ohmidog!

The Humane Society of the United States reports more than 2,000 pet stores have signed its Puppy Friendly Pet Stores pledge.

In all, 2,003 stores in all 50 states have agreed to  take a stand against puppy mills by refusing to sell puppies.

“These stores have made the responsible decision to pledge not to sell puppies now or in the future, and some of them have even transitioned from selling commercially-raised puppies to an adoptions-only model,” said Melanie Kahn, senior director of The HSUS’ puppy mills campaign.

Of the 9,000 independent pet stores across the country, the majority get their dogs from puppy mills, according to the HSUS.

Lasts week, The HSUS released its third annual investigation of pet stores, linking dozens of pet stores in the Chicago area to more than 2,000 puppies shipped from puppy mills.

“Again and again, such stores have been found to be misleading consumers with stories about getting puppies from responsible breeders, when in fact puppy mills are a key part of their supply chain,” the HSUS said in a press release.

But increasingly, it added, owners of pet stores are realizing they don’t need to sell puppies to run a successful pet-related business. In October, the HSUS worked with two pet stores in Wyoming to help convert them completely from puppy sales to supporting local shelter adoptions.

The HSUS encourages shoppers to purchase pet supplies at stores displaying the Puppy Friendly Pet Stores sign, which states, “We Love Puppies, That’s Why We Don’t Sell Them.”

A list of all the participating stores is available at humanesociety.org/puppystores.

The HSUS estimates that 2 million to 4 million puppy mill puppies are sold each year in the United States; meanwhile 3 to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters each year for lack of homes.

The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved an ordinance Wednesday that will make it the largest city in the nation to ban pet shops from selling dogs obtained from commercial breeders.

The council voted 12-2 in favor of the ordinance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

People can still buy dogs directly from breeders, but pet stores will be limited to selling animals obtained from shelters, humane societies and rescue groups.

The law is aimed at curbing puppy mills and preventing tens of thousands of animals from being euthanized in city shelters each year.

Stores that violate the restrictions could face penalties starting at $250.

Similar ordinances are in effect in at least three other California cities — Irvine, Hermosa Beach and West Hollywood.

Pet shop owners called the law unfair.

“It’s just making us suffer,” said Candice Ro, owner of Olympic Pet Shop in Koreatown.

Councilman Paul Koretz, a longtime supporter of animal rights, championed the ban and said lawmakers have a duty to stick up for animals who “cannot speak for themselves.”

City officials said the ban, which returns to the council for a final vote next week, could affect two dozen pet stores. The restrictions will be reviewed after three years to determine if they should be continued.

After perusing “The Privileged Pooch, Luxury Travel with Your Pet in Southern California,” I’ve decided if Ace and I ever run into author Maggie Espinosa and her dog, Marcel, on the road … they’re buying.

Unlike my Travels with Ace project, “The Privileged Pooch” – not to be confused with the fine pet boutique in Baltimore of the same name – is a guidebook that focuses on high end luxury travel with your pet.

“Now you can share Southern California’s celebrity lifestyle with your furry friend,” reads the summary on the back of the book. “The days of staying at substandard hotels and dining at drive-thru’s when traveling with the family pet are over.”

Not for me, they ain’t. But that’s not the point.

Espinosa’s point is that bringing a dog along on your trip no longer automatically relegates you to economy-level accommodations. And her book, provides plenty of examples, in highly readable form, of where you can stay, play and eat with your pet — in Palm Springs, Orange County, San Diego, Santa Barbara and greater Los Angeles.

High-end establishments are starting to wise up to the fact that about 10 million pets each year vacation with their owners — and that many of those owners are from the demographic at which tourism-related businesses commonly take aim.

“The Privileged Pooch” lists 69 hotels (not a Motel 6 among them),  55 restaurants, 56 dog-friendly activities and 38 “trendy shops” where you and your dog are welcome.

Espinosa has done some culling, weeding out those establishments that have too many restrictions or silly and unrealistic weight limits. (For the dogs, I mean. Southern California doesn’t have weight limits for people. Yet.)

She uses a rating system of one wag to four wags for pet friendliness — one being “pooches permitted,” four being “pooches paradise.”

Maggie and Marcel

At the latter, you might find such features as special puppy menus, a “togetherness massage” for you and your dog (at Casa Laguna Inn & Spa) or ”blueberry and plum pet facials” at a dog-friendly spa called The Healthy Spot.

Espinosa and her bichon frise, Marcel, tested all 69 hotels, and each section of the book, region by region, includes recommendations for everything from dog-friendly beaches to emergency veterinary care.

Our favorite example was the Doggie Bus in Tustin, which totes dogs and their humans to the beach at no charge. An Orange County man started providing the service not to get rich, but simply because he enjoyed doing it.

Now that’s dog-friendly.

Nearly 35 years after it banned dogs from downtown, Santa Cruz is considering allowing them to return.

The coastal California city, plagued by strays that were being picked up at a clip of 200  a month in the 1970s, banned dogs in its central business district in 1976, at the urging of merchants.

More than three decades, merchants are again urging change — but this time it’s to allow dogs back into the business district, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Today, the Downtown Association, which represents business owners, will discuss recommending the council overturn the ordinance while strengthening leash laws and other safeguards.

An association poll shows a majority of merchants believe they are missing out on business from tourists and locals who would bring their dogs downtown for a stroll or dining at outside tables, much as they do in well-known dog-friendly towns like Carmel and Los Gatos.

In Santa Cruz, dogs are also banned from some local beaches and the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

“Forty years later, the council has the right to reconsider something,” said Mayor Mike Rotkin, who has served a total of 26 years on the council since 1979. “It’s a very different council and times are different.”

Former Councilwoman Carole De Palma, who voted for the 1976 ban, said the city should reconsider reversing the law because dog owners tend to be more responsible these days. De Palma, who owns a 7-year-old dachshund-Chihuahua mix named Pearl, said increasing safeguards could reduce problems that led to the ban.

Bernalillo County, New Mexico is considering a ban on the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores.

The ban could be included in an animal-control ordinance the county board of commissioners is discussing at a Dec. 9 meeting.

Although the proposed ordinance, as it’s now written, does not ban cat and dog sales, the ban could be added as a floor amendment prior to the consideration of the proposed ordinance, Pet Product News is reporting.

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