MIDLAND, Texas — It is a common yet unfortunate sight: puppies being put up for sale in parking lots.
"So it seems about every weekend, we've got people set up in the parking lot selling puppies," said Midland Animal Services manager Ty Coleman. "It could be an accidental litter or it could be intentional. There are some puppy mills in the area that come in with a trailer full of puppies. They may not be healthy puppies, and that's what we're trying to stop."
Coleman is one of the city workers trying to put an end to this run of mills operating out of parking lots.
So far, warnings are given to first-time offenders or to families who may be unaware of the rules.
Repeat offenders, on the other hand, are given a citation that can be worth a minimum of $1,000.
"So we're trying to tackle it much harder this year and educate the community more," Coleman said. "The more officers we can get, the more people will see us out in those parking lots turning people away and ensuring they do have a permit."
The City of Midland requires a permit to sell dogs. This ensures the animals are spayed or neutered and have all their proper shots and vaccines.
For families who may have an accidental litter on hand and might be looking to sell the extra puppies, getting a permit isn't that hard.
"They have to file an application with the planning department for the City of Midland, and then the planning department will reach out to animal services and we'll review that application and make sure that they fall within those guidelines," Coleman said. "We do have to inspect every animal that goes up for sale."
There are puppy mills that avoid the permit process altogether, opting to try and sell their dogs under the radar. Many times, these puppies are sickly or do not have the proper vaccination.
"We have those puppy mill breeders just looking to make that next cash. They're not ensuring that the vaccines they're using are staying at the right temperature, because if those vaccines are not staying at the right temperatures, then those vaccines aren't any good," Coleman said."So they could tell you that the dog is vaccinated, but how do you know how well they handled those vaccines before they vaccinated the dog."