New rules will put Cambridge pet store out of business, owner says

CTVKitchener: Cambridge pet store restrictions Council votes to toughen rules, one store owner says it will close her down

The owner of Cambridge’s only pet store says a decision made by city councillors will put her shop out of business.

Councillors voted Tuesday night to introduce new rules requiring all dogs sold in the city to come from breeders within Waterloo Region.

Additionally, people selling dogs must provide information about where and by whom each dog was bred.

Number One Pet Centre, the only pet store currently operating in Cambridge, is being given a three-year grace period to come into compliance with the new rules.

Despite that, owner Debbie Corey says the new rules will force her to close the doors of her business.

“This effectively puts her out of business,” her lawyer, Jonathan Minnes, told CTV Kitchener.

According to Minnes, Corey doesn’t believe there are enough dogs available in Waterloo Region to meet her customers’ demand. She’s also concerned that some suppliers might not sell dogs to her if they have to be publicly identified.

“If you want to end puppy mills, focus on looking at who runs puppy mills,” Minnes said.

“Don’t focus on shutting down pet stores that don’t actually sell puppies from (mills).”

The push to change the rules came from advocacy group Social Petwork of Canada.

Angela Cowan of that group says the mandate to buy dogs within Waterloo Region allows for the breeders to be inspected by local animal control authorities, which wouldn’t be the case if they came from other jurisdictions.

“It makes the pet store a lot more accountable to the public,” she said.

“It was never our intention to put this pet store out of business. It was only ever to have them get in line with every other pet store in Waterloo Region.”

With reporting by Tyler Calver