Backyard Breeding & Signage Foment Community Blight

Dear City Manager and Code Enforcement: I am writing to bring awareness to an increasingly prevalent issue in our Arizona communities. Stopping the problem at the local level can be done, but it requires

community commitment and vigilance. I am writing about the “backyard breeding” of puppies and more specifically, the advertising signage posted all over the neighborhood that contribute to community blight and societal deterioration.

Not a week goes by that I do not see numerous “puppies for sale” signs affixed to municipal stop signs, streetlights, median markers, and stuck in the ground along our community streets. When I see these signs, if I have the several minutes necessary I park my car, often walk across traffic, and yank the signs that are affixed with tape or wire-cut the signs that are attached with commercial cable ties.

When I make these efforts that require my time and energy, I do so to eliminate advertising for backyard breeding. Taxes are paid into our county animal shelter that is bursting at the seams with homeless animals. Approximately 900 dogs are currently housed within the Maricopa County Animal Shelter. The problem with these backyard breeder signs is pervasive. Those behind the peddling of puppies (and sometimes kittens) could not care less about the current or future health of these animals. The sole purpose in breeding and slapping a sign on our municipal property and public roadways: money.

• Who is protecting these animals if we are not? (Responsible breeders do not market their puppies on street signs.)

• Who is enforcing illegal sign display ordinances if we are not?

• Who is protecting the public from fraud if we are not?

• Who is considering the best interests of the taxpayer-funded county shelter and its animals if we are not?

There are taxpaying businesses whose model is infringed upon by those selling puppies and kittens on the street, out of truck beds, and in mall parking lots. (Please note that the majority of pet stores sell puppies that are sourced from puppy mills and puppy brokers, both known for poor living conditions and inhumane treatment of animals.)

Fellow good Samaritans and I will continue working to keep our communities clean and do right by animals and their welfare as best we can, but I am asking for your help at the government level. I am asking for vigilant code enforcement of puppies-for-sale signs, and citing those behind these signs.

As I remove and discard a sign, I know another one is probably going up elsewhere simultaneously. We should do better, and I know we can with your help. Can I count on you?

Sincerely yours,

Don Scott