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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, September 19, 2016 <br />Page 8 <br /> <br />Mayor Roe thanked Ms. Smith and Ms. Rojas for the considerable information <br />they provided. <br /> <br />Councilmember McGehee asked additional questions related to breeding require- <br />ments for pet store facilities and their licensing; with Ms. Smith and Ms. Rojas <br />clarifying it was more important to consider animal care based on the number of <br />available staff versus the number of breeding pets. <br /> <br />Ms. Smith provided several handouts for future reference. <br /> <br />Gary Papineau, Owner of Har Mar Pet Shop <br />Mr. Papineau stated his pride in Har Mar Pet Shop, having worked there starting <br />at age 19, and owned the facility for twenty-seven years. Ms. Papineau advised <br />that he had carried a USDA license for approximately 12 – 15 years; and re- <br />viewed past violations that he considered insignificant (e.g. expired medications <br />missed). <br /> <br />Mr. Papineau reviewed the news article and violations cited in the article by this <br />new USDA inspector, not only new to the job but also not a veterinarian. Ms. <br />Papineau suggested if this inspector had used common sense, the majority of the <br />violations would not have occurred. Mr. Papineau noted that, when pets arrive on <br />site, it was often a “wait and see” situation to observe the pets and their health sit- <br />uations as to what if any treatment was required. <br /> <br />Mr. Papineau noted the English bulldog with cherry eye was his personal pet that <br />he used for breeding, and advised this was a recurring health issue, but was cer- <br />tainly not contagious and frequently happened when a pet was neutered or spayed. <br />Immediately after the inspection, Mr. Papineau advised he had taken his pet to the <br />veterinarian, as he had done in the past for this condition, with the veterinarian <br />advising that the situation could be taken care of now or delayed until the other <br />eye was addressed. <br /> <br />Specific to rodents cited as having eye problems, Mr. Papineau advised that the <br />particular hamster was blind, but still active, and such animals were often of in- <br />terest to children seeking such a pet, and noted he frequently “gifted” such pets to <br />those children. Mr. Papineau stated this pet wasn’t in need of medical assistance <br />that would be evident with a loss of hair, losing weight or other medical concerns, <br />and therefore not in distress. <br /> <br />Mr. Papineau advised that, if a dog has a “kennel cough,” which was a highly <br />contagious issue, the animal would be isolated until it burned itself out, similar to <br />a cold. <br /> <br />Specific to the deceased baby hedgehog, having died two weeks prior that was <br />still inside with an adult hedgehog, Mr. Papineau advised that the mother had <br /> <br />