CA - California AB 485: Have they lost their minds?

This legislative session, with AB 485, California has jumped on the bandwagon of forcing pet stores to only sell dogs from rescues and shelters. As someone who has rescued, rehabilitated and re-homed dogs for 25 years, I question if the designers of this disastrous plan gave any thought to the consequences or liability issues this bill would cause.

Let’s start with the practical concerns:

1. Do pet shops have employees savvy enough to manage adult dogs with behavioral or health issues?

2. What happens to a dog that languishes in the shop for weeks or months?

3. Whose insurance will pay out if an adult dog reacts inappropriately because of stress?

4. What sort of monetary plan is there? Do the shops “buy” from the shelter or rescue and then add sufficient amounts to cover their anticipated expenses of food, grooming, extra employees to manage the necessary training and exercise needed to make the adult dogs “saleable”?

5. What happens to the dog if the buyer returns it? Is the shop stuck with a dog that ate the couch or will the dog go back to the shelter or rescue?

CA – California AB 485: Have they lost their minds?

The Death of Dog Training

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