{"id":7012,"date":"2015-06-02T22:54:56","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T22:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7012"},"modified":"2018-01-08T19:59:28","modified_gmt":"2018-01-08T19:59:28","slug":"hot-off-the-press-answers-to-your-questions-about-the-illegal-vending-of-animal-in-dallas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=7012","title":{"rendered":"Hot off the press &#8211; answers to your questions about the illegal vending of animal in Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 1\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>January brought a slew of questions from our communities about illegal puppy sales in parking lots, on the internet, and what to do when people are suspected of \u00a0&#8220;flipping&#8221; dogs. \u00a0There was a lot of concern and confusion surrounding what to do, so we went to the experts for answers.<\/p>\n<p>We reached out\u00a0to our community prosecutor, Yulise Waters. She has been a great community partner. You can find Yulise\u00a0at many neighborhood crime watch meeting and neighborhood association meetings helping us work to solve neighborhood issues,\u00a0reduce crime, and improve\u00a0the quality of life in our neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>Yulise\u00a0put us in touch with the animal law experts at the City Attorney&#8217;s office and we sent a list of questions and concerns. Through that connection with Yulise, we were then able to invite Assistant City Attorney, Mai Brock, to the<a title=\"2015 Oak Cliff Animal Initiative Meeting Recap\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=6801\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Oak Cliff Animal Initiative <\/a>to speak to the neighborhood&#8217;s specific questions and concern.\u00a0A big shout out to Yulise and to Mai for collaborating with us and for taking the time to speak to us and to Jeffrey Talley for collecting the case studies that were put forward as real life example (with screen grabs) for our questions to the City Attorney&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n<p>You are going to find the answers to some of these questions, well, frustrating to say the least. At the <a title=\"2015 Oak Cliff Animal Initiative Meeting Recap\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=6801\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oak Cliff Animal Initiative<\/a>, we talk to Assistant City Attorney Brock about how citizens could help tighten the law to help with enforcement. We are working on setting up a &#8220;Laws for Paws&#8221; \u00a0follow up meeting so we can better understand what we need to advocate for in order to &#8220;tighten&#8221; \u00a0animal laws to make them more enforceable. We&#8217;ll make that announcement as soon as we set a date.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">The following is the &#8220;official&#8221; word on our illegal vending questions. <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>May 29, 2015<\/p>\n<p>Re: Illegal Vending &#8211; Animal Law Questions<\/p>\n<p>Dear Ms. Gaconnier,<\/p>\n<p>On January 1, 2015 you submitted a list of questions to Yulise Waters titled \u201cIllegal Vending \u2013 Animal Law Questions.\u201d On March 28, 2015, I attended a discussion group with you and the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative regarding the sale of animals in public and on the internet.<\/p>\n<p>Below are responses to your written questions and the questions raised during our discussion. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">What constitutes illegal vending where dogs and cats are concerned? <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nUnder Section 7-7.2 of the Dallas City Code, the sale of animals is illegal if conducted on public property or if conducted on any property to which the public has access without a valid certificate of occupancy. Additionally, Dallas City Code Section 50-160 prohibits street vending on privately-owned property without a valid certificate of occupancy, license, or permit. A street vendor is defined under Section 50-157(14) as \u201ca person who, personally or through an agent, engages in a business of selling or offering for sale goods or services from any structure or vehicle that is not affixed to the ground or from no structure or vehicle.<strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">How do you obtain a Certificate of Occupancy?<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nTo obtain a certificate of occupancy, an individual must contact the Building Inspection Department, submit an application, pay a fee, pass inspection, comply with zoning regulations, and receive approval from the building, electrical, and plumbing\/mechanical inspectors, in addition to other criteria. Dallas Animal Services does not administer certificates of occupancy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Is there anything that constitutes a legal sale of a dog or puppy?<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nUnder Section 7-4.5 of the Dallas City Code, an animal that is four months of age or older may be sold if the animal is vaccinated (unless the animal cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons) and has a valid registration receipt and registration tag. Under Section 7-4.11, a person must have an intact animal permit to breed an animal, and the puppies cannot be sold unless they are at least eight weeks old and have been vaccinated against common diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Is there a difference on private or public property?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nYes. Section 7-7.2 of the Dallas City Code makes a distinction between the sale of animals on public property and property to which the public has access. Section 50-160 addresses the sale of goods or services on private property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">What can be done to enforce the law?