No more puppy sales at west Edmonton pet store

By Erin Cripps-Woods

EDMONTON — A west Edmonton pet store is part of a national movement to stop selling puppies and start encouraging customers to adopt pets from shelters.

PJ’s Pets in West Edmonton Mall stopped selling puppies as of Sept.1. The move is meant to discourage puppy mills and recognize the large number of adoptable pets already available.

The Edmonton Humane Society went a step further and asked PJ’s Pets to stop selling cats, too. “The two groups are now having preliminary talks to establish the society as a liaison between smaller shelters and PJ’s Pets,” said Shawna Randolph, Edmonton Humane Society spokesperson.

The reasoning behind this decision is due to the already large population of shelter animals in need of homes. “Instead of constantly selling puppies, animals already in need of homes will be given priority,” said Randolph.

In 2009, the number of animals admitted into the Edmonton Humane Society was 10,772, and the number adopted was 6,413. The year 2010 saw an increase in admittance of 12,948 and adoption of 7,636 animals.

“The Edmonton Humane Society has seen an increase of about 1,000 animals more per year since 2007,” said Randolph.

The mission of the Every Pet Deserves a Home program is to help increase the visibility of pet adoption agencies by offering space within stores. “More than two million pet lovers visit our stores every year,” said John Jules, president and CEO of PJ’s Pets and Pets Unlimited.

As of Sept.1, the focus has moved to support local pet adoption services. From Aug. 16 to Oct. 1, PJ’s will be working with private kennels to help find adoptive homes for breeding dogs and any remaining puppies.