Lola. But after a while, Lola began having seizures. She went blind. It turned out she had encephalitis – a brain infection that a veterinary neurologist told her was probably passed to her at birth from her mother, who would have acquired it from rodent feces at the breeding facility.

Although Sasso said she spent thousands on medical treatment, Lola died before reaching two years of age.

“It broke my heart to watch my son carry her little coffin to the backyard and bury her, his first dog,” Sasso said. “Please give other families the opportunity to research the breeder of any puppy they want to buy. We will never ever buy from a pet store again, but we know that others will. They need to be able to find out the truth on their own and not be forced to rely on what the pet store tells them about where their puppies come from.”

The committee voted unanimously to approve the bill, which to become law would have to pass the full state Senate and Assembly and be approved by Gov. Chris Christie.

A similar bill was recently signed into law in Connecticut.

The pet industry is not fighting the bill. Mike Bober, vice president of government affairs for The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, said that while his organization doesn't have an official stance on the bill, it is a "a positive step toward transparency."

"As long as the language of the bill is talking about the business information of these individuals — not publishing home phone numbers and things like that &mash; we would certainly love to see people have the understanding of the positive environments in which pet store animals are often brought up.”

Bober, who was referring to the pre-amended version of the bill, also stressed that the New Jersey Pet Purchase Protection Act gives families who adopt animals born with health problems a way to be reimbursed for vet bills.

“It’s the most generous veterinary reimbursement in the entire country," Bober said.

State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) said that he had the same problem with his dog, Rudy, who died before reaching the age of three

“I didn’t know how to do the research. I didn’t do the research,” Oroho said. “I’m sorry for Lola’s pain and certainly your family’s pain.”

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