Archive for the ‘Law & Legislation’ Category

We have just found out that California bill SB1634 has a serious chance of becoming law unless we unite and write our own state senators and all California senators.  You can Google each state’s government legislators and get the name of senators and their contact information.  Please join in the fight against this bill.  You may read below from a legislation list just what is at stake.  Do not email, but fax  your opposition to this bill please.  If legislation like this passes, and it is pending in many communities and states, dog breeding will become a thing of the past and Peta will be well on its way to achieve its manifesto–end the ownership of animals.  Without companion animals, I do not want to live in this world. 

> Urgent AB 1634 Update
>
> I have just learned from our contacts inside the Sacramento State Capitol,
> AB 1634 will not be heard in Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday,
> July
> 14th.  AB 1634 will be sent directly to the Senate Floor without a vote in
> Senate Appropriations.  This has just been confirmed by the Senate
> Appropriations Committee.  This procedure is called 28.8.  Its when the
> Appropriations Chairman decides there are no appreciable costs to a bill,
> he
> can determine it isn’t necessary to hear the bill in his committee, thus
> sending it directly on to the entire senate.  AB 1634 also has been
> removed
> from the Appropriations agenda file.
>
> PetPAC is now asking everyone to direct their letters to 1) your State
> Senator; 2) to every California State Senator.  Contrary to what any other
> group is telling you, I urge you to not delay.
>
> Send in your letters NOW.  Contact your State Senator.   You can write
> them
> about every bad aspect of AB 1634.  You can tell them it will cost local
> governments millions of dollars. There is no Due Process; There is No
> Appeal
> Process; AB 1634 makes it a crime to own an intact dog or cat.  This will
> affect thousands of dog and cat owners in California;  AB 1634 will affect
> tourism in California; AB 1634 will affect law enforcement K9 units,
> working
> dogs and herding dogs in agriculture. There are no exemptions.  This is a
> punishment looking for a crime.
>
> Please don’t delay.  As California goes, so goes the nation.
>

Food for thought written by Alice Fix and reprinted here with permission:

Do You Know the Real PETA and
Humane Society of the United States?
An Editorial by Alice Fix

You will not often see negative articles in our newsletters, but every now and again we are forced to make a stand, and to speak out about what we know is for the better good for all involved. This is one such instance. We can no longer stand back and watch to
see what will happen. I think that it is past time to publicly expose the real agenda of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and their cohorts in crime, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and the animal rights agenda.
For many years we have all enjoyed the companionship of our dogs and other animals.We have been busy playing with them, taking care of them, finding fun things that we could do with them, and generally just having a great time with all the animals that
live in our houses. While we have been enjoying the love and fun that our animals provide to us, there have been groups out there organizing on a grand scale trying to get our rights to own those animals taken away. Yes, that is exactly what I meant.
Make no mistake about it. These people have organized on a large scale to infiltrate many major city councils and governments in the country to spread their propaganda.
Their agenda is easily defined and simple. Their main objective is to take away your right to own animals. They do not want you to have the companionship of any animal, whether that is a dog, cat, horse, mouse, frog, fish or any other animal that you can think of. They are pooling their resources to get this accomplished, and have millions of dollars in their war chest for this effort.
This is a statement made by Ingrid Newkirk, the President of PETA: “I don’t use the word ‘pet.’ I think it’s speciesist language. I prefer ‘companion animal.’ For one thing, we would no longer allow breeding. People could not create different breeds. There
would be no pet shops. If people had companion animals in their homes, those animals would have to be refugees from the animal shelters and the streets. You would have a protective relationship with them just as you would with an orphaned child. But as the
surplus of cats and dogs (artificially engineered by centuries of forced breeding) declined, eventually companion animals would be phased out, and we would return to a more symbiotic relationship – enjoyment at a distance.” — The Harper’s Forum Book,
Jack Hitt, ed., 1989, p.223. It is interesting that Ms. Newkirk used the word “speciesist”. Allwords.com defines that word as follows:

The discrimination against, and exploitation of, animals by humans in the belief that humans are superior to all other species of animals and can therefore justify putting them to their own use.
One of the animal rights mantras is that all animals are created to be equal to all humans, and should have the same rights as humans.
Just in case it still isn’t clear to you what their agenda is, here are a few more quotes from Ingrid Newkirk:

