Tumwater City Council prohibits sales of dogs and cats in pet shops

The Tumwater City Council held a short meeting last night via Zoom. 

Ordinance No. 02021-002 Approved -  The "puppy mill" prohibition

City Administrator, John Doan, explained a little bit about the ordinance. “This ordinance is intended to reduce the availability of dogs and cats in what are often called puppy mills. One way to do that is to prohibit the sale of dogs and cats in pet shops.”

Joint Animal Services has partnered with Olympia and Lacey to adopt this ordinance and hopes to do the same with Tumwater. Sarah Hock, Executive Director of Joint Animal Services, explained a few of the details behind the ordinance.

“It will help stop the flow of puppies and kittens from puppy mills, which is minimally regulated by the FDA. Pet stores that normally sell puppies do not use local breeders 99% of the time, instead, they source animals from puppy mills. Another issue that comes with this is the predatory lending practices that these stores use. Many people can't afford purebred puppies and are forced to take out a loan and pay it even if they rehome that animal. Although this does not happen often with the pet stores in our area, this ordinance encourages a humane retail model,” said Hock.

 Councilmember Reports

In recognition of February being Black History Month, Councilmember Joan Cathey, reflected on some of her work as a retired teacher. “For many years I taught high school U.S. History. I taught in East L.A. for a while, in a predominately black and brown community. Some of the ways that I taught was by bringing those communities’ stories in. Black, brown, and indigenous people have not had all the opportunities to tell their stories, neither have women. I want to encourage people this month to read historical fiction about black and brown communities, research the Great Migration, watch documentaries and realize the rich cultural history of this country. History is not what happened, it's who told the story.”

In his councilmember report, Michael Althauser reflected briefly on his work with the Regional Planning Council and reminded the community of Gov. Inslee’s extension of the eviction moratorium to March 30, 2021.

Longtime council member to resign

To round out the meeting, Councilmember Tom Oliva, announced his retirement. Stating, “After 11 years of service, I have decided to step down from the council in two weeks after our meeting on February 16.”