Pet store owners considering opening a business in Harrison should be on their best behavior.
On July 21, the Harrison town board unanimously passed a law restricting the methods by which a pet dealer may acquire dogs and cats to sell.
The law makes it illegal to sell such animals within the town unless the dealer obtains the animal from a shelter or humane society located in Westchester County.
Violating the law would be considered a misdemeanor, with penalties between $250 and $1,000 depending on the number of previous offences, up to 15 days in jail or both.
While there are currently no pet stores that sell dogs or cats located in Harrison, town officials say the law is meant to be a proactive measure, ensuring that any pet store that opens in the town will be under these restrictions from the onset.
“Everyone always says government is reactive in terms of legislative measures,” said Village Attorney Jonathan Kraut. “Right now, this is the sort of a law that you would put on the books in advance of a problem like that.”
Councilwoman Marlene Amelio, a Republican who proposed the legislation, said it’s easier for a town to manage its businesses when it has regulations in place before any potentially affected businesses open in town.
Paula Krenkel, co-president of Pet Rescue, a Harrison-based non-profit humane society, lauded the town for its efforts in the humane treatment of animals, adding that she hoped other communities would soon follow. “You just need one community to make it happen and others follow through,” she said.
In February, the village of Mamaroneck became the first municipality in New York to pass a law regulating the sale of commercially bred pets, partially in response to complaints about a local pet shop, National Breeders—which has since closed—and the store’s owner, Richard Doyle, who has since been arrested on charges of animal cruelty.
Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican who proposed the law in Mamaroneck, said the law in Harrison is nearly identical. There is also an existing law in Mount Pleasant, and similar laws are now being discussed in Rye Brook, Yorktown and New Rochelle.
The latter is waiting on the results of an appeal filed by the New York Pet Welfare Association, which is suing New York City for a similar law that regulates both the distribution and treatment of pets, requiring them to be spayed or neutered before being sold.
Rosenblum, who attended the Harrison town board meeting to address the matter, said that the municipal laws in the village of Mamaroneck and Harrison would not be susceptible to litigation, as it does not restrain trade.
In 2014, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed a bill that allows municipalities within the state to place more stringent requirements on pet stores and breeders, as long as those rules don’t put an unfair restriction on trade.
“This particular law is very simple and very narrow,” Rosenblum said.
The law will go into effect after being signed by Secretary of State Rossano Rosado, a Democrat.