“One day, we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals. [Dogs] would pursue their natural lives in the wild … they would have full lives, not wasting at home for someone to come home in the evening and pet them and then sit there and
watch TV.”
— The Chicago Daily Herald, 3/1/90

“In the end, I think it would be lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.” — Newsday, 2/21/88

Who is Ingrid Newkirk, and why should we care what she has to say about anything? In the 1970s, Newkirk worked for Montgomery County (Maryland), and then for the District of Columbia, as an animal protection officer and deputy sheriff, before becoming DC’s first female Poundmaster in 1978. She co-founded PETA in 1980 with
established animal-rights activist Alex Pacheco. (1) PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, but in my opinion, there is nothing ethical in what they
do. Ms. Newkirk has very close ties with several groups identified by the FBI as known terrorists groups, such as Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The animal rights groups are very well organized, and when you check closely, you will see many of the same names sitting on the boards of these radical groups. They are intertwined and closely
linked through their finances, and the work that they do.

PETA operates on an annual budget of $ 29,000,000. Most of this is from donations made by ordinary citizens that don’t know the real work of PETA. Many people think that they are out to save the lives of animals after seeing all of their ads on TV and in the newspapers. That is why millions are donated to them each year. In Virginia, the home state of PETA, in 2004, PETA adopted out 361 animals, and
euthanized 2,278, according to their records. (2) Those figures aren’t good. That means that they euthanized 86.3% of their animals and only adopted out 13.7%. These
figures come directly from PETA’s Annual Report and from their 2004 Tax Return. It doesn’t seem like they used that $29 million for the betterment of the majority of the animals that they came in contact with. So where is the money going? It is being
spent for publicity to raise more money for one thing. It is also being used for legislative purposes. They have placed key people in city governments all over the country to try to influence legislation to take your pet ownership rights away. And they are having a lot of success with it. You need to understand the basic difference between the “animal welfare” groups and “animal rights” groups. Although the names might sound like they have the same objectives, there is a big difference. Animal welfare groups are working to see that all animals are treated humanely. Animal rights groups are working to see that all ownership of animals comes to an end.
As I said, PETA has close ties with many other organizations. One of those organizations is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). People donate millions to the HSUS each year, thinking that their money is going to save the lives of millions of animals. Nothing could be further from the truth. The HSUS does not own
a single animal shelter anywhere in the country. Although many shelters have the words Humane Society in their names, they are not associated in any way with the HSUS. The HSUS does not sponsor any spay or neuter clinic anywhere in the country. They do donate a very small percent of the annual budget to a few local humane
societies, around $2 million annually, which just happens to be less than the amount that they spend in travel each year. Their major money is sent on fund raising and legislative activity. In 2005 they spent $28 million for public mailings, $6 million in vegan education, $10 million in legislative campaigns and litigation. Their income for
that year was close to $125 million.

The HSUS was founded in 1954 as an animal welfare organization. But in the early 1980’s, just about the same time as PETA was founded, they began to change to an animal rights organization. In the 1990’s the personnel began to change to better fit with their new purpose, and today many of the personnel at HSUS have ties to PETA, including the current President, Wayne Pacelle.

This is an interesting quote from Wayne Pacelle: “We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding …One generation and out. We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.” – Animal People News (May 1, 1993)

When you combine other statements that he has made, with the above statement, in my opinion the meaning of this statement is that if we could spay and neuter all animals, we could eliminate pet ownership within one generation. “One generation and out” would mean to me that they are gone and are eliminated in only one
generation. Quietly sitting back and maybe not being aware, we are now allowing the HSUS to make presentations at our local schools, with the definite purpose to educate our children about how bad pet ownership is, to indoctrinate children to the thought that animals should be free and not kept as pets. They are doing this in the same way that they have infiltrated city councils and local governments all across the country, quietly and matter-of-factly.
“Shortly after taking office, Pacelle announced a merger with the Fund For Animals which have assets of over $20 million, and the Doris Day Animal League. The combined group estimated its 2005 budget at “over $95 million” and also announced the formation of a new “political organization,” which will “allow for a more
substantial investment of resources in political and lobbying activities.” So that is where we find ourselves today. With the HSUS and PETA combined annual budgets of over $124 million for political and lobbying efforts to take away our rights to own animals. And that figure does not include the many splinter organizations that
have been formed from these two major organizations. We are in an uphill battle now, and it will be the fight of our lives to keep our rights to own pets.