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nA person who has reason to believe that an animal is being illegally sold may contact the Code Compliance Department by dialing 311, Dallas Animal Services by dialing 311, or the Dallas Police Department by dialing 911 (for emergencies) and (214) 744-4444 (for non- emergencies).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Dogs for sale in shopping center parking lots (private land) or \u201cparking lot puppy sales\u201d The police generally say it is private property and a civil matter and they cannot do anything. What action can be taken?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nViolations of the Dallas City Code can be enforced criminally. An individual may contact the Code Compliance Department by dialing 311, Dallas Animal Services by dialing 311, or the Dallas Police Department by dialing 911 (for emergencies) and (214) 744-4444 (for non- emergencies).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">a) \u00a0Can DAS seize the dogs?<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nNo, unless there is evidence of animal cruelty.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">b) \u00a0Can DAS or DPD write a ticket?<\/span><\/strong> Yes, these agencies have the authority to issue criminal citations.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">There is a lot of activity on social media where people appear to be offering to breed their pitbulls and or selling pit bull puppies. I will give you a for instance on a facebook post surrounding a post on an Oak Cliff trade site. Is this illegal? Please site the city code that makes it illegal.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nAdvertising over the internet for breeding and the sale of puppies is not illegal under the Dallas City Code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">The law seems to imply if they are under 4 months old and vaccinated its ok? You can\u2019t rabies vaccinate and register a puppy under 4 months old \u2013 so that makes the code a little confusing. <\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nAlthough Section 7-4.5 of the Dallas City Code does not specifically address the sale of animals under four months old, animals under four months old may be sold under certain circumstances. Section 7-4.11 allows individuals with an intact animal permit to sell puppies that are at least eight weeks old and have been vaccinated against common diseases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">There is also some implications that this same person is possibly part of a dog fighting ring. May or may not be true&#8230;but how should someone go about getting that investigated? To whom and how should this be reported.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nA person who has reason to believe that criminal activity is occurring involving the internet should contact the Dallas Police Department Computer Crimes Team at (214) 671-3503. Any evidence of animal cruelty should be reported to Dallas Animal Services by dialing 311.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">There is also conversation on this string that perhaps one of the dogs is a dog that was stolen a few weeks ago. This may or may not be their dogs, but in a situation like this&#8230;.To whom and how should this be reported?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nThese crimes should be reported to the Dallas Police Department Computer Crimes Team at (214) 671-3503.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 3\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>Regards,<\/p>\n<p>Mai Brock<br \/>\nAssistant City Attorney Dallas City Attorney\u2019s Office 2014 Main Street, Suite 227 Dallas, TX 75201<br \/>\n(214) 670-4439<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY<br \/>\nPROSECUTION DIVISION<br \/>\n2014 MAIN STREET ROOM 227<br \/>\nDALLAS, TEXAS 75201 TELEPHONE 214\/670\/4439 FAX 214\/670\/4814<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 3\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"text_exposed_show\">\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>ADDITIONAL\u00a0INFO |\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>CRAIGSLIST wants your help\u00a0flagging\u00a0illegal vending on their site<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Craigslist\u2019s Terms of Use FORBIDS, <strong>pet sales, stud ads, and dog flippers.\u00a0<\/strong>To stop breeders is EASY! Click on the link, Click on &#8220;<strong>Prohibited<\/strong>&#8221; and watch it change to a RED &#8220;X&#8221; in front of &#8220;Prohibited&#8221;. You are done!\u00a0If you see, &#8220;Flagged for Removal&#8221;, we&#8217;ve won and the ad is down!<\/p>\n<p>NOTE: If you go back into an ad after you have flagged, there will not be an &#8220;X&#8221; in front of &#8220;Prohibited&#8221;. Don&#8217;t worry, your flag has been counted. Don&#8217;t flag an ad more than once from a single IP address. It won&#8217;t be counted by the CL computer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>January brought a slew of questions from our communities about illegal puppy sales in parking lots, on the internet, and what to do when people are suspected of \u00a0&#8220;flipping&#8221; dogs. \u00a0There was a lot of concern and confusion surrounding what to do, so we went to the experts for answers. We reached out\u00a0to our community prosecutor, Yulise Waters. She has been a great community partner. You can find Yulise\u00a0at many neighborhood crime watch meeting and neighborhood association meetings helping us work to solve neighborhood issues,\u00a0reduce crime, and improve\u00a0the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Yulise\u00a0put us in touch with the animal law experts at the City Attorney&#8217;s office and we sent a list of questions and concerns. Through that connection with Yulise, we were then able to invite Assistant City Attorney, Mai Brock, to the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative to speak to the neighborhood&#8217;s specific questions and concern.