Two ethical pet sales bill is in the Texas Legislature for a third time that aims to regulate the sale of pets in Texas by stopping the puppy mill pipeline into Texas, protecting the animals and the consumers who pay for them.
Humane Tomorrow is a foster-based pet rescue that serves Flower Mound and surrounding areas. Stacy Smith of Humane Tomorrow said she sees dogs from puppy mills returned all the time due to a multitude of reasons.
“A lot of these dogs are super shy and fearful because they are unsocialized,” she said. “And that cause behavioral issues, make them aggressive and, for the most part, not great family pets.”
She said it’s not unusual for dogs with these issues to be surrendered after being bought from places like Petland or Puppy Dreams. Normally, these dogs come at a high price, as well.
“When somebody buys one of these dogs it becomes a financial burden that they weren’t prepared for,” she said.
That includes surprise vet bills because they are more likely to get sick on top of high price tags. Smith said she has seen people finance puppies at high interest rates and give them up before they pay them off.
The transportation of puppies also poses an issue to Texas shelters because, while shelters are full, dogs are still being shipped in from out of state. Any dogs bought keep the shelters at maximum capacity and sometimes add dogs to the shelter if they get surrendered.
Smith knows not everyone wants a shelter puppy, and she said that is completely fine.
“We really encourage people to go to ethical breeders who are local and don’t transport dogs across the country to be sold in pet stores,” she said. “Reputable breeders will screen potential buyers and I respect for this good breeders.”
Two bills to combat the issue were submitted to this year’s Texas Legislative session.
One bill is in the Texas Senate, which was authored by Senator Judith Zaffirini and coauthored by Flower Mound’s Tan Parker and four other senators.
Banning the retail sale of puppies and kittens is a common-sense solution to protect both animals and Texas consumers,” said Zaffirini. “My SB 1652 would help reduce pet overpopulation, promote responsible breeding practices and prevent families from unknowingly purchasing sick animals.”
The other bill, HB 3458, is in the Texas House of Representatives and was authored by Representative Jared Patterson. It is the third time he has filed the bill. It died in committee in 2021 and 2023.
“I’m proud to file HB 870 once again to provide the necessary restrictions to protect pets and their owners,” said Representative Jared Patterson after filing the ethical pet sales bill in 2023, the second version of the bill.
Patterson is committed to the bill because there is a store in his district in Frisco that has continued these unethical business practices.
“What’s interesting about Frisco, specifically, is they actually have a local ordinance on the books to regulate retail pet sales, but it is extremely ineffective,” said Cara Gustafson, a representative for the Texas Humane Legislation Network, the group advocating for the ethical pet sales bill.
The two bills are considered companion bills, so they aim to accomplish the same thing, but one is filed in the Senate and the other in the House to try and get it passed quicker. If one of the bills passes the House, it will be sent to the Senate and vice versa. After, that, it sees the floor.
“We’re kind of working both angles right now, but the House version is just moving a bit quicker, which isn’t necessarily uncommon in the legislature,” said Gustafson.
On April 23, the House version passed out of committee by a vote of 10-1, which is stage two out of seven that it needs to become law.
One of the reasons the bill has been necessary to officially codify into law is because local ordinances are ineffective, but they are now prohibited due to the Death Star Bill that was passed in 2023.
The bill made it to where no cities or localities could pass their own ordinances.
“18 cities in Texas have passed ordinances to do what our bill does,” said Gustafson. “So we were able to work with the author of the bill, now the Speaker of the House, to make sure those ordinances were grandfathered in.”
This prompted Zaffirini to file the bill in the Senate this year, as a companion for the House bill, HB 3458.
“With varying local ordinances in place and further action at the city level now restricted, it is important for the state to provide a clear and consistent approach that prioritizes both animal welfare and consumer protection,” said Zaffirini.
