It has been there responsibility since 1969 to make sure the pet shops, wildlife rehabilitators, and breeders have been keeping their animals safe and healthy, but the Michigan Department of Agriculture says it can no longer afford to have that responsibility.

     Dr. Craig Brakeman, a veterinarian with Banfield Animal Hospital says that announcement completely took him by surprise. According to Brakeman, "This just hit us last week when we got the letter. It was totally unexpected from our point of view."

     The letter that arrived at veterinary clinics and the 250 licensed pet shops around the state was from the MDA and according to Brakeman is says "There is not going to be anyone to inspect the pet shops, or to check the pets to see if they're healthy so its going to be up to the consumer now to make sure they are on the up and up."

     Since 1969, the MDA has run what it calls the Pet Shop Program. They license and inspect pet shops that deal with dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits or other non-livestock, non-rodent mammals. The program required such shops, vets, and rescue organizations to keep records   and maintain health, housing, feeding, and sanitation requirements for the animals. If they didn't, the MDA responded to complaints, inspected, and enforced the rules. Brakeman says "I knew that they did come out and check the rescue groups and make sure the pets were being treated humanely if they had a shelter and that kind of stuff, and our ferret rescue people had to have somebody from MDA come out and inspect the place and make sure they were doing everything right, and so that part I thought was good."

     The MDA told me that cutting the program was a hard decision. They said the program made sure that "people are protected from certain animal diseases and consumers are better assured of buying a healthy pet." (Nancy A. Frank, M.D.A. DVM)

     But despite that, the MDA announced they the Pet Shop Program is being suspended as of August 1st.  That announcement has raised concerns from those that deal with animals each and everyday. According to Brakeman "The laws are the same, how the pet should be taken care of they are still in place but there is nobody to oversee them and you and I both know that if nobody is looking over your shoulder, you tend to get slack on doing that stuff."

     So why would the MDA cut the program that veterinarians, customers, and even the MDA itself say is so valuable? The answer is money or as they put it "financial constraints."

     I contacted the MDA to find out how they arrived at this decision. Here is what they told me: Cutting the Pet Shop Program was a "very difficult decision", but it will save the state about $150,000, about 2,500 hours of work. The MDA says with "reduced resources" they needed to "prioritize programs" and that means focusing on food safety and significant public health programs like bovine tb, rabies, and bird flu.

     So the Pet Shop Program will be the latest state budget victim, no inspections, no forms, no MDA enforcement.  The laws that protect animals and customers are still in place but in the letter, the MDA says they are no longer the agency that will be investigating complaints. So who will be? According to Dr. Brakeman "they say to file a complaint with local law enforcement because of all their free time they are not doing anything right? We know that's not true our police force what did they just get 100 state troopers cuts, our police force is stretched to the max right now, I would rather have them out personally catching criminals then looking for people who didn't get a health certificate signed for an adopted pet, but its going to leave a hole because its not going to be a priority for local law enforcement. We both know that I know several police officers and they are big animal lovers but they have higher priorities so its going to be a up to the consumer to make sure that the pet they adopt thru an adoption agency or pet store is a healthy pet."

     Many of the pet shop workers and veterinarians I spoke with say they fear that ultimately it will come down to the honor system in terms of maintaining healthy animals. They say some will take advantage of the system.   Others, who mean well, will still end up over their heads unable to provide for their animals. They are genuinely concerned by the cut of the Pet Shop Program.

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