Santa Barbara News Press

As an animal rescue volunteer at the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization Last Chance for Animals, Kim Sill is committed to saving some of the most vulnerable and helpless members of society. Four months ago, the animal rights advocate spread her mission to Santa Barbara.

Through her powers of persuasion, the animal rescue volunteer helped transform the Montecito Pet Shop on Cliff Drive from one that obtained its puppies from breeders to one that "re-homes" rescued canines.

"We don't see the need for anybody to breed dogs when there are so many being killed in shelters," Ms. Sill said.

The transformation for the 22-year-old pet shop came after Ms. Sill helped expose the tyranny of a puppy mill in the Antelope Valley, which is located about 60 miles from Los Angeles. A story about the puppy mill featuring Ms. Sill and her friend, Cesar Millan of "The Dog Whisperer" fame, appeared on "National Geographic" in May. Ms. Sill said after the show aired, she received numerous calls from concerned Santa Barbara residents begging her to investigate the local pet shop. The callers, she said, suspected the shop may have been getting its puppies from puppy mills.

The devout animal rights advocate met with Elyse Kuhn, the shop owner, and was relieved to discover that the business had never obtained any of its canines from puppy mills.

"We have always been so against puppy mills," emphasized Ms. Kuhn.

After meeting with Ms. Kuhn in July, Ms. Sill persuaded the shop owner to stop using breeders to supply dogs and instead take in canines from shelters -- who are in danger of being euthanized -- and find them new homes. Ms. Kuhn entered into a partnership with the nonprofit organization on Oct. 29.

As part of its mission statement, the organization says it is dedicated to eliminating animal exploitation through education, investigation, legislation and media attention.

Although she has long been interested in converting to the "re-home/rescue model," and her pet shop has always rescued shelter dogs when it can, Ms. Kuhn was only able to stop using breeders after Ms. Sill offered her support.

Breeders, along with puppy mills, said Ms. Sill, contribute to the overpopulation of animals. And puppy mills, which, according to Ms. Sill, supply canines to 97 percent of pet shops in the country, are also responsible for a host of other horrors. Female dogs chosen for breeding in the mills are usually enslaved and trapped in a tiny cage, where they are forced to give birth to multiple litters of puppies. Once an enslaved female is too old or sick to birth any more puppies, she's often killed, Ms. Sill said.

This type of dog abuse is particularly rife in Los Angeles, she said.

"L.A. is becoming the puppy mill capital," she said.

And because dog breeding often entails breeding animals that are related to each other, congenital diseases are common among so-called "pure-breed" canines. In fact, she said, about 37 percent of the unwanted dogs in shelters are pure breeds.

This overbreeding has caused shelters to burst at the seems with unwanted pets, and they are running out of room. According to Ms. Sill, 10 million animals were killed in U.S. shelters last year alone, and taxpayers footed the bill.

Although canines at shelters used to receive a "stay of execution" for five days in order to give them some time to find an adoptive family, recent legislation passed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has shortened that period to three days. Few canine owners realize, she said, that if they drop their dogs off at a shelter -- a more common occurrence since the recession began -- the shelter can legally euthanize the animal by the end of the day. Sadly, she said, it takes less work for shelter employees to kill a dog than to fill out all the paperwork that's required to keep it there for a few days.

Although pit bulls and Chihuahuas are among the most commonly killed, she said, even more popular breeds have a poor chance of being adopted from a shelter. At one Bakersfield shelter, a German Shepherd has a 75 percent chance of being euthanized, she said. Puppies, she added, are usually the first to be killed in shelters. In fact, an overcrowded animal shelter in Camarillo killed 100 puppies just last week, Ms. Sill said.

"We've created this problem (of overpopulation)," she said. "We have the power to solve it."

Subsequently, through Last Chance for Animals' Pet Shop Project, a network of animal rights advocates work together to transport unwanted shelter animals to various pet shops.

It was this network that was responsible for bringing in about two dozen canines from various "kill" shelters to the Montecito shop since late October.

Because the animal shop has a limited amount of space, 17 of those dogs have been "fostered" out to loving families in the area while permanent "parents" are being sought. Three puppies, a terrier mix and two Chihuahua mixes are being held at the shop while they await a loving home.

But it's the six canines that have already been "re-homed" that may be the shop's biggest success story to date.

The six pups were transported to the Montecito Pet Shop after suffering severe neglect at a Mojave compound that was run by two women who were sentenced to prison earlier this year for felony animal cruelty. One of the women, Cynthia Bemis, was sentenced to one year in prison after she hoarded and neglected more than 250 dogs at the compound. She was released from prison -- three months early -- last month.

All the dogs that are first brought to the local shop are quarantined for several days in case they have contagious illnesses. Sick animals, according to Ms. Kuhn, are treated by a veterinarian. The shop owner uses her own funds to care for the rescued animals, but Last Chance for Animals is working to get donations to help with the costs, she said.

"The rescue is a lot of work, and we make less money doing it," she said, adding that the store put out a donation box to help with the costs on Thursday.

Despite the extra work and the extra costs, the rewards from her new venture have made it worthwhile, she said.

"I feel exhilarated by the experience," Ms. Kuhn said. "The response from people now that we've gone rescue-only is just phenomenal."

Although the cost to buy a dog from the shop is a little more than adopting one from a shelter, the extra cost, she said, helps the shop recoup some of its expenses. In addition, said Ms. Kuhn, animals who are "re-homed" from the pet shop have already been treated by a veterinarian and they have been "mainstreamed" and "exposed to life outside the shelter."

Despite the challenges, Ms. Kuhn said she's committed to her new cause.

"We'll continue to do this," she said, adding that she needs to resist her urge to rescue more dogs than she can accommodate.

"I've gotta be so careful because I'm such a sucker," she said, with a chuckle.

For more information about Last Chance for Animals, visit: lcanimal.org. For more information about the Montecito Pet Shop or to make a donation to help care for the rescue animals, call the store at 965-6780.

e-mail: mwormser@newspress.com