In June, Cherry Hill resident and animal activist Alan Braslow was one of dozens of people who protested outside of the then-newly opened Pat’s Puppies, a store selling newly bred puppies located on Route 70 in the Saw Mill Village shopping center.
The protesters were upset about the store saying the dogs being sold there and in other pet stores were likely coming from puppy mills, where hundreds of dogs are bred in substandard conditions. The protesters were outside the store constantly, much to the frustration of store owner Pat Youmans.
Last week, the scene outside Saw Mill Village looked much different. The protesters had been gone for a number of weeks. Instead of standing outside the store in protest, Braslow could be found inside the shop helping Youmans take care of about two dozen newly arrived dogs.
A lot has changed in just a few months.
After watching protesters stand outside his store through the summer, Youmans had a change of heart in September. He approached Braslow and asked for ideas on how to change his store from a for-profit puppy shop to a rescue dog adoption center.
In late October, the former Pat’s Puppies re-opened as P&T’s Puppy Love Adoption Center. Instead of selling dogs from commercial breeders, the center now accepts dogs from rescue organizations in the United States and is making them available to area residents for adoption.
Finding some common ground
Braslow has been an animal activist for many years, volunteering with multiples rescues around the area. When he and other residents began protesting outside Pat’s Puppies, he said it wasn’t anything personal.
“The initial thought was never to shut the store down,” Braslow said. “The goal was to get the store to change its business model.”
Youmans was not new to the pet store business when Pat’s Puppies opened in Cherry Hill during the summer. He has another store in Ocean County, and his father had operated stores for many years.
Despite the persistence of the protesters, Youmans was determined for a while to make his business work.
“I didn’t want to quit,” he said.
However, after watching protesters day after day, Youmans eventually had a change of heart. He decided to reach out to Braslow and said he was going to stop selling commercially bred puppies.
Braslow decided to help Youmans and suggested changing his shop to a place where rescue organizations could send dogs for adoption. Braslow said similar centers have opened in other areas of the country, but there were none he had known about in New Jersey. Youmans was ready to take on the challenge.
“I wanted to turn over a new leaf,” Youmans said. “I wanted to try something new that hadn’t been done before.”
Braslow has numerous connections with rescues in the area. He called about 20 area recuses looking for puppies they’d be willing to send to the donation center for adoption. When he came up empty-handed, he started reaching out to organizations outside the area.
Braslow was finally able to work out agreements with rescues in Tennessee and Puerto Rico who were able to send dogs to Cherry Hill.
The puppies at the adoption center were all in danger of being killed in their original homes, especially the dogs from Puerto Rico.
“In Puerto Rico, there are no, no-kill shelters down there,” Braslow said. “They are all kill shelters.”
Since opening in late October, Youmans said he’s already had a few puppies adopted.
“Within the first week, we’ve saved four puppies that would have been killed,” he said.
Funding the adoption center
The challenge Youmans faced was coming up with a financial model where he could provide dogs for adoption while still keeping the center open.
To start, Braslow and Youmans figured out adoption fees where the center would be able to cover all its expenses. The adoption fees range from $200 for a dog 2-years-old and up to $600 for puppies up to 4-months old.
Youmans said the expenses for running the center add up quickly over time. He said expenses such as bedding for the dog holding areas can add up to thousands of dollars per month.
Recognizing the need for the center to be able to stay open, Braslow looked at similar rescue shops in other areas of the United States to come up with ideas.
“They all had some suggestions on pricing,” Braslow said.
Money from the adoption fees is going toward the rescue’s expenses. The center is also meeting with pet food and supply manufacturers to find ways to keep costs as minimal as possible. The center also has some supplies for sale, with all of the proceeds getting put back into the center.
Braslow said the community’s involvement will be key to making the adoption center successful. The center is in the process of applying to become a 501c nonprofit and is in need of volunteers to help take care of the dogs as well as fundraise.
“We knew that a rescue model store, with the community’s support, could be a good business model,” Braslow said. “We need to get the community to understand they need to support this type of effort.”
The center is now accepting volunteers. Many of the early volunteers are the same people who were protesting the opening of Pat’s Puppies during the summer.
“We’ve had volunteers who are going to come in and socialize with the dogs and walk the dogs,” Braslow said.
Bogart’s Law
Pet stores obtaining cats and dogs from commercial breeders will soon be a thing of the past in Cherry Hill.
Cherry Hill Council is following in the footsteps of other Camden County municipalities in prohibiting pet stores in the township from selling dogs and cats from commercial breeding facilities. A new ordinance introduced last Monday says pet shops in Cherry Hill may only sell dogs and cats obtained from either animal care facilities or an animal rescue organization. The new ordinance was named Bogart’s Law in honor of Councilwoman Melinda Kane’s cat whom she adopted from a shelter five years ago.
Braslow and a few other Cherry Hill residents came to watch last Monday as council introduced the ordinance in the township the movement started. Braslow said many residents he talked to were in favor of this ordinance.
“The reaction that they’ve gotten from the public is that this is the right thing to do,” he said.
Mayor Chuck Cahn said Bogart’s Law would not have been possible without the help of the activists in the township.
“Bogart’s Law is the perfect example of citizens and government coming together to affect positive change in our community,” Cahn said.
Braslow thanked council for introducing the ordinance during the public comment portion of the meeting and said he will continue to ask other counties and municipalities across the state to pass similar ordinances.
“There are 30 more puppy stores in New Jersey, and we’re going to go after each and every one of them,” Braslow said.
As more municipalities ban the sale of commercially bred pets, Braslow hopes they are replaced with stores similar to Youmans.
“We want this to succeed,” Braslow said.
Youmans is proud of how far he has come in a few short weeks. He gives much of the credit for P&T’s Puppy Love Adoption Center’s opening to Braslow, saying he was the driving force to help him make the change.
“If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve never been able to do this,” Youmans said.
Youmans’ focus is now not on selling dogs. It’s on providing rescue dogs with a new home and hopefully serving as a model for future rescue adoption centers.
“If I can do this, anyone can do it,” Youmans said.
