Glendale is considering a ban on the retail sale of dogs and cats.

Prohibiting the retail sale of household pets has in recent years gained steam as animal rights activists draw attention to so-called puppy mills and kitty factories — farms where dogs and cats are mass-bred with little consideration of health or comfort. An ordinance could come for a vote in coming months.

It is unclear whether the Glendale ordinance would affect any existing businesses because many pet shops say they transitioned long ago from selling dogs and cats to adopting them out in conjunction with shelters, according to the Glendale News Press.

“Nowadays you either switch over or you get such a bad rep,” Pedro Meraz, an employee at Anderson’s Pet Shop in Montrose, which stopped selling dogs and cats more than a decade ago, “There are so many animals that need to be adopted.”

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--Megan O'Neil, Times Community News

Photo credit: Associated Press