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Three times a week, Kim Sill goes out into public and stands up for what she believes in. On Tuesdays and Sundays, she and a group of animal lovers protest outside Pets of Bel Air. On Saturdays, it's off to Malibu to protest Pet Headquarters. Even though Sill and her fellow protesters are peaceful, police are still called at least once a week by customers or shop owners, she says.
Their goal is to get pet shops that allegedly use puppy mills to move towards working with good dog breeders. If not, they'll continue to protest like they did to Posh Puppy in Tarzana and Beverly HIlls who closed their doors shortly before May due to the public pressure of the protesting.
In short, puppy mills are mass breeding facilities where a mother will continually have litter after litter. A true dog breeder for Sill is one that specializes in one breed with the mother dog birthing one litter per cycle. The breeder won't sell to pet shops, but directly to customers and will always take the dog back if there's a problem.
Tonight, Sill and a group of protesters will hold a vigil for the eighty puppy mill dogs in Pennsylvania shot by their owner after the dog warden told him to vaccinate for flies and fleas. They'll be at the The Malibu Country Mart at 8:00 p.m.
Top Photo of Kim Sill by Tom Andrews/LAist