A Progressive Periodical Should Not Run Pet-Store Ads

I'm sure you've received quite a few comments about the inappropriate nature of the Petland ads you were running in the Weekly. For a fairly progressive periodical, I surprised you would agree to run an ad that sends the message that animals serve the same purpose as, say, a pair of roller skates. We have too many animals that end up in rescue because a family spontaneously bought them as gifts without fully realizing the responsibility attached to raising a pet. In addition, many dogs and cats come from mills, where the breeding pair will be bred relentlessly, and then often discarded after they can no longer produce litters. We recently took in a Labrador retriever that had bred every heat cycle in her six years of life, and then was found wandering the streets of Mesa. The breeder gave her away after he couldn't use her anymore, and the subsequent owner didn't want her, so she let her go. Companies such as Petland promote this type of industry by running an ad that states that pets make great gifts.

I understand Petland offers counselors, but that doesn't change the fact that many of these puppies will come from irresponsible breeders. In addition, if a customer wants a pit bull and is willing to pay, I don't see a Petland counselor refusing the money. Surely a hip, progressive newspaper such as the Tucson Weekly would not want to promote irresponsible breeding mills, the overflow of unwanted dogs and the possible unhappy existence of a dog that was a cute holiday gift, but when it got too big, was delegated to a chain and post in the yard.