Debbie Moss thought it was all a little strange. The breeder demanded she buy the little Yorkshire Terrier puppy that day, but she could not go inside the seller’s Edgar Springs house. Puppies were running all around the yard. After paying $375, she thought it was especially bizarre that the puppy limped when it got home, wouldn’t eat, and didn’t know how to drink water.
Ruby, the Yorkie puppy, was a Christmas gift to Moss’ two daughters. But after a trip to the vet, a diagnosis of Giardia infection and a knee problem called a luxating patella, Moss knew her puppy present wasn’t going to make it until Christmas. Ruby died the next day, 36 hours after coming home.
New legislation in Missouri and Illinois addresses Midwestern puppy woes, but each law bites at a different area. The Illinois law helps consumers make informed decisions, while Missouri’s Proposition B demands breeders provide a more humane environment for pets.
The details, broken down:
Missouri: Passed by voters in November, the “Puppy Mill Initiative” Proposition B outlines stricter regulations for dog breeders. These include regular feeding, room to stretch, rest between breeding cycles, and veterinary care. Before the initiative, laws were vague and, without clear standards, difficult to enforce.
Illinois: Across the river in Illinois, it’s sellers who face new requirements. Starting Jan. 1, pet stores, animal shelters, and animal controls must provide more details about a purchased pet’s history. Before, they were only available on request, with no time limit for the seller to produce the materials. These include vaccination history, breeder information, and details about health.
Illinois joins 20 other states with laws governing the sale and purchase of pets, according to the Animal Legal & Historical Center. For animal shelters, which may not know a stray or rescued dog’s entire history, the law states that they can estimate some information.
DeEtte Gorrie is the shelter manager of the Humane Society of Central Illinois. She says the new law formalizes something the shelter was already doing—providing pet health history to a new owner. In addition to vaccination details, the shelter now states if a pet had been returned by a previous owner. Gorrie says the changes aren’t major, but she thinks the law will help pet owners across the state.
“It’s going to go a long way to ensure that the animal gets into a forever-home environment and gets the care that they need,” she says.
Puppy “lemon” laws, as they’re sometimes called, ensure that if the pet has a disease, parasites, or long-term health issue, the buyer will know before a sale.
But why does the puppy have worms in the first place? Bob Baker, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, says Proposition B is a more valuable law for those concerned with animal well-being. It addresses the life and health of animals before they are up for sale, which ultimately helps both the animal and the consumer, Baker says.
Rather than pushing for a puppy lemon law in Missouri, Baker says he’s more concerned with seeing Proposition B through. Although 52 percent of voters approved Prop. B, it amends state statutes, not the state constitution. The General Assembly can reconsider the proposition when they reconvene in January.
Debbie Moss, who lost her Yorkie, says she wishes she hadn’t felt so clueless about both the puppy’s living conditions and details of the transaction. “Why was I so fast to just drive to her house? Why couldn’t I Google it before I went?” She says she could have gotten over the frustration and cost of vet visits to heal Ruby. “But getting over the death of a puppy that dies in your home…you don’t get over that.”
