For the longest time, rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and animal lovers everywhere have hoped the day would come when pet stores would sell shelter pups exclusively, as a way to cut the profit from "puppy mills".

Last week a federal judge in Phoenix, Arizona upheld a city law requiring that all dogs sold in pet stores come from shelters.

Phoenix is one of about 60 cities in the U.S. that have similar laws designed to put an end to puppy mills by driving potential pet buyers toward homeless animals and reputable breeders.

An estimated 23,000 dogs are sold in Phoenix area pet stores every year, and shelter dogs can spend months or even years waiting for adoption.

Laws like the one in Phoenix are believed to cut that wait time and end overcrowding in animal shelters.

"We have so many dogs in Arizona that need homes, we don't need to import them," Phoenix City Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who helped champion the ordinance, told the Arizona Republic.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, The Pets Plus Natural pet store chain announced that, after being approached by the Humane Society of the United States' Stop Puppy Mills Campaign, they will be converting all of their stores by December of this year.

The chain's store in Bensalem, Pennsylvania converted and hosted a grand reopening on August 8.

(READ more at the Phoenix Business Journal) –  Photo: pocketwiley, CC

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