In Naperville, Illinois, where at least one pet store sells dogs and cats, apparently one political candidate opposes a humane pet store ordinance (to limit pet store sales), according to community advocate Karin Smith. Listen to Steve Dale’s Pet World on WGN Radio about what happened to Karin because she stood up on her Facebook page against puppy mills, and Mike Isaac, a Naperville candidate for city council. For starters, Karin says she was 
fired from Naperville Area Humane Society, who you would think would agree with her on the issue of dogs and cats being sold at pet stores.
Naperville may not accept an ordinance supporting no dogs or cats sold at pet stores, but communities across the U.S. and Canada—more than 200 of them from San Francisco to Austin to Toronto—have laws that limit what pet stores can sell. No responsible breeder will ever sell to a pet store. In Chicago, Warrenville, Waukegan, and the entirety of Cook County, Illinois, passed ordinances that limit pet store sales as a means to fend off puppy mills. 
Now, in Illinois, there are two proposals. One was just discarded by the House and a second still sits in the Senate, which would discard laws already passed to limit pet store sales and prevent any Illinois community going forward from banning sales of dogs and cats at pet stores.
While we talk about the sad puppy mill stories, Alison Eastwood, Clint’s daughter, talks with me about her new website, FosterFurkids.com. She’s filling a gap—an important gap—to get more pets adopted.
Petfinder is great for helping pets find forever homes. Eastwood’s site is about finding more foster parents—especially for cats—and even pet birds or gerbils or other critters that may be more difficult to find fosters families for.
2 Comments
Thank you so much , Steve, for telling my story. The facebook page I run is called Go Humane, Naperville. The Naperville City Council election is tomorrow. I will let you know the results.
We need to stop bullies from controlling government, be it Federal, State, or local! These Naperville politicians are not ethical. We need more people like Kerin Smith who are not afraid to speak up! ALL people who believe in a humane world and want our government to support and implement forward thinking need to speak up in the voting booth. What this woman says on her own time as a citizen should not reach into her career. Hard to believe she works for a humane society, whose mission statement promotes Kerin’s vision, with no support from the board of directors. Sadly, I am one of this organization’s founders. I am not proud. Founder, Ardis McCallion, is proud of Kerin and some of the founders for speaking up. This man, Mike Issac, may have the prettiest and the most signs on every street corner, but that does not mean he’s the best candidate. It means he’s collected the most money. Sometimes having the bigger war-chest doesn’t mean that person is the best choice! It indicates they may be the easiest to control by those with even more money. In this case, Mike Issac has made lots of money in the inhumane puppy mill business and Naperville seems to be all about big cash these days. Ask any of the old-timers. I for one, (and I am sure there are many others,) are proud of Kerin Smith for being strong. AND…thanks Steve Dale for going where no other reporter would go. People should be outraged!