Ban On Puppy Mills Expected To Pass Easily In Montgomery County

By: Matt BushUnder the law, commercial pet stores will only be able to sell shelter dogs.

Montgomery County is poised to ban the sale of dogs and cats raised in "puppy mills" at commercial pet stores.

The final vote by the county council won't come until the beginning of next month, but Council President George Leventhal expects his bill, which would mandate commercial pet stores only sell cats and dogs that have been rescued or came from shelters, to pass easily with his colleagues.

He points to the response the bill got at a recent public hearing: "Overwhelmingly favorable."

There were a few who spoke against the measure, such as Sue Ann Slonin, who owned Potomac Kennels in Gaithersburg, which recently closed after 25 years in business.

"Potomac Kennels would not have been able to exist if this bill was in effect," Slonin said. "Potomac Kennels purchased most of its puppies from USDA licensed and inspected breeders. We also purchased puppies from small private breeders such as myself. We provided health guarantees which our breeders provided for us for all the puppies that we sold."

Most who testified supported the bill. Geneva Brooks tearfully recalled the cocker spaniel she bought at a store in Rockville named "Monster," a name she said proved prophetic.

"I had tried for two years multiple trainers, vet behaviorists, medicines, you name it," Brooks said. "I had tried to teach Monster to be a calm, well-adjusted family pet. After he put me in the emergency room, I knew what I poured all my time, money, heart, and soul into was futile endeavor. Monster was irreversibly damaged. One second he could be the sweetest dog in the world. The very next he would be sinking his teeth into my thigh." 

The store Brooks bought her dog from is the lone such establishment currently in Montgomery County, but since it's in Rockville, it actually falls under that city's municipal government. So George Leventhal's bill won't actually impact any stores.

"I think that tells you something. Because I think the market is changing. The market is headed towards the largest participants in the market — Petco and PetSmart. And they don't sell dogs and cats from puppy mills," Leventhal says.

Leventhal adds he has talked to Rockville city officials who have told him they plan to pass their own measure similar to his.