They are going at it from many different angles. One way is to get Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) passed. The banning of Pit-Bulls all over the country is a good example. That has caught on like wildfires. The animal rights groups have said if they can just get one breed banned, then it will be easy to add others to it at a later date,
until eventually all breeds are banned. Another way that they are going about it is to have a mandatory spay and neuter law in place. Just think about it, if all domestic animals are spayed and neutered, when they die, there will be no more domestic animals. Those same words have been said by Wayne Pacelle, the President of the HSUS. They have a very well thought out and planned agenda, and they are counting on the ignorance of the American people to get their agenda accomplished. Well guess what: Ignorance can be overcome by education. The American people may be ignorant about the facts, but they are not stupid. They can be educated. We were ignorant before 9-11, and look what effect that had. It caused all Americans to become educated and unite and fight to prevent that from happening again. The difference here is that we are being attacked from within our own country. We are under strong attack by the animal rights groups, and I hope that we don’t just stand by and allow it to happen.

The animal rights groups are publicly stating that we need to get laws passed so that they can close down all the puppy mills and commercial breeding facilities that have their animals living in inhumane conditions. Just about everyone would agree with
the idea that animals should be treated humanely. But that is just the vehicle that they are using to try to do away with all animal ownership, period. And that is not a statement that they are being all that public about.
You can become active in this fight by telling your friends and neighbors what is going on. You can be an instrument of education. You can also fight this kind of legislation when it is presented in your area. Go to the City Council meetings and make your voice heard. Write letters to the state and federal government officials to offer your services to be on any animal related committee. In short get the word out to any and all of your friends that own pets. Let them know what is going on. If enough people stop funding the animal rights organizations, we can put them out of business. There is not much that they can do without operating funds.
The next time you think about making a donation to any of these organizations, you had better think long and hard about whether you really want your money being spent to take away your rights.

PETA
HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
FARM SANCTUARY
FUND FOR ANIMALS
DORIS DAY ANIMAL LEAGUE
EARTH SAVE
GREEN PEACE
PHYSICIANS FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE
ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT (ALF)
FRIENDS OF ANIMALS
IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS

Right now the HSUS has started their “First Strike Campaign”. I find that an interesting choice of names. At visualthesaurus.com they define first strike as follows:

First strike: An attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective.

Most people think that attack is on inhumane treatment of animals. They still don’t know it is an attack to take your animals away from you. Last year over 10 million people donated money to the HSUS because of their massive spending on advertising.
Most of those 10 million people had no idea what their money was actually going to support.  Better places to donate your money that will fight for your rights to own animals are listed below. These groups are working hard to protect your right to own animals, and
to expose the true agenda to much of the animal legislation going on all over the country.

NATIONAL ANIMAL INTEREST ALLIANCE

http://www.naiaonline.org/
SPORTSMEN’S AND ANIMAL OWNERS’ VOTING ALLIANCE
http://saova.org/
AMERICAN DOG OWNERS ASSOCIATION
http://www.adoa.org/index.cfm
U S SPORTSMAN ALLIANCE
http://www.ussportsmen.org/
You can either make your donations work for you or against you. That decision is
yours to make.
Footnotes for Reference:
1) http://www.activistcash.com/biography.cfm/bid/456
2) www,nokillnow.comPetaDVACreporting.pdf
3) http://www.animalscam.com/quotes.cfm
4)http://www.activistcash.com/organization_overview.cfm/oid/136

This article will first appear in the March, 2007 issue (Volume V Issue 2) of the Rocky Mountain Wrinkle, the newsletter of the Centennial Chinese Shar-Pei Club, Inc. Any reference to this article must give full credit to Rocky Mountain Wrinkle, and the Centennial
Chinese Shar-Pei Club, Inc.

Permission must be granted to use any articles from our newsletters, and we must get a credit line for any article that is granted permission to use, with a link to our website. Anyone wishing to reprint any of our articles should contact Alleydoll3@aol.com for written permission.

I have been really, really busy since my last post.  I keep meaning to write every day, but always seem to be become involved in so many things.  I barely get email done.  I do have puppies available, mostly really pretty rubies who will go to pet homes once decisions about selecting show dogs is done.  Both litters are from our wonderful Ch. Rattlebridge Code Red. 

I am very involved in the pending legislation in Ohio.  Beside SB 173/HB 223, we also have SB 71 concerning the legitimate breeders.  This Bill would allow dogs living in abusive situations, such as dog fighting kennels, to be confiscated by law officials without due process being observed.  No one wants to see dogs living in abuse or neglect, but the worry is that owners’ individual rights may be at stake.  Walt Bebout, Director of Legislation, at AKC gave a very informative talk this past Saturday during the Lima Kennel Club show in Columbus.  We are forming an Ohio Federation of Dog Clubs to get clubs in Ohio to band together for political strength as we fight legislation which would seriously affect us legitimate show breeders who try our best to do right by the dogs we breed and own.  We have formed a steering committee to form the Federation.  I do hope we have enough club involvement to make the Federation go. 

This past weekend was the fall cluster of Columbus, Ohio shows.   I judged on Friday: Dobermans, Mastiffs, Rottweilers, Samoyeds, Portuguese Water Dogs.  I had a full day’s work and enjoyed every minute of it.  I cannot take as many judging assignments as in the past because of Al’s need to have me home, but I do so like to judge.  I saw some very good dogs.  My wonderful friend and co owner, Margaret Valentine, flew up from Texas to spend five days.  As always when together, we had a great time watching the show the days that I did not judge and operating as the fashion police, very quietly and respectfully  of course.  We also had the chance to spend time with our great friend and co owner Sherri Meyer and her daughter Nicole Newkirk.  Sherri and Nicole finished the championship of their black Italian Greyhound “Walker,”  a really lovely IG.  Margaret and Sherri co owned our last two Best in Show  and number one Cavaliers with me.  Margaret is the co breeder and co owner of Ch. Rattlebridge From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and his sisters except for Ch.  Delta Dawn who is co owned with Sherri Meyer. 

Meanwhile back at the farm, we have recently housed a few Humane Society dogs in the back kennel.  We also have a young and very pretty stud pony that was picked up running the roads of our county.  One of our mares is totally in love and in flaming heat with this pony and cannot understand why we will not let her have access to her boyfriend.  We want no unplanned breedings here!  We are running a “found pony” ad with absolutely no calls to claim him.  How can someone not notice the loss of a pony?!!He is not staying as cute as he is.  I am presently doing all the horse chores since Al has had his shoulder surgery and another equine body is one too many. We need homes for the Humane Society dogs and the pony. I do hope they all can find wonderful forever homes.  We have our own rescue dog and there is no more room in our house since the Cavaliers are still hanging from the chandeliers!  Want a beagle mix or two, we have it.  Want a border collie mix, we have it.  We have designer dogs whom no one created on purpose, but I believe that all of these dogs deserve the same wonderful homes as my Cavaliers get.  I am on the Humane Society of Morrow County Board and am the public relations director.  The Humane Society takes many hours of time from the whole board.  We do not have a shelter and do not have the money to fund a shelter in the near future.  We depend on foster homes which have been very scarce lately, hence the gang of dogs in our back kennel.  Working for the Humane Society is hard as it is difficult to see so many animals in trouble. If you wish to help animals, volunteer at your local humane society.

One of the very odd things happening in shelters around the country is the importation of puppies from other countries.  Our country is really making a effort to spay and neuter actually reducing the number of animals in shelters in different parts of the country.  So now certain shelters, which depend on adoption fees, are actually bringing in puppies and dogs, sometimes from other countries, to make available for adoption.  Our humane society has a voucher program to help people neuter their cats and dogs and we do not make any animal available for adoption which has not been spayed or neutered.

My Clooney is back from Canada and on my lap once more.  I keep being asked if we are going to send him out to be shown to be ranked in this country, but I do not think that I can bear to have him gone from me.  He is the best little companion.  His sister Delta Dawn is back home from Sherri Meyer to be bred. She is so beautiful.  I am so excited to do this breeding with Sherri. 

I cannot believe that I have not posted in almost a month, but the days have flown and we have been busy.  We are getting ready for hearings on Ohio Senate Bill 173.  Had the opportunity to meet for an hour with the sponsor of the bill, Senator Cates, who seemed to listen to concerns.  We are hoping that we can change the language of the bill so that reputable show breeders are not penalized. 

Al and I went to up state New York for his brother’s 80th birthday and family reunion.  We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast in Trumansburg on Lake Cuyaga. We went sailing on the lake; for me it was a first to sail on a big boat.  I even got to steer or whatever you call it.  I can see why my husband and his brother are so addicted to sailing.  I just came back from judging in Massachusetts.  Had a great time.

While we were in New York, we fell in love with the area and decided that Trumansburg would be an ideal place to relocate.  However, the facts about the winters dissuaded us from really considering up state New York but our discussion of relocating led to our really considering our desires for our future.  We presently have a beautiful small farm that is ideal for raising dogs and having horses.  However, the work load to keep up the property is enormous for the both of us.  So we have decided to sell our farm and relocate in the central Ohio area where we both have lived for many years.  We will still have our Cavaliers and I will still breed on a limited basis and still judge, but my obsession with showing dogs must come to an end.  I have a few puppies now who I think can really contribute to the breed when they grow up, so the Rattlebridge Cavaliers will continue for my own pleasure and the wonderful owners who seek us out for beloved pets.  I just do not want to live for showing and winning.  We have done everything in Cavaliers I have wanted to do and it is time to rest a bit. For our selection of our own pets for the future, we have just had a litter we have planned for a very long time.  Using frozen semen from our foundation sire, Aust. Best in Show, Canadian and CKCSC/USA champion Werrington Buoyancy of Rattlebridge we have had a wholecolor litter out of Harana Star Appeal.  I have long wanted to put a little Bounce back in my life especially since losing my beloved Bandi, a Bounce son, last year. 

Al is now 78.  We simply need a smaller property.  Life changes and we must change with it.  I will continue to keep up this blog as I enjoy doing so.  So stay tuned to see what the future will bring us as we shift our goals a bit. 

Update on California Proposed Legislation  AB 1634:  the bill went to the Senate Committee. The hearing on the bill was most interesting.  Instead of having the bill go down in committee, 5 to 0, the sponsor of the bill Assembly member, Lloyd Levine, pulled the bill rather than see it go down in defeat. By pulling the bill, Levine opened the door to reintroduce the bill in the next Legislative session.  John Hamil, past president of the California Veterinary Medical Association, testified as following:

Twenty five years of experience in trying to find solutions to the problem of animal relinquishments and euthanasia leads me to request that you reject this ill conceived bill which can not solve these problems and, more likely, will worsen them.”

The California Veterinary Medical Association reversed its original support of 1634 to come out against the bill. 

The California and national dog community came together to have our side heard in opposition to 1634.  Too long has our dog community ignored all the warning signals of Peta and the other animal rights organizations.  The bottom line to Peta’s beliefs is that all animals are equal to people and should not be owned by people.  Since the beginning of mankind, animals have served us and worked with us in partnership. 

Bill Hemby, Chairman of PetPAC, said in his letter of thanks and congratulations to the PetPAC supporters and opponents of 1634:

“We are grateful for your support of PetPAC and thrilled with the outcome. It was an honor to testify against the bill today, and I was especially pleased to enter into the record an additional 742 organizations opposed to the measure.

PetPAC has worked around the clock advocating against AB 1634. Coming down to the homestretch, our television commercials took our story to millions of Californians and bringing Lassie to the Capitol stole the hearts of everyone in Sacramento.

We will continue to grow our coalition and organize our efforts against opponents who for months have shown more enthusiasm for personal attacks and misleading the public than working towards making good public policy.”

For a look at a video celebrating the relationship of people to their pets, please view the video Stand By Me:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE-3URJrD9A

Susan Van Luchene aptly sums up what happened at the hearing:  Please do watch the video of the hearing which is most interesting.

http://www.calchannel.com/search.php?date=071107&source=senate&type=committee&title=&Search=Submit

I”If you didn’t listen to the hearing, go watch the video. URL above.  Select
“Local Government” It doesn’t include the supporters …. It begins with Dr. John Hamil, past president of the CVMA. I am not sure if he was the first speaker in
opposition or not as I was not physically present myself.

