Pkts. Dyvig?s Pet Shoppe 412 Burnett Ave. 50010 . 515-233?56? .3th -3 2015 Dear Honorable Mayor and Members of the Ames City Council: CITY CLERK I would like to bring your attention to a problem with protesters outside of my Dyvig?s Pet Shoppe, located at 412 Burnett Avenue in downtown Ames. For nearly 4 years a group of protesters representing the group ?Bailing Out Benji? have demonstrated in front of my business, blocking sidewalks (see photos) and access to parking meters (see photos), and creating safety concerns by allowing small children to roam the area unsupervised (see photos) and sitting in lawn chairs (see photos) and bringing dogs and supplies (see photos). There are currently no city ordinances governing protesters. I would request that city staff look into whether ordinances are needed or what current laws could be more effectively enforced to ensure the safety of our citizens and protect the rights of business owners, such as myself. I have been in the pet shop business for over thirty years, six of those years in downtown Ames. I have built my business, reputation and customer service to the highest of standards. I am licensed and inspected by the State of Iowa Department of Agriculture and I have an excellent inspection record. My Iowa Pet Shop License allows me to sell a variety of species of pets including puppies. All the puppies that I sell come from two family run Iowa kennels, both of which are licensed and routinely inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and permitted and subject to inspection by the State of Iowa. Both kennels receive high marks on their inspections. The puppies are updated on all shots, wormed and vet checked. They are registered and backed with a guarantee by each kennel. Our customers are informed as to where our puppies come from at the time of purchase. As part of the Ames business community I pay taxes, collect sales tax and participate in several community business promotional activities. Iowa is an Ag state and ISU is an Ag school. Animals are very much a part of our culture, history and future. Three and a half years ago a local Animal Rights Activist, Mindi Callison Long, promoter of ?Bailing Out Benji?, purchased a dog from Petland of Des Moines for which she had several issues with and took it upon herself to eliminate all pet shops that sell puppies because of her bad experience with Petland. Mindi and her followers, started staging weekly protests in front of my store property. Apparently, their animal rights philosophy deemed my retail business, part of which is the sale of puppies, to be some type of social threat to the well being of Ames residents. The protests can be any day of the week, generally on Saturdays and Sundays (Saturday- lO?lZ/Sunday- 2:30? 3:30). They enlist people from out of town as well as out of state (see photos), some under the age of ?ve. They hold up large signs with proven false information. Hand out lea?ets to our walk-in customers as well as motorists passing by. They have entertained an Ames Police Of?cer (see photos) on several occasions, not only to photograph them so that they can post their photos to their face book page ?Bailing Out Benji? on their protest days; but just to stop and visit with them, anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour on city time. Two negative ads were allowed to be put on CyRide buses by the protesters that are directed at my business, according to their face book page (see photos). You may want to review their face book page for further information. We fully understand and respect the right to free speech; however, we also feel that a city, which a business is part of, should also be of assistance to that business when the need arises. We have asked for assistance from the Police Department and the Assistant City Attorney over the past year with no resolution. We now feel the City Council of Ames is the avenue that we need to approach for the protester situation in front of our store. Since no one can inform us as to what ordinances are in place in the City of Ames that would address the activities of these protesters, we would hope that the Council would consider adopting the following ordinances as a remedy to our situation. 1) Permits issued for thirty days at a time with a monetary value that would discourage applications with a new permit required at the end of the thirty days. Proof of insurance at the time permits are issued. Any out of state protesters would also need to be issued a permit for the same length of time and monetary value. 2) Protesters have to be moving at all times; cannot bring lawn chairs, animals, children under the age of 10, umbrellas, signs need to be of reasonable size, signs or protesters cannot block parking meters, cannot be within so many feet of an entrance to a business, cannot stop traf?c to hand out lea?ets and other information. 3) Easier communication for businesses to be able to reach out to the city and get responses in a reasonable amount of time, such as one week. 4) Citations and ?nes to be issued if any ordinances are broken once adopted. Thank you for your time and we hope that the Council will see ?t to address these issues that we have brought before you. If further information is needed please feel free to contact me at anytime. Dale Dyvig Dyvig?s Pet Shoppe 515-233-5625 June 3, 2015 Page 1 OI 1 37/5 IN A 16f)- (070:1,qu as #87257st Page 1 of 1 (if 5' 4&wa Lara/5 A. Page 1 of 1 En Mi}, 1 Hi; i! [Hts i I . 1-..- I I. . WhyPET SHOPPE . 33a PARENTS TV .. 1" PET m, mums Us91-59! 'r p? if WNW5.9.x .. . ?1 I 9 H.) ?Ti. I . V. I th?mt I. h? I i? .sa-ur?wM. tank:Pa? Wm. - I .. 2/18/2014 er a; weed. Maf [2 glmd/ dip/dram Page 1 oIl ,k Page 1 of 1 rage ragelou .-.- [5675,- 415/85; bad." 3/22/2015 ~ ushanh 3/35/4705? I W. .: W. JUWO. I) 1 nun 1 I LJLOJJAJLD uu. UVJLJ). - A VA tidy lowa?s First Puppy Mill Awareness Billboard What weighs 12 tons, is seen by tens of thousands of people a day, and is carrying Iowa?s first Puppy Mill billboard? That?s right! The Cyride! All summer long the volunteers at Bailing Out Benji have been raising money to purchase Iowa?s first Puppy Mill Awareness Billboard and This Sign will be seen by the 33,000 students enrolled at Iowa State University, as well as the more than 30,000 Ames, Iowa residents. With 35% of the ISU students coming from other states, not to mention all of the international students who will be reading this message? this has the ability to be seen around the world. We are hoping that this ad will catch some wandering eyes and will educate them about Where NOT to pet their http://peopleforanimals201 l.wordpress.com/201 3/10/1 10/28/2013 LUVVLL L) 1 LLUL .I. bit/VJ 1. LIIHLVLAVLJU 4 Eur ad has hit the city of Ames today, October 18, 2013 and will run for an entire year on two different buses. A close up of the ad shows our message (as you can see below). As you know, one of our passions at Bailing Out Benji is to educate the consumer about the pet store, puppy mill connection. We believe that if there is no longer a demand for puppies, then the supply will dwindle down. This ad is up and running just in time for the busiest period of the year for puppy mill and store owners. . .. The holidays. It is no secret that more puppies are purchased as gifts between November and the end of December. Can you help us end that? Spread the word that pet store puppies are puppy mill puppies. for more intoBailmg__Out - Benn 515-733-9005 Deni?! Wondering who that cute yorkie is in the Her name is Scarlett Sunshine and she survived 5 years in a puppy mill. She and her pack have dedicated their lives to educating about puppy mills and we couldn?t think of a better way to honor her memory. Miss Scarlett and her sister Mira attend the regular pet store protests in front of Dyvig?s Pet Shoppe, in Ames, Iowa. I want to thank everyone that helped with this! So, why did we choose Ames, Iowa? There is a pet store here in Ames? Dyvig?s Pet Shoppe? who sells puppies from two huge puppy mills in Iowa. All the while, they tell the public that they come from small, family breeders. The fact of the matter is that PET STORES CAN They don?t have to reveal where the dogs actually come from- if they did, no one will ever buy a puppy! So please, even though you think you are supporting a local business, you aren?t! This is a face of a much larger problem. Please, head over to our facebook page and let us know your thoughts? Would you like to see one of these ads in your neck of the woods? About these ads http://peopleforanimalsZOl .wordpress.com/201 3/1 0/1 10/2 8/201 3 Page 1 ofl [ms [5 ch on [:58 3/13/2015