The same gang of local pet store owners was there and spoke but no one from the big chains and no press as far as I could tell. IDA and SPCA folks were there and spoke. John, owner of Animal Connection, spoke very well and made the point that no store has sold dogs in SF for many years and yet the shelters are still full... He likened the need for a cultural shift regarding caring for a pet for life to the way public perception of smoking has shifted from it's ok to it's bad. There were lots of details that were unsettled (live feeder animals such as mice for snakes, exempting small pet shops vs big chains, grandfathering in, length of transition period, small breeders, etc. To my mind, this is just another tiny step towards more humane and compassionate treatment of animals and hopefully it will help raise some awareness that breeding & buying pets and killing "surplus" is perverse and that adoption is the ethical option. Elizabeth Y www.RescueReport.org www.MickaCoo.org -----Original Message----- From: Vincent J. Hrovat <1217@vhrovat.org> Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 8:24 AM To: 'Mickaboo media advisor team' Subject: Re: [Media-advisors] Fwd: SF Animal Control & Welfare Comm. may recommend pet adoption only tonight at City Hall Last time these AWC meetings were standing room only, and this one seems to under the radar by comparison. Were the pet store owners and PIJAC there? I doubt that the concession allowing small breeder sales mollified them very much, if at all. --VH