This is quite an eye-opener.  It is obvious that Senator Kehoe had been set
up by Levine to give him some openings to make some points.

The astonishing thing to me is that there seems to be NO understanding that
the “problem” can be helped in many non-coercive ways. The  only approach
Levine and his supporters (like the shelter workers who commented) can think
of is to make punitive laws and fines.

One thing I think we need to know is how many spay-castrate clinics and
mobile vans there actually are. The distortions in the numbers that Levine
has used in other areas to support his arguments, render his vague
generalities regarding the availability of low cost spay & neuter to be
questionable at best.

One shelter person asked why vouchers aren’t being
used…well, is that because people want their dogs to be “macho” or
because it’s difficult to get to a veterinarian or clinic ….

As I said, this is very telling and certainly merits your time to watch it.”

Without the efforts of the American Kennel Club,the National Animal Interest Alliance, the California Dog Owners Association, PetPAC, and other groups, plus many, many show breeders, 1634 would not have been pulled in committee.  We cannot let our guard down, but now we know what we are facing as we fight the anti breeding movement. In Ohio, hearings on SB 173 will begin in September and we must be ready.

I attended the first hearing of the Senate Committee for Ohio Senate Bill 173 (the Puppy Mill Bill) today. This hearing was for proponent testimony only; the Legislature is going on summer break next week, so opponent testimony will be scheduled once the Legislature resumes in the fall. Three proponents of the bill testified vividly against puppy mills. Two senators, Mumper and Cates (the Senate sponsor of the Bill), both have dogs from puppy mills and are committed to passing 173. As the Bill stands, it regulates breeders who have more than eight breeding dogs, stud dogs or brood bitches, who have each produced a litter in the previous year; those breeders then fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture requiring breeders to be fingerprinted, have background checks, pay licensing fees, and procure a vendor’s license. For example, in 2006 there must be eight different dogs who produced a litter; if a dog has not produced a litter in the previous year, that dog does not count toward the number of eight. If I have three stud dogs and each of those dogs are bred to a bitch owned by someone else, then those stud dogs count toward the count of eight. Breeders of toy dogs may have several litters a year due the small size of the litter. Sporting dogs, herding dogs, hounds, and working dogs produce usually large litters giving the breeder several puppies from which to chose for the show ring. Toy breeders do not always have that luxury of choice in a litter.

While the Bill is not all bad, it does allow the state of Ohio real control and leaves it usually to dog wardens, operating as agents under the department of Agriculture to enforce the Bill. Dog wardens are seldom trained in animal husbandry and breeding practices; moreover, some dog wardens may not be reasonable in enforcing the Bill. This Bill gives dog wardens also the power to seize the kennel’s dogs in there are infringements of the bill; under the Ohio Revised Code, only local humane society humane agents can seize a dog because of neglect or abuse.

This Bill gives the director of Agriculture’s authorized representative the power to enter a kennel facility without prior notification to “inspect and investigate and to examine and copy records.” If the breeder refuses to allow the representative to inspect premises and/or records, the breeder then will be required to pay the inspector’s salary for the number of days that the representative is not allowed to do his or her job of inspection. The legitimate breeders will easily be found; I do not think that all the puppy mills, especially the Amish some of whom keep their dogs in dark barns with no visible evidence that the barns house dogs ,will be so easy to find and inspect. Many show breeders’ dogs live in the house. There must be a way to develop criteria to distinguish legitimate show breeders from the commercial breeders and puppy mills who sell to pet shops; meanwhile, we show breeders must find a way to work with the Legislature to change the language in the Bill or if necessary totally defeat the Bill. As previously stated, the Bill has merit for Ohio has many, many horrific puppy mills that desperately need to be shut down. While there were only a few breeders at the hearing, not counting an Amish contingent, the hearing was called with no lead time to arrange to be there. We will be better organized next time I hope. I reiterate, in my opinion this Bill as written gives too much power to the state. I do hope that the Senate and then the House allows us to work with them to change the bill. Meanwhile we are working to defeat the bill as it is written. Big Brother will certainly be watching if this bill as written passes.

