News
Puppies Aren’t Products: Las Vegas, Unites Community
March 16, 2009, 5:21PM MT
By Cheri Moon
Peaceful demonstration aims to educate consumers & proprietors alike
Peaceful demonstration aims to educate consumers & proprietors alike
By Denise LeBeau, Best Friends Staff
On March 14, the official launch of the Puppies Aren’t Products: Las Vegas has begun on a busy street near a pet store that sells dogs. Chi-Chi Couture Puppies is the location for this series of peaceful gatherings, where education is the key in bringing about change. Best Friends would like the pet store to alter their business model from selling animals from commercial kennels — to a humane model, where rescue animals are available instead.
This was successfully done in Los Angeles, where Woof Worx switched their business practices with the guidance of Best Friends.
Working Together
Best Friends is working with local advocates and pet lovers to teach them how to effectively demonstrate on behalf of the issue. To this end, Kelli Ohrtman, the Puppies Aren’t Products campaign specialist and Cherie Damron, the regional campaign specialist for the area, have teamed up to help inform the demonstrators and volunteers on the right way to educate the public and speak out on behalf of the animals that are victims of the pet trade.
“This demonstration means people will adopt and get dogs out of shelters. There are a lot of pet stores in Las Vegas; our goal is to impact the supply and demand for the stores. We want the consumers to be aware of their power in this industry. It’s about education not confrontation, and we’re not trying to shut the store down, we’re trying to bring about change,” shared Damron.
(Damron stated that a training Webinar to become a Las Vegas peaceful demonstrator will be available on March 18 at 7:00 p.m., for more information email her at cheried@bestfriends.org)
“The number of volunteers for today’s demonstration is the perfect amount to keep everyone safe. We’ve got folks with signs for two blocks. You can’t turn into the store without seeing us. And like Cherie said, we’re not trying to get the store to close. We want them to adopt a humane model. People go into the store and see cute puppies, and they don’t realize where the dogs are coming from, they don’t see the connection to the commercial breeding facilities. If they’re aware and still decide to buy a puppy then it’s their choice,” said Ohrtman.
Victim of the Pet Trade
Just as the demonstration was garnering a lot of positive attention from pedestrians and traffic alike, a woman with a very concerned demeanor approached Ohrtman. She held a small Yorkshire terrier and she wanted to talk to someone about her experience with Chi-Chi Couture. She was exactly a demographic the campaign is looking to gather information from: someone who had bought a dog and had all the documentation.
Her name is Valette and she had recently bought a puppy from the pet store, spending over $1,000 to get Samantha. When Valette brought Samantha home, the dog started displaying signs of illness. Samantha actually got so sick that it cost over $3,000 in medical bills to get her well. Valette’s other dog also got mysteriously sick when Samantha entered their household. The store paid for two weeks worth of coccidia medication, but not a penny more. The store would not give a cash refund, but would give credit towards another dog, as long as Valette turned over Samantha, something she would not do.
Valette said she was unaware that she could get a small dog from someplace other than a pet store. So when she and her husband talked about getting a puppy, Chi-Chi Couture was the place they went. Today, Valette would not get another dog from a store, and when asked about how Samantha was doing now, she quipped, “thank God for savings.”
Purebreds in Shelters Wait for You
It was about this time at the demonstration when another couple rolled up to show support and thank Best Friends for their hard work in Las Vegas. William Cummings and his wife Vicki were walking by with their Yorkshire terrier, Willie Nelson, when they stopped to chat.
The Cummings with Willie Nelson
“I would never get a dog at a pet store,” Cummings exclaimed. “Willie came from Dewey Animal Shelter! We got her (yes, Willie is a she!) three years ago from the shelter and she’s everything we hoped she would be. The shelter is the only place to get a great dog! When you get a dog from a shelter you are saving a life. Why would you go anyplace else for a pet?”
The Cummings expressed their gratitude to Best Friends for helping to raise awareness and get more pups like Willie Nelson out of the shelter and into a home.
Volunteers Make the Difference
Tami Simon is a volunteer with Best Friends as both an Ambassador and Coordinator for Las Vegas. She’s lived in Vegas for eleven years and has recently become aware of the pet trade industry.
“I didn’t know where puppies in the pet stores came from, I never thought about it. But once you know what these dogs endure you can’t look back. I was here last weekend, and I’ll be here every weekend with Best Friends to help educate consumers and protect the animals.”
Tami Simon, says it not loud— but proud!
Adds Simon, “I want to say to the owner of Chi-Chi Couture —do the right thing, save lives here in Vegas and offer rescued dogs in your store!”
Simon indicated that the training to join the peaceful demonstrations is so thorough, it made her feel comfortable and confident in what the program is trying to do. She echoed the sentiments of the day: bringing awareness and education in a peaceful and non-confrontational manner is the only way to make a sustainable difference.
Leslie Phillips is another dedicated volunteer that wants to see this demonstration reach the goal of getting Chi-Chi Couture to change its business model.
Leslie Phillips making a difference
Said Phillips, “I’ve been aware of the pet store and puppy mill problem for a few years. I have a ‘designer dog’ at home that is a product of a breeding facility. The dog is an Italian Greyhound and Chihuahua mix and there are obvious emotional problems. There’s no doubt that the lingering effects of coming from a commercial breeder and ending up at a pet store will be a challenge we will continue to face.”
Philips explains, “That’s why I’m here. To help spread awareness. If people knew where the dogs came from they would look to alternatives when getting a pet. Many pet stores say they don’t get their dogs from a puppy mill, but they want to make money. If you love dogs then you don’t want to get your family member from a pet store, period! It’s a place that is for profit— a responsible breeder would never leave one of their puppies with a store, they don’t work that way! We’ve got to educate the public!”
Get Involved!
• To join the training Webinar on March 18 at 7:00 p.m., email Cherie Damron at cheried@bestfriends.org.
• If you bought a puppy at Chi-Chi Couture Puppies, or any other pet store in Las Vegas and want more information about where it came from, please e-mail Kelli Ohrtman at kellio@bestfriends.org.
• Join The Truth About The Pet Trade to learn more about how you can help in your community.
• Never purchase a dog over the internet without inspecting the property from where the dogs were raised. For more information about how puppy mills trick unsuspecting owners and use the internet to sell dogs, click here.
• Take action today! Sign up for action alerts and breaking news from the Best Friends team. Text “LVPets” to shortcode 42107.
• Download the guide, “Nine Things You Can Do to Help Stop Puppy Mills.”
Photos by Cherie Damron, Best Friends Staff
Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff