• There are no pet shops currently selling dogs or cats in Windsor and as such a change to the by-law would not impact any present retailers.

• There are two (2) plausible options to consider in line with both other municipalities’ precedent and Windsor’s needs:

  • Option A – Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption Only

  • Option B - Status Quo

  Hilary Payne appears before the Windsor Licensing Commission and indicates he is in favour of advocating to follow the lead of other municipalities to eliminate the sale of dogs and cats.

  Jayme Lauzon appears before the Windsor Licensing Commission and provides speaking notes, which are distributed and attached as Appendix “A”. The highlights of the presentation are as follows:

• The Michigan Humane Society states “Bottom Line: When pets are sold for profit and financial gain becomes the primary motivation, the animals’ health becomes secondary.” This has been backed up by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s position on small volume and commercial dog and cat breed operations – they show substandard health, care and treatment to these animals.

• By selecting Option A in the report – Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption Only, the pets that do go into pet shops can be sourced from local reputable animal rescues and shelters and will be in line with other Ontario municipalities

• Request that the Windsor Licensing Commission and City Council also take into consideration the addition of rabbits into the by-law.

Melanie Coulter, Windsor-Essex County Humane Society appears before the Windsor Licensing Commission and on behalf of the Humane Society she offers their support for Option A – “Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption Only”. She adds there is also support for including rabbits in the by-law.

Robert Jeffery appears before the Windsor Licensing Commission to show support for Option A – “Dogs and Cats Offered by Adoption Only”.

Cory Drouillard, Corbret’s Pets appears before the Windsor Licensing Commission and indicates his father has owned this business for 53 years. He adds profit from the sale of animals goes to the feeding of other animals. No cats or dogs have been sold in the past year.

In response to a question asked by Councillor Kaschak regarding the adoption process at the Humane Society, M. Coulter responds all dogs, cats, rabbits are spayed and neutered, an application is required, and the animals are picked up the next day. She states businesses such as PetSmart and Pet Valu work with pet rescue organizations and the Humane Society to adopt pets from their stores.