Current and future pet stores in Tempe will not be able to sell commercially bred puppies under an ordinance approved unanimously by the City Council this month.
The ordinance takes effect 90 days from its passage.
Councilmembers Lauren Kuby and Kolby Granville studied the issue for months in a City Council working group, soliciting and incorporating input from residents and local and national stakeholders.
Under the ordinance, pet stores in Tempe can sell dogs obtained from non-profit shelters or rescue groups, but not from commercial breeders. Kuby claims that that commercial breeders are subject to inadequate and under-enforced guidelines established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kuby also asserts that reducing the over-population of puppies also will have an impact on euthanasia rates in Maricopa County.