Legislator Jon Cooper is the BEST!! Story & Video: http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=287501&position=1&news_type=news Suffolk lawmaker proposes puppy-sale ban (07/22/11) SOUTH HUNTINGTON - Suffolk Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor) has proposed a bill that would ban puppy sales in local stores because he says most come from inhumane out-of-state puppy mills. An earlier version of the legislation would have allowed the sale of puppies only from local breeders, but now a proposed amendment to that bill would ban the sale of all puppies in Suffolk. If the bill goes through, local pet stores would be permitted only to sell pet foods and accessories. Barbara Maple, who has been selling puppies at her Huntington Station store, Petit Pets, for 30 years, says that would cut 80 percent of her business. "I mean, why not stop the sale of milk in Suffolk County?" says pet store customer Doris Nele, of South Huntington. "Cows are treated badly, and when they stop producing milk, they wind up on a menu somewhere." However, Cooper believes the ban will encourage families to adopt from overburdened shelters. The Suffolk Legislature is set to hold a public hearing on the puppy ban bill Aug. 2. Suffolk mulls ban on sale of puppy mill-bred pooches
"The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?"" ~Jeremy Bentham