\u00a0A big shout out to Yulise and to Mai for collaborating with us and for taking the time to speak to us and to Jeffrey Talley for collecting the case studies that were put forward as real life example (with screen grabs) for our questions to the City Attorney&#8217;s office. You are going to find the answers to some of these questions, well, frustrating to say the least. At the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative, we talk to Assistant City Attorney Brock about how citizens could help tighten the law to help with enforcement. We are working on setting up a &#8220;Laws for Paws&#8221; \u00a0follow up meeting so we can better understand what we need to advocate for in order to &#8220;tighten&#8221; \u00a0animal laws to make them more enforceable. We&#8217;ll make that announcement as soon as we set a date. The following is the &#8220;official&#8221; word on our illegal vending questions. May 29, 2015 Re: Illegal Vending &#8211; Animal Law Questions Dear Ms. Gaconnier, On January 1, 2015 you submitted a list of questions to Yulise Waters titled \u201cIllegal Vending \u2013 Animal Law Questions.\u201d On March 28, 2015, I attended a discussion group with you and the Oak Cliff Animal Initiative regarding the sale of animals in public and on the internet. Below are responses to your written questions and the questions raised during our discussion. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. What constitutes illegal vending where dogs and cats are concerned? Under Section 7-7.2 of the Dallas City Code, the sale of animals is illegal if conducted on public property or if conducted on any property to which the public has access without a valid certificate of occupancy. Additionally, Dallas City Code Section 50-160 prohibits street vending on privately-owned property without a valid certificate of occupancy, license, or permit. A street vendor is defined under Section 50-157(14) as \u201ca person who, personally or through an agent, engages in a business of selling or offering for sale goods or services from any structure or vehicle that is not affixed to the ground or from no structure or vehicle.\u201d\u00a0 &nbsp; How do you obtain a Certificate of Occupancy? To obtain a certificate of occupancy, an individual must contact the Building Inspection Department, submit an application, pay a fee, pass inspection, comply with zoning regulations, and receive approval from the building, electrical, and plumbing\/mechanical inspectors, in addition to other criteria. Dallas Animal Services does not administer certificates of occupancy. &nbsp; Is there anything that constitutes a legal sale of a dog or puppy? Under Section 7-4.5 of the Dallas City Code, an animal that is four months of age or older may be sold if the animal is vaccinated (unless the animal cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons) and has a valid registration receipt and registration tag. Under Section 7-4.11, a person must have an intact animal permit to breed an animal, and the puppies cannot be sold unless they are at least eight weeks old and have been vaccinated against common diseases. &nbsp; Is there a difference on private or public property?\u00a0 Yes. Section 7-7.2 of the Dallas City Code makes a distinction between the sale of animals on public property and property to which the public has access. Section 50-160 addresses the sale of goods or services on private property. &nbsp; What can be done to enforce the law?\u00a0 A person who has reason to believe that an animal is being illegally sold may contact the Code Compliance Department by dialing 311, Dallas Animal Services by dialing 311, or the Dallas Police Department by dialing 911 (for emergencies) and (214) 744-4444 (for non- emergencies). &nbsp; Dogs for sale in shopping center parking lots (private land) or \u201cparking lot puppy sales\u201d The police generally say it is private property and a civil matter and they cannot do anything. What action can be taken?\u00a0 Violations of the Dallas City Code can be enforced criminally. An individual may contact the Code Compliance Department by dialing 311, Dallas Animal Services by dialing 311, or the Dallas Police Department by dialing 911 (for emergencies) and (214) 744-4444 (for non- emergencies). &nbsp; a) \u00a0Can DAS seize the dogs? No, unless there is evidence of animal cruelty. b) \u00a0Can DAS or DPD write a ticket? Yes, these agencies have the authority to issue criminal citations. There is a lot of activity on social media where people appear to be offering to breed their pitbulls and or selling pit bull puppies. I will give you a for instance on a facebook post surrounding a post on an Oak Cliff trade site. Is this illegal? Please site the city code that makes it illegal.\u00a0 Advertising over the internet for breeding and the sale of puppies is not illegal under the Dallas City Code. &nbsp; The law seems to imply if they are under 4 months old and vaccinated its ok? You can\u2019t rabies vaccinate and register a puppy under 4 months old \u2013 so that makes the code a little confusing. Although Section 7-4.5 of the Dallas City Code does not specifically address the sale of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-follow-our-progress-with-the-city","category-this-that","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/LuraAndCissy_e.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7012"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7041,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7012\/revisions\/7041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}