Mall Pet Stores: The Beginning of The End

I’ve been following the story of the move some cities in California made to ban all pet stores that actually sold animals. This was made in an attempt to curb the sale of dogs and cats sourced from puppy mills and kitten factories. I talked about how, as a teenager, one of the only stores I ever liked stopping at in the mall was the pet store. I wondered where that pet store got its animals. The era of pet stores in malls might be coming to an end. California-based company Macerich, which owns shopping malls all across the country, … Continue reading

Pets and Politicians

As the 2012 political race heats up candidates are trying to find new angles from which to score voters. Republican candidate Newt Gingrich has chosen pets as one of his. He recently launched a website called “Pets With Newt 2012.” The website mainly functions as a sort of social network, or at least pet picture website, where Gingrich supporters can send in photos of their animals with a caption that provides their name and reads “I’m With Newt!” The site also reveals that Gingrich’s love for animals extends beyond those of the domesticated variety, with a large front page picture … Continue reading

Rescuing Pets Trapped by Bangkok Flooding

Every natural disaster, despite all of the attention it gets, always has a silent set of victims: animals. That’s not to say that we should devalue the lives of humans or even place those of their pets at quite the same level, but many times the media, and thus monetary relief, focuses on the effort to rescue and support the human victims and the pets get ignored. Of course pets are not entirely on their own in these situations. Groups like the Humane Society and the ASPCA work alongside the government and local officials in this country to help evacuate … Continue reading

Amazon Launches New Pet Website

Amazon.com recently premiered a new online pet store, wag.com. Don’t go looking for Amazon shipping fulfillment or for your prime membership to apply, however; wag.com is technically part of a subsidiary Amazon bought back in 2006, and there’s no hint of Wag’s corporate owner anywhere on the site. Wag.com is a well-organized, colorful site divided into multiple sections based on the type of pet for which you want to shop. These range from dogs, cats, and small (mammal) pets to fish, birds, and reptiles. Once under a species section shoppers can then conduct their business by choosing to browse under … Continue reading

Updated Pet Store Ban Initiated in San Francisco

A year ago this month I wrote about how some cities across the country were thinking of initiating a ban on dog and cat sales at pet stores. The purpose of the move was to strike a blow to puppy and kitten mills, which sometimes supply to pet stores. Animal rights advocates also hoped to encourage prospective pet owners to consider adopting a homeless pet from a shelter. According to the LA Times, in San Francisco at least the ban never took place, though it was never completely withdrawn. Proponents of the ban tried to expand it to include fish … Continue reading