I was literally left mouth agape as I read the response by All Pets Club owner Jerry Pleban regarding the puppy mill dog sale ban. He stated, “My mother always said if you don’t like something, mind your own business.” I do not believe I have ever heard a less civic-minded sentiment in all my life. Not to compare puppy mill atrocities to the civil rights movement, but this statement and idea contradicts all that has been done to strive to make this country a more civil and humane place. In the '50s, it was not illegal to discriminate against minorities and was actually an institutional construct in many places until laws were amended.
Simply put: Just because something meets “the bare-minimum standards” (by his own admission) as outlined by the law, does that make it justifiable? Is it really better to “mind your own business” than to enact laws and affect change in ways that make us a more humane species? Given this “mind your own business” attitude, minorities could still be treated as second-class citizens. Would that be okay with Mr. Pleban’s mother? He also stated “we are not hurting anyone.” Of course, anyone here does not include the puppies they try to sell as family members. But in this instance, it is more convenient to see them as products of commerce than as a part of the family. His callous attitude towards these puppies is the exact reason why a law needs to be enacted.
Michael Antonetti
Branford