Fact Sheet
Support Bailey’s Law, S.B. 228:
Protect Puppies and VA Consumers
Almost all pet store puppies come from puppy mills. Responsible breeders do not sell their puppies to pet stores because they want to meet their puppy buyers in person—and most national breed clubs’ Codes of Ethics discourage their members from selling to pet stores. Most pet store puppies are from “puppy mills,” which typically house dogs in overcrowded, filthy, and inhumane conditions, and their puppies are often sick. Yet most pet stores will not give customers specific information about where their puppies come from.
Puppies sold at Virginia pet stores come from all over the country—and many come from breeders with one or more Animal Welfare Act violations. A sampling of importation records obtained from the VA Department of Agriculture revealed that more than 888 puppies were shipped into the state over a 7 month period in 2013 – and more than half of them came from breeders with one or more federal Animal Welfare Act violations. Several of these breeders were so horrific that they recently appeared on The HSUS’s Horrible Hundred list of 100 problem puppy mills.
Puppies sold at pet stores often have serious health problems, which can saddle consumers with huge, unexpected vet bills. Virginia consumers have repeatedly complained to The HSUS and consumer organizations about puppies purchased from pet stores who came down with a severe illness within hours or days of purchase. Conditions commonly reported include pneumonia, heart and lung disorders, and infectious diseases such as Giardia and deadly Parvovirus. These health problems are often the direct result of poor sanitation and improper care at puppy mills.
There is strong support among Virginia citizens for better laws to protect pet store dogs. A January 2014 poll by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. showed that more than 80% of VA voters support the protections outlined in Bailey’s Law.
What does Bailey’s Law do?
Named after Bailey, a beagle purchased from a VA pet store who became gravely ill soon after purchase, this bill would require pet stores to disclose information about the origin of the puppies they sell, improve the current puppy lemon law to allow a purchaser of a sick dog or cat to obtain a refund or exchange if the pet was certified as unfit for purchase within 20 days of sale (extended from 10 days), and eliminate the requirement that the animal be pedigreed.