The Puppy Mills Battle Continues

Our friends are all in a bit of a funk at Burbank's slow progress into the 21st Century on the issue of Puppy Mills.  For the un-initiated, Puppy Mills are places that breed dogs, often under deplorable conditions, and then sell them on the market.  Such mills create excess supply, and also stand in dire contrast to the free animals at shelters, who are put down because of a doggie glut.

An excellent letter appeared in the Burbank Leader this weekend by Kim Batchko.  She noted how the Burbank council is "behind the curve" nationally when it comes to attitudes on this issue.  She continued,  "Every puppy purchased from a pet store contributes to the Burbank and Los Angeles crisis of pet overpopulation and equals another animal the cities must euthanize. Nearly 100,000 pets were euthanized in 2011 in greater Los Angeles animal shelters. Dogs purchased in pet stores are not spayed or neutered, so the possibility of these animals contributing to the overpopulation epidemic and further crowding the Burbank Animal Shelter is extremely high."

Why the bizarre, continued obstinacy on behalf of the Council?  Well, for starters it is being led by Councilman David Gordon, who is one of those people who seems to be contrarian just for the sake of being so.  We urge folks to call him and ask him to stop fighting the Puppy Mill ban, or to let him know how you feel about these cruel breeding operations when you vote.