Wauwatosa, WI Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

06, Prohibition on Commercial Sale of Dogs or Cats, adopted by Ord. O-22-19 pt. I on May 17, 2022, forecloses the traditional 'puppy mill' retail model citywide in this Milwaukee County, Wisconsin city. 020 makes it unlawful for any pet store to sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away, or otherwise transfer or dispose of a cat or dog. The chapter carves out one narrow exception: a pet store may collaborate with an animal care facility or animal rescue organization to provide space for those organizations to showcase adoptable dogs or cats, but only if the store holds no ownership interest in the animals and collects no fee for hosting the space, and dogs may not be kept overnight on the premises.

010 defines the terms that make the exception work: an 'animal care facility' is a shelter or control facility run by or under contract with a state, county or municipality whose mission is rescue and placement, and an 'animal rescue organization' is a tax-exempt nonprofit under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code whose mission is rescue and placement, expressly excluding any entity that is itself a breeder or broker or that sources animals from a breeder or broker for profit. A 'pet store' is any retail establishment where companion animals are sold, exchanged, bartered, or offered for sale to the public.