Why is Pinellas County still talking about more puppy stores?

In 2022, the Pinellas County Commission took a bold move in the name of animal welfare. Through the renewal of the ordinance, they banned new retailers selling dogs and cats and tightened regulations on commercial pet retail facilities. While existing “puppy stores” were allowed to continue operating, Friends of Strays, the oldest animal shelter in St. Petersburg, recognized these actions as a step in the right direction.

But expanding pet sales at retail stores appears to be a debate that appears despite repeated protests from both public and animal welfare advocates looking at state-wide shelters in an overpower crisis.

In 2023, a year after the county commissioner voted to ban pet-seller retailers from expanding, Commissioner Kathleen Peters expressed her support for a “unique partnership” between SPCA Tampa Bay, Sunshine Puppy Stores and commercial breeder broker Pinnacle Pet. The new Barker magazine sheds light on the partnership known as the “All Dogs” program. This imports commercially available dogs onto the shelter’s adoption floor. Public backlash at the local and national level has shaken up the programme.

In 2025, talks on the expansion of puppy stores have once again resurfaced. A county commission workshop was supposed to be a discussion of strengthening animal welfare standards late last month, and instead was even left to potentially loosen or rescind the ban on new stores selling puppies so that the industry can “thrive” in Pinellas County.

The first consideration stakeholders in this regard are animals in Pinellas County and Florida. Florida is consistently ranked as one of the worst states in the country due to its euthanasia rate. Not all shelters in Pinellas County have achieved no-kill status (live release rates of 90% or more). This community already has a homeless pet surplus and a home deficit due to the home.

These animal retailers support puppy factories importing dogs from other states to Florida, and are facing a crisis of overpopulation of dogs and cats at shelters. Can we stop talking about bringing more commercially bred animals into this situation?

The language used to explore the reversal of the prohibition dismisses pets in our community. We want to urge Pinellas County Commissioners not to reverse the positive steps we took in 2022. Stop talking about expanding puppy stores. Instead, join together and act on behalf of the animal in need. Let’s live the right life for them and start here in our community.

Dara Eckart is CEO of Friends of Strays.