San Antonio pet stores will sell only rescue dogs and cats starting Jan. 1

Animal lovers won’t be able to buy that fluffy bichon frise or affectionate wrinkly sphynx at San Antonio pet stores anymore, after the City Council voted Thursday to allow the sale of only rescued dogs and cats at stores starting in January.

“This ordinance will help drive the pet market toward more humane sources and encourage pet stores to be part of the pet overpopulation solution,” said Katie Jarl Coyle, Southwest regional director for the Humane Society of the United States.

Of the 51 pet stores within city limits, only three sell purebred dogs and cats — Petland Vineyard, Puppyland San Antonio and Royal Pet Palace. The new law also will apply to any future pet stores.

Petland in Leon Valley isn’t affected because it’s outside San Antonio city limits.

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Originally, the new rules were to take effect in July, but District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran moved to make the effective date Jan. 1.

“I think this is the correct step moving forward,” Viagran said, citing the numerous stray dogs roaming around the city.

She said more than 17,000 dog and cat carcasses were picked up by city workers from October 2019 to September 2020.

“That is going to continue,” the councilwoman said. “It’s a growth spurt in our community that needs to be handled.”

Her motion was approved, with dissents coming from council members Jada Andrews-Sullivan of District 2, John Courage of District 9, Shirley Gonzales of District 5 and Clayton Perry of District 10.

The ordinance itself was approved with just one “no” vote, from Gonzales. District 4 Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia was not present for either vote.

“I just don’t see how the ordinance really gets to the source of the problems that we have here in San Antonio,” Gonzales said. “We know we have overpopulation, there’s no doubt. We know that we have problems with loose dogs. … We have a severe problem with pet ownership responsibility.”

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Animal Care Services conducted a survey in July 2019 and February of this year, getting input from the public. The council received 243 written comments in support of the ordinance and 54 against.

Residents from animal rescue organizations and representatives of local pet stores spoke at Thursday’s council meeting. All agreed they want to stop puppy mills but disagreed on how to achieve that.

Petland Vineyard owner David Moreno said the ordinance would not have the intended effect of putting an end to bad breeders and would instead drive irresponsible breeders underground.

But rescue organizations noted roaming dogs and cats taken to city shelters are sometimes euthanized because of lack of space and that requiring pet stores to sell rescued dogs and cats would give another outlet for those animals to find homes.

“We do not have a shortage of dogs and puppies,” said Julianne Marchbanks, founder of God’s Dogs Rescue.

Residents can still purchase purebred dogs and cats from private licensed breeders.

Under the changes approved Thursday, all dogs and cats sold by pet stores in San Antonio must be sterilized, microchipped and immunized.

The council also increased the penalty for selling dogs or cats at flea markets, on the side of roads or online from $100 to $500 for first-time offenses. Animal lovers also will be prohibited from leaving out food for free feeding of feral cat colonies that could contribute to attracting nuisance wildlife. Food must be in nondisposable bowls, and it can’t be food for several days.

More than 380 cities across the U.S. already have restrictions on the retail sale of dogs and cats. In Texas, Austin, Waco, Fort Worth, El Paso and The Colony — a suburb of Dallas — ban all retail sales of dogs and cats at pet stores.

“While other Texas cities have passed ordinances outlawing all pet sales, the proposed amendments do not prevent pet stores from selling and making a profit from dogs sourced from shelters and rescues,” the Humane Society’s Coyle noted.

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Polly’s Pets in Universal City stopped selling dogs and cats from breeders in 2013. Instead, it acquires rescues from Animal Care Services and has sold nearly 1,000 rescue puppies, according to owner Randy Housely.

Animal Care Services Director Heber Lefgren said that “even good pet stores who are wanting to do the right things oftentimes find themselves along the way realizing that they have been dealing with some of the bad actors.”

Many breeders are licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but Lefgren said these standards are minimal. USDA breeders, he said, are allowed to “confine a dog into a cage for its life that is 6 inches more than the size of the pet.”

District 8 Councilman Manny Paláez said that “this policy can better foster the adoption of animals in our community, diminish the amount of stray animals in our neighborhoods and potentially increase our already high live release rate.”

“It is critical to note that commercial operations that sell cats and dogs can continue the practice,” he said. “Only now they will do so by sourcing from shelters and rescue organizations instead of fueling an industry that too often overlooks animal welfare in the pursuit of profit.”

Opponents of the ordinance argued that these pet stores offer residents the ability to choose a pet that is the best fit for their specific needs. Others said rescue organizations are too stringent, even biased, in making adoption decisions.

Albert Sardinas of Seattle, who was at the council meeting Thursday representing Puppyland, said he sought a husky as an emotional support animal for his daughter. He said shelter staff in Seattle wouldn’t approve the adoption because they deemed her circumstances “not good enough.”

“Prohibiting pet stores from only selling animals sourced from rescues is not going to fix San Antonio’s stray animal problem,” he said.

Paula Sardinas, Albert Sardinas’ wife, said that “there is a documented case of structural and systemic racism in the pet rescue industry.” She’s president of FMS Global Strategies, a government relations consultant that represents Puppyland.

Peláez took exception to the Sardinas’ claims. “Our Animal Care Services department is operated by men and women of color, of all colors and all creeds,” Peláez said. “To suggest our animal adoption operations prefer one race over another really slanders the compassionate and hardworking men and women who work around the clock to help find these animals their forever homes.”

Councilwoman Andrews-Sullivan asked for a report breakdown of the adoption application approvals and denials based on geographical and demographical area.

As a resident of District 2, Andrews-Sullivan said, it was very difficult to adopt an animal “until my kids were just given one.”

“We know families that are marginalized have not really been able to step up to adopt because they may not have a house and they may not have a yard or they may not have the means to keep insurance or they may not have the means to take that animal to a vet, but I still think that they should be able to have a forever friend,” Andrews-Sullivan said.

Liz Hardaway is a staff writer covering San Antonio government and politics. To read more from Liz, become a subscriber. [email protected] | Twitter: @liz_hardaway