“When it rains, it pours the old adage goes.” At this point the adage would not be referring to the drought in Ohio, but to the amount of anti breeding legislation being introduced in our country. Ohio Senate Bill 173, the puppymill bill, will have a formal hearing this coming Tuesday with bill sponsors and opposition giving testimony. This bill is an awful bill. Written to shut down the Amish puppymills, the bill will effectively stop the small reputable show breeders from breeding. Commercial breeders will really not be affected; they will get their vendors’ licenses, pay the fees to do high volume breeding, and raise their dogs like livestock under the regulations of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. While the spirit of requiring better housing and care for the puppy mill dogs, the bill lumps all breeders together who have over a certain number of breeding animals which includes brood bitches and stud dogs. If one would have a stud dog, that dog could not be bred more than once a year. So a healthy dog could effectively not be used by other breeders to improve their dogs. We presently have four dogs who have been MRI’d clear of Syringomlyelia who really could not be used as I read the bill. I am attaching the link to the bill and to the list of senators. PLEASE, THOSE OF YOU IN OHIO, AND THOSE IN OTHER STATES, CONTACT YOUR SENATOR OR ALL SENATORS NOW IN OPPOSITION TO THIS BILL. Just look on the link to the Ohio Government website to read the bill and find the list of senators. Please become involved.

The site for SB 173:

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_SB_173

And don’t forget AB 1634 in California. Thank you!

The fight against California AB1634 is ongoing. Below is a summary of what the passage would mean to reputable breeders of purebred dogs. Kim Meredith-Cavanna is a well known breeder and judge who has written the best explanation I have seen on the ramifications of the passage of AB1634. Also below the summary is a list of California Senators. Please fax your opposition to this bill. You do not have to be a resident of California to fax opposition to this bill.

Please, please donate money to the Concerned Dog Owners of California which is mentioned in the article. The website is www.cdoca.org

From Kim Meredith-Cavanna:

“You must read this bill in its entirety and its many amendments. It is vitally important that every Californian in the dog fancy read and understand this bill. If you do not live in California, you should read the bill and understand it, because its coming your way!

PLEASE READ THIS BILL!!!! All of us need to educate ourselves. Write letters! Send faxes! Donate money to help us fight this. I am a member of COD www.cdoca.org and we have hired a full time lobbyist. CDOC is made up of “real” dog people. Exhibitors, judges, handlers, breeders. We need donations. If you can donate time, we have lots of jobs for you! Please do not think “some one else” will do it, because they will not. The threat of not having the AKC show held in Long Beach and loss of revenue is no longer an issue we can use as leverage. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

AND THE LIST OF SENATORS TO FAX OR CALL: (FAXING IS BEST, EMAILS TOO EASILY DELETED)

Tom Harman

Chico: (530) 895-6088
Colusa: (530) 458-4161
Redding: (530) 225-3142

Today AB 1634 was passed and retained which means it is tabled until later in the week because evidently Levine, the bill’s sponsor, did not have enough votes to pass it. If it is not voted on by Friday, the bill will not appear again until next session. It is interesting to note that Levine was not available today. The battle is not won yet, but the opposition is finally being heard.

Now on another note, Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn went to the World Show winning Best of Breed two of the four days. Delta was co bred with my great friend, Margaret Valentine, and is co owned by another great friend, Sherri Meyer. Delta was shown by Sherri’s lovely daughter Nicole Newkirk. Way to go! Judge is Mr. Norm Patton.

Today AB 1634 was passed and retained which means it is tabled until later in the week because evidently Levine, the bill’s sponsor, did not have enough votes to pass it. If it is not voted on by Friday, the bill will not appear again until next session. It is interesting to note that Levine was not available today. The battle is not won yet, but the opposition is finally being heard.

Now on another note, Ch. Rattlebridge Delta Dawn went to the World Show winning Best of Breed two of the four days. Delta was co bred with my great friend, Margaret Valentine, and is co owned by another great friend, Sherri Meyer. Delta was shown by Sherri’s lovely daughter Nicole Newkirk. Way to go! Judge is Mr. Norm Patton.