Hello,

The proposed regulations are a step in the right direction, but as written, they aren’t meaningful enough to protect the welfare of cats and dogs in pet stores. 

• Animal shelters in Virginia are required to engage a licensed veterinarian to develop protocols for the care of animals in their custody, yet the proposed pet shop regulations include no such requirement despite the dozens of vulnerable puppies they offer for sale, who often come from notoriously disease-ridden puppy mills. 
• If a VDACS inspector finds that an animal shelter has violated state law, the shelter faces civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day until the issue is corrected. But civil penalties like these—and any other meaningful enforcement action—are notably absent from the proposed pet store regulations, meaning that pet stores have little incentive to comply.

For pet stores - they should be held to at least the same standards as animal shelters. For the well being of these animals please pass stronger regulations for pet stores. 

Thank you for reading my comment regarding this issue. 

Jinnine Pak
Burke, VA