Lawsuit postpones Chicago pet shop ordinance

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago's pet shop ordinance was challenged in court on Wednesday. Several pet shop owners and a breeder sued the city claiming the ordinance would effectively ban Chicago retail shops from selling animals purchased from commercial breeders.

Park Pet Shop in Mt. Greenwood is possibly the oldest pet store in the city of Chicago. A substantial part of their business comes from the sale of dogs, but all 20 plus kennels are now empty.

"We sold our last puppy Saturday. Before that we had two for about three weeks. We had to have them gone by tomorrow," said James Sparks, Park Pet Shop.

That's because a year ago, the city passed an ordinance, slated to go into effect Thursday that orders all Chicago pet shops to sell only cats, dogs and rabbits purchased from an animal shelter or rescue. The purpose is to eliminate the sale of pets from commercial breeders or puppy mills.

"Any pet store that is making a profit off of the systemic abuse of animals has no place in the city. They're not welcome," Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza said.

Sparks says the city is unfairly labeling all commercial breeders as bad. He says, getting their dogs and cats from shelters is not a realistic option, since their clients are specifically looking for purebred animals, or so-called "designer dogs".

"We buy from licensed breeders who are inspected and licensed by the USDA. We have paperwork to follow that up. Our puppies come in with their shots, with an inspection report, with their papers," Sparks said.

To prevent the new law from taking effect, Sparks has taken the city to court. On Wednesday, attorneys on both sides agreed to postpone enacting it until the lawsuit makes its way through the legal system.

"They can disguise it by any other name but we call it what it is. It's systemic abuse and torture of animals for the sake of profit and it's wrong," Mendoza said.

The temporary reprieve means that Park Pets can start filling their kennels once again starting Thursday, but it's uncertain how long that will last. The city plans to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on March 31.