Pet store threatens to sue as county looks to clamp down on puppy mills

Ordinance gets initial approval from county, two cities. Plus, Harrison will name track for long-time coach. Ex-trustee due in court today. Family sues driver, Coyote Crossing over fatal crash

• Thanks to the Art League of the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, sponsor of today’s Based in Lafayette edition. Visit the Art League’s Bling on a Budget sale 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Art Museum, 102 S. 10th St., Lafayette, 47905. Purchase donated gently used costume and fine jewelry, scarves, ties, watches and purses at incredibly low prices. Secret Bid auction for select gold, sterling and designer items. Benefits Art Museum and art educator scholarships.

GET MORE DETAILS HERE

• Support today also comes from Purdue’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, presenting a free showing of “The Price of Progress: The Indiana Avenue Story” on Nov. 14 at Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall. The two-act play highlights the heritage of a downtown Indianapolis community called “The Harlem of the Midwest” for its thriving culture of Black-owned businesses, performing arts, educational influences and a jazz legacy — from bebop to hip-hop — that attracted the most renowned musicians of the 20th century. Get more details and free tickets here.

GET TICKETS HERE, TOO

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RETAIL DOG STORE THREATENS TO SUE AS COUNTY LOOKS TO CLAMP DOWN ON PUPPY MILLS

An Ohio-based owner of a store that sells dogs out of a storefront in West Point threatened this week to sue if Tippecanoe County commissioners follow through with an ordinance intended to crack down on puppy mills.

Nathan Bazler, an owner of Little Puppies Online, told commissioners this week that he’d put $200,000 into opening a branch of the business in West Point to be close to the Lafayette market for purebred and hybrid puppies, some going for more than $2,000 in the store’s online listings.

(Photo: Unsplash)

“There’s absolutely zero facts that you could come up with to get legitimate reasons to shut down our business,” Bazler said. “This is about consumer choice. … If this passes, I will be forced to sue the county for our losses.”

Commissioners weren’t moved by that, giving initial approval to an ordinance that would restrict the retail sales of puppies and kittens, other than from breed-specific rescue shelters or from hobby breeders “where the consumer can see directly the conditions in which the dogs or cats are bred.”