Families who adopt a rescue dog trust that the animal really was rescued. Right now, California can’t promise them that. The state generally doesn’t require private rescue groups to hold a license or register with local shelters. The California State Legislature should close that gap by requiring every private rescue to be licensed, registered and honest about where its animals come from.

The cost of that gap is now in court. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has sued Wagmor Pets, a Studio City rescue that once placed dogs with celebrities. The city alleges the group’s owner bought dogs from breeders and resold them as rescues, charging adoption fees as high as $1,500. The suit also claims some of those dogs were seriously sick and died soon after going home. The owner denies the claims, and the case hasn’t been decided.

Court filings cite Missouri veterinary records listing Wagmor as the final stop for dozens of dogs bought at a dog auction in Rocky Comfort, Missouri. Auctions like that one are part of the commercial breeding business, where breeders, including large puppy mills, sell dogs like farm animals. One auctioneer estimated that rescue groups account for roughly 33% to 40% of what these auctions earn.

Meanwhile, shelters are full. Los Angeles County shelters have seen euthanasia rates climb to 35%. Money spent at auctions helps keep mills in business while shelter dogs wait for homes.

A simple license and registration system would show the state who is running rescues, help shelters partner with groups they can trust, and give adopters a way to check a group before they pay. Honest rescues, which do hard and lifesaving work, have the most to gain.

Sign the petition to tell the California State Legislature to license animal rescues now, before more families are misled about where their dog came from.