A business that saves dogs should be left alone

Agoura Animal Shelter has given itself a black eye by taking an aggressive stance over a Newbury Park businessman who was finding homes for puppies instead of what they might have faced- - lethal injections.

Josh Pasewaldt, the owner of Newbury Park Feed and Pet Supply, had been saving dogs that were confined in Kern County animal shelters, which are notorious for putting dogs to sleep. Pasewaldt paid a fee of $60 each to take custody of the dogs, the same amount he charged customers adopting them at his store. He was losing money on each transaction because he was footing the bill for food and upkeep on their cages in Newbury Park.

That should have been the end of the story, but it isn't.

Somebody at the Agoura Animal Shelter, possibly a highranking administrator, decided to play the codeenforcement card and had an animal control officer cite Pasewaldt's store for not complying with laws that govern pet stores.

While we acknowledge that sprinkler systems are important, we doubt the safety of puppies in the event of a fire was the real motivation in this case.

It seems far more plausible that a honcho at the local animal shelter wanted Pasewaldt to stop his dog adoptions.

Instead of looking the other way and being happy that dogs were being saved from extermination, somebody decided that the local area didn't need competition in the business of pet adoptions.

Whatever the motivation, it's a shame that a happy article about people adopting dogs and the generosity of a local business owner has become a code enforcement story.

Among the nastier sides of human nature is the tendency for some of us to abuse power when we wear a badge or carry a title.

The Agoura Animal Shelter should have left Pasewaldt and his store alone.