Caitlin McGlade

The Republic | azcentral.com

The owners of Puppies 'N Love sued Phoenix in January to block an ordinance that prohibits pet stores from selling animals from commercial breeders.

U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell has forbidden the city from enforcing restrictions on Puppies 'N Love until the lawsuit ends.

Phoenix's attempt to quash the market for ­puppy-mill dogs has landed the city at the center of a national battle between the pet industry and animal-rights activists.

The city in December passed an ordinance that prohibits pet stores from selling dogs and cats from commercial breeders. The new law is aimed at mass-breeding facilities, often called puppy mills, that put profit over animal well-being.

Puppies 'N Love owners Frank and Vicki Mineo filed a federal lawsuit against the city in U.S. District Court in Arizona, saying Phoenix overstepped its authority and arguing that the new law would put them out of business. The owners say they don't purchase from puppy mills but rely on regulated breeders.

A federal judge granted an injunction to prohibit the city from enforcing the law on the Mineos' Paradise Valley Mall store until the case is resolved.

Puppies 'N Love operates three other stores in the Valley, as well as one in Tucson, that would not be affected by the ordinance.

Other businesses in Phoenix that sell dogs would still be subject to the ordinance, but representatives from both sides of the dispute couldn't point to a similar pet shop.

PetSmart and Petco patrons, for example, may occasionally see dogs and cats at the stores available for adoption, but both companies work only with rescue facilities and shelters.

Still, the lawsuit's outcome might affect more than just one business or the city's new law. It could set a precedent relevant to more than 50 cities that have implemented similar policies and others that want to do so.

Animal-welfare groups, breeders, pet-products companies and others are watching the case.

A spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States referred to Phoenix as ground zero.

"It's something of a test case, since these ordinances have started gaining traction across the country," said Dale Bartlett, a public-policy manager for the group's campaign against puppy mills. "It's absolutely something that the country is watching. It is to the City Council's credit that they're standing up and fighting this. It's an important battle that has to be waged."

Government officials are watching the case, too.

Tucson approved a similar ordinance, but it is on hold pending the Phoenix lawsuit. If the judge strikes down the Phoenix ordinance, Tucson will have to rework its version, said Tucson Vice Mayor Steve Kozachik. Miami-Dade County, Fla., officials are also closely monitoring the lawsuit as they work on their own proposal.

The pet marketplace has already shifted toward obtaining animals through rescue and non-profit groups, but laws like the one in Phoenix take that trend a step further by essentially granting those groups sole access to the market, said Patti Strand, president of the National Animal Interest Alliance.

"We're talking about a major change in the overall pet marketplace," Strand said. "(The lawsuit) is critically important — it will establish whether it's constitutional to do this."

Adding to the high stakes, the Humane Society of the United States joined Phoenix in the suit to defend the law.

Pet-industry groups, including the American Pet Products Association, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council and the Pet Industry Distributors Association, have pitched in $125,000 to aid the Mineos.

Mike Bober, a vice president of government affairs with the advisory council, said the laws are well-intentioned but punish the wrong people.

"A lot of local jurisdictions have attempted to address the issue of bad, out-of-state breeders by penalizing local pet stores in the belief that by somehow putting these pet stores out of business, they're going to hurt the breeders whose practices they disagree with," he said. "But it's not in the best interest of the pet store to work with someone who is cutting corners."

The Mineos are among the first pet-shop owners in the U.S. to challenge the restrictions on pet dealers.

Two others have since launched lawsuits challenging similar measures, one in Florida and the other in Rhode Island, but the cases are not as far along as the Phoenix case.

The Phoenix City Council passed the ordinance to combat cruel treatment of animals in some mass-breeding facilities and to reduce pet overpopulation. The law forbids pet shops from purchasing dogs or cats from sources other than non-profit rescue facilities or shelters.

Local animal-welfare groups say dogs from out-of-state puppy mills land here often. An official with the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA said the organization has taken in nearly 100 castoffs from breeders the league considers puppy mills over the past year.

Many were mothers, bred until they couldn't breed anymore, and had psychological and physical problems, said Judith Gardner, director and CEO of the league. The most common problems included severe fearfulness and poor teeth, or missing teeth, from chewing at their wire cages, Gardner said.

While city ordinances like Phoenix's do not curb Internet sales, Bartlett said such laws are part a major movement to improve breeding conditions.

The Mineos say in the lawsuit that relying on shelters and non-profits for pure­bred dogs would drive Puppies 'N Love out of business because such venues seldom have purebred animals — the business' lifeblood.

And some opponents note that the law exempts small "backyard" breeders who may not have to adhere to the same state laws that pet shops do, such as being required to honor warranties for sick animals.

Jordan Moores, owner of Custom Creatures, a pet store in north-central Phoenix, said pet shops protect consumers because they are regulated. He plans to join the Mineos in their suit, saying non-profits are essentially gaining a monopoly.

The Mineos also say the ordinance violates a federal doctrine protecting interstate commerce because it locks commercial breeders, which are largely based in the Midwest, out of Phoenix.

However, the city says in court filings that its ordinance does not violate that clause because animal welfare and public health are generally exempt, and out-of-state businesses would see no greater impact than similar in-state businesses.

While the Mineos' complaint contends that state law recognizing pet-shop rights to sell commercially bred dogs trumps the city law, Phoenix notes that it has the right to pass stronger laws. The city also says the state law doesn't stipulate that city governments cannot restrict commercial pet sales.

Opponents of the ordinance say they favor laws that strengthen animal-care regulations over restrictions on stores' purchasing from breeders.

The Mineos said in court filings they have never used puppy mills and that they buy puppies only from small breeders and those with clean U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections.

But the Humane Society rejects the merits of USDA rules in its court filings, saying they do not ensure dogs' welfare.

Bartlett said the U.S. regulations do not limit the number of times a dog may be bred and do not require each dog to have annual veterinary checkups, although breeders must have a plan for a regular, visiting veterinarian.

Also, under the federal regulations, cages have to be only 6 inches wider than the dog's profile, he said.

Strand agrees that the USDA could do more. But, she said, "if you want to move the industry forward, devise laws for people to raise their standards."