The City received numerous complaints regarding the sale of puppies in Ammon public areas. The most popular location being the parking lot by Sportsman’s Warehouse. Due to the multitude of public safety concerns and welfare concerns for the puppies (i.e. parvo) and following the Humane Society of the United States’ recommendations, the City adopted an Ordinance to prohibit the sale of dogs/cats or puppies/kittens in public places or businesses. Businesses may offer dogs/cats or puppies/kittens for adoption as long as they are obtained from an animal shelter, humane society, or non-profit animal rescue. Ammon’s local Petco, for example, has shelter and rescue partners that offer some of their adoptable cats for adoption by using Petco’s in-house habitats. This allows the shelter/rescue animals a broader audience of potential adopters. They also host dog adoption events when a shelter or rescue wishes to hold an event.
This ordinance does not apply to the sale of dogs or cats from the premises on which they were bred and reared and does not apply to our local animal shelters or humane societies.
The Humane Society of the United States recommends buyers should never purchase a puppy from a pet store, over the internet, or at a third-party location such as a parking lot. Buyers should make sure to visit the breeder in person and see for themselves the condition in which the puppy and its parents are living. Ammon continues to promote animal welfare and community awareness of animal welfare with hopes to foster a more humane environment within the City. We also believe that these restrictions will encourage pet consumers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters, which will save animals’ lives and help to reduce costs to the public to shelter animals. Ammon strongly encourages pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats to prevent unwanted litters.
This ordinance does not affect a consumer’s ability to obtain a dog or cat of their choice directly from a breeder where the consumer can see the conditions in which the animals are bred and reared, a breed-specific rescue, animal shelter, or animal rescue organization. You can read more about the ordinance on the City website https://cityofammon.us/ under codes: 5-3-18 SALE OF DOGS AND CATS IN RETAIL STORES, PROHIBITED and 5-3-19 SALE OF ANIMALS IN PUBLIC PLACES, PROHIBITED.
For questions, please contact Clarissa Mueller at 208-612-4072.