A group of Quebec pet stores and dog breeders are teaming up to take on a Montreal bylaw forcing the shops to get their dogs and cats from shelters.

Yves Pepin, the attorney representing the group, called the bylaw “nonsense.”

“The dogs and cats you find in pet shops are usually not the ones that you’ll find in shelters, especially for dogs,” he said. “Right now, for dogs, they only have the SPCA, which is a shelter and the SPCA doesn’t want to make business with pet shops. There would only be about four or five dogs for 20 pet shops in Montreal.”

Pepin accused the city of trying to make it impossible to sell dogs and would kill business. The group has sent a letter to the city advising them of their intent to oppose the bylaw.

“There’s only huge dogs or dogs that are 10 years old (in shelters),” he said. “That doesn’t go with children. If you have young children, you won’t buy a 15-year-old dog that’s going to die in one year. The children will cry for decades. Usually, they want a puppy. You don’t get that in a shelter. They do go in pet shops to get puppies, or to breeders.”

Some people who want to buy a dog may deal directly with dog breeders but others buy their purebred dogs from pet shops.

Purebred puppies can cost as much as $1,500 with a certificate from the breeder and proof the animal has been sterilized and cared for by a veterinarian.

“If you buy a dog or cat in a pet shop, it’s going to be vaccinated,” he said. “You’ll make sure every animal sold in a pet shop has seen a vet at least once. You don’t have that on the Internet. If you like animals, make sure they’re being sold in a pet shop.”

Pepin said the city will force prospective dog-buyers to turn to Internet sites like Kijiji or Craigslist, where a dog’s health isn’t guaranteed.

"I was watching Kijiji today. You know how many dogs, puppies, there were in the last three hours? Twenty-five," said Pepin.

The city of Montreal is scheduled to vote on its new bylaw on Monday Aug. 20. Once it takes effect, pet shops would only be allowed to sell animals that were  from shelters.

A spokesperson for the city said they were aware of the lawyer's letter and that officials would examine its demands in the next few days, likely at Wednesday's Executive Committee meeting.