The Lafayette, Colorado, City Council is discussing a proposal tomorrow (Tuesday, March 21) that would ban the sale of all dogs in the city – including private sales.
Lafayette residents and those who have provided a dog to a Lafayette resident are encouraged to do the following:
1) Attend Tuesday’s hearing and express your concerns:
Lafayette City Council Hearing
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
5:30 pm
1290 S. Public Road, Lafayette, CO
2) Submit written comments for the official record prior to Tuesday at 1pm using this link
3) Contact the council members using this online form and selecting “all city council members” to send your concerns
Ask them to not ban all sales but instead support strong enforcement of the state’s consumer protection and cruelty laws. In addition, ask them to consider changing the city’s current 3-dog ownership limit. Let them know that arbitrary limits can exacerbate animal shelter population concerns, which the city claims is a primary concern.
To review the proposal, access the council meeting agenda and scroll to page 50.
Talking Points:
The council is stating that the goal is to help dogs in shelters and rescues, but banning all sales of dogs is not the answer. In fact, ensuring that residents find the dog that is the right fit for their families and lifestyle is essential in reducing shelter populations.
Great pets come from a variety of sources, including breeders, responsible rescues, and regulated pet shops and shelters. But in every case, freedom of choice to select the right pet is the crucial first step to success. Restricting residents to only shelter or rescue dogs exacerbates the problem by failing to protect consumers and increasing demand for pets that are not subject to, and do not benefit from animal welfare regulations or health tests associated with existing consumer protection laws.
In addition, the city’s pet ownership limit can actually further impact shelter population concerns by restricting the ability of residents who are able to welcome another pet into their home. In the same way, it can force residents to relinquish a pet in order to ensure compliance. Review AKC’s brief handout on Dog Limit Laws for additional talking points.
Breeders and hobbyists are encouraged to contact the council and express concerns with the proposal that would ban even private sales of dogs in the city. Let them know all you do to ensure the health and well-being of dogs you breed and sell, and of any contracts or other agreements you offer to protect the dog and seller.
Also review AKC’s article The Value of Responsible Dog Breeders for more talking points about why the council should instead be supporting responsible local breeders.
AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will continue to provide updates as they are available. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.