Still think there is nothing wrong with online ads for pets?

From this mornings Herald
'She said the dog was fine' Halifax man says accused puppy mill owner traded him a sick chihuahua By AMY SMITH Provincial ReporterWed. Jan 14 - 5:39 AM
David Tidswell says he didn’t see the warning signs when he arranged to pick up his new chihuahua at a Valley gas station earlier this month.
Ten days later, the dog, which he named Keelie, was dead.
Now the Halifax man wants to warn people about the woman he says traded him the dog for a desktop computer.
Mr. Tidswell, 21, said it was after he brought the dog home that he learned the woman he got the animal from is facing four animal cruelty charges under the Criminal Code of Canada and four under the provincial Animal Cruelty Prevention Act.
The Nova Scotia SPCA laid charges last week against Gail Ruth Benoit, 39, and her husband Dana Bailey, 46, of Roxville, Digby County, who sold four dogs that died hours after their new owners received them last summer.
The couple is due in Digby provincial court on Jan. 29 on other charges stemming from an SPCA seizure of several seriously ill puppies that were for sale.
Mr. Tidswell said he found an ad on the classified website kijiji.ca, offering a purebred chihuahua for $300. He said he was selling his computer at the same time and asked the dog seller if she was willing to make a trade.
When she agreed, he said they arranged to meet at an Esso gas station parking lot in Bridgetown on Jan. 3 at about 10 p.m.
Mr. Tidswell said in an interview Tuesday evening that he should have been more wary.
"The signs weren’t clicking in," he said. "I was in excitement mode. I was getting a dog."
Once he got the dog home, Mr. Tidswell said he did some research on the Internet. It was then, he said, that he realized he had bought the dog from Ms. Benoit.
He said he called and asked her if the dog was healthy.
"She said the dog was fine," he said. "It was probably nervous and whatnot. And the dog had just had a litter of puppies, apparently."
But two or three days later, Mr. Tidswell said, Keelie started getting sick. He said the dog became lethargic, her eyes were bloodshot and had mucus in them, and her breathing was rough. Soon, the dog was vomiting and had diarrhea and dark urine, he said.
Mr. Tidswell, who said he works from home but did not want to say what he does for a living, said he didn’t take the dog to the vet because he was waiting for his paycheque to come in.
He said that on Monday night, he gave her a bath, wrapped her in a blanket and set her on the couch. When he returned, Mr. Tidswell said, the dog was dead.
Mr. Tidswell said he called the SPCA to lay a complaint against Ms. Benoit but was told the agency couldn’t do anything because he had already disposed of the dog’s body. He said he also called Ms. Benoit on Tuesday morning.
When reached by phone Tuesday evening, Mr. Bailey refused to comment on the allegations. However, he told CTV News there was nothing wrong with the dog.
"The dog was eating good here. The dog just had pups," Mr. Bailey said.
"I told him to send more confirmation of the dog dying and he can have his computer back," Mr. Bailey said.
( asmith@herald.ca)
How is it, when there have been so very many sad tales like this in the news, that people are still buying pets from people like Gail Benoit? Its a busy world for most people and unless an issue personally affects them or someone close to them, it is entirely possible for big issues to pass under the radar for most good folks. Its not that people haven't got a heart, they just don't have the time to follow every last thing in the news.
I know I go on and on about this like a stuck record, but as long as it is legal to use online ads for the traffic of live animals, this type of sad story is just going to keep on popping up in the news.
And before the keyboards all catch on fire, I've heard all the arguments in favour of the online ads:

• It would be a restriction for reputable breeders who want to advertise. Not to be mean, but any breeder that needs to use a free online ad site to peddle their puppies is clearly over producing ( Deciding where to draw the line between commercial production of a profitable product and reputable breeders who devote endless time and resources to maintaining the breed standard is a rant for another day ) ;
• The public is entitled to be able to buy dogs cheaper than the breeders or pet stores. Well... the public is also entitled to be protected against the unscrupulous people who take advantage of their desire for a pet
• Rescues and shelters are already too full and cannot take the pets to give away on the site. Hmmm.... why are the rescues and shelters too full? Is it because pets don't get spayed or neutered? Is it because its too easy for uncommitted pet owners to 'dispose' of their pets. Or is it because the free online ad sites provide a cloak of secrecy that hides these activities from their neighbours.
• Some people can't afford to get a pet any other way. Sadly there are often more medical and emotional costs involved with the pets peddled online This is not to be mean, but if one can't afford an adoption or a breeder's fee, the odds are good you won't be able to afford to properly care for your pet. (Sadly it is not uncommon for good pets to be taken to the vets to be killed by their owners because the owners cannot or will not pay for needed medical problems that occur)
• Its a free country and people have a right to do what they want with their animals. Actually that's not true and the reason we have any animal cruelty legislation at all is because we as a society recognize that animals need protection. (The fact that we need better legislation on both a federal and provincial level is a rant for another day as well )

With the latest provincial cabinet shuffle, we have a new Minister of Agriculture in Nova Scotia, the Honorable Mark Parent. Politicians actually like to get voter feedback as it helps them keep current with the issues their voters actually care about. If you wish to let the new Minister know how you feel about the traffic of pets in free online ad sites, then he may be contacted at the Agriculture office at min_dag@gov.ns.ca or at his home riding office at markparentmla@ns.aliantzinc.ca

If you wish to contact your own MLA, you will find theri contact info at : http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/MEMBERS/directory/alpha.html

If you wish to express your concerns about this issue to the society, the appropriate emails are either animals@spcans.ca or secretary@spcans.ca.

A few months ago, a facebook group, Change the Law - Stop Selling Pets Online in Nova Scotia, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=27549117356 was started. sadly there are only 45 members, which is far short of the numbers needed to let our MLA's know that this is an issue of concern to animal loving Nova Scotia voters.

Remember, this isn't a wild idea cooked up by animal 'activists' to impose restrictions on everyday people. This is a public safety issue that will protect both the animals and the good people who just want to have a great pet. The only people who will be restricted by this legislation are the unscrupulous who take advantage of the unwary.