Guest guest Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Dear Companion Pet Lovers ~ Thought you would find the following articles of interest... =0 A Mary O'Connor-Shaver Cell: 614-271-8248 Columbus Top Dogs (Shure Pets) http://www.columbustopdogs.com/ http://www.banohiodogauctions.com/ http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/ LEGISLATIVE ALERTS: Please visit our Home page for pending legislation impacting the welfare of OH animals - http://www.columbustopdogs.com/ I donate ALL profits from the sale of our premium products and accessories to local animal protection groups! P.S. You or someone you know has requested you be added to the Columbus Top Dogs email list. If you do not want to receive emails from columbustopdogs.com, please reply and put "remove from list" in subject. Thank you! ARTICLE 1 - Will state officials finally get a collar on kennels? Summer events may propel legislators to strengthen dog laws. By Tim Darragh | Of The Morning Call September 15, 2008 As lawmakers this week resume the legislative session in Harrisburg, one of the unfinished items on their docket is reforming the state's dog law, and a summer of notorious -- even shocking -- instances of animal mistreatment at Pennsylvania kennels has observers wondering if the debate has reached a tipping point. ''I'm cautiously optimistic, maybe a bit more,'' said the prime sponsor, Pittsburgh-area Rep. James Casorio, D-56th District. ''The unfortunate situation seemed to have built momentum'' for the bill. That ''unfortunate situation'' was the shooting of 80 dogs in late July by brothers Ammon H. and Elmer Zimmerman of Maxatawny Township -- with 70 put down at Elmer Zimmerman's farm. According to records, Elmer Zimmerman had one kennel lighting violation noted in two inspections earlier in the year. But on July 24, warden Orlando Aguirre issued a highly critical report, issuing citations for a list of structural, safety and sanitation violations and noting that 39 dogs needed veterinary care. Rather than treat the dogs, the brothers shot all of them and closed their kennels. Under the current dog law, the shootings are legal. Until the law is changed, ''kennel owners may continue to kill their dogs for any reason,'' Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said about a month ago. The reform bill would permit only veterinarians to euthanize sick kennel dogs, among many other changes related to the operation of commercial and nonprofit kennels. The shootings present ''a very clear, concise snapshot of what we're talking about,'' Casorio said. ''... Anybody who thinks that's okay, I can't understand where they're coming from.'' Gov. Ed Rendell and members of the Dog Law Advisory Board -- which Rendell dissolved and then reconstituted in 2006 -- reacted with outrage at the shootings. Shocked animal welfare advocates held a candlelight rally outside the Zimmermans' farms. Other events this summer added even more gasoline to the fire burning over kennel regulation in Pennsylvania. In the weeks since the House and Senate began their summer break, state officials: Closed down a Chester County kennel and took nearly 75 dogs after its owner pleaded guilty to eight counts of animal cruelty and two violations of the dog law. Investigated whether a Lancaster County kennel violated a consent agreement that ordered fines and detailed how it could advertise after consumers complained that it was selling sick dogs. Pulled the license of another Maxatawny Township kennel after wardens found dozens of ongoing violations. The closing of the Chester County kennel this summer also sparked outrage. John S. Blank, owner of Limestone Kennel in Cochranville, pleaded guilty to the animal cruelty charges after humane officials found diseased dogs there. Dogs taken from the kennel had paws splayed from standing on wire flooring in cages and eye diseases such as glaucoma, said Howard Nelson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. One dog had a bleeding abscess that trickled blood onto the cage below it and another had a missing ear, said Nelson, whose kennel housed the dogs until they went out to other kennels an d rescue groups. The latest to lose its license was the Burkholder Farm Kennel, also in Maxatawny, on Sept. 3, following another inspection that revealed sick dogs and unsafe conditions. Nelson said the events of recent weeks, as well as a program about Pennsylvania puppy mills on Oprah Winfrey's television show this year, raised public awareness.. But it is uncertain whether they create enough momentum to move the dog law bill to a vote in the full House and Senate, he said. Opponents criticize the bill for giving too much authority to dog wardens, who now can conduct unannounced kennel inspections but need humane officers to enforce the anti-cruelty law. State Rep. David R. Millard, R-109th District, said the bill ''goes way beyond'' improving kennel standards. If made into law, dog wardens would be allowed to seize animals ''without just cause,'' the Columbia County lawmaker said. The bill includes language that permits wardens to seize dogs if they believe the animals'20health is at risk. He said if the bill is narrowed to address kennel conditions, he would support it. Casorio and other supporters also say some legislators filed pointless amendments to tie up the process and send the bill into legislative oblivion when the session ends.. Several House members, including state Reps. Art Hershey, R-13th District, and Dan Moul, R-91st District, filed amendments to the bill before it could get to the full House in June. Neither Hershey nor Moul responded to interview requests. ''It would be unfortunate if the tragic events of the summer have no impact on the handful of Republican legislators who have attempted to kill the bill by way of frivolous amendments,'' said Jenny Stephens of North Penn Puppy Mill Watch, a supporter of the bill. While many rescue organizations, animal welfare groups and others=2 0have been passionate in their support of the bill, some dog organizations have been cooler towards it. Julian Prager, a member of Rendell's advisory board and a board member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs -- a group that has pushed hard to amend the bill -- said there are only ''very minor changes'' that need to be made for the group to support it. He said the federation expects those changes will be made. The federation will hold a lobbying day today in Harrisburg to draw support for the changes and then for moving the bill for a vote. Members also will speak with legislators about other dog-related bills, including one measure to curb tail-docking and a process to cut dogs' vocal cords called ''debarking.'' The Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will hold a second rally with their dogs Tuesday at the Capitol. The sta te Veterinary Medical Association also backs the bill, but still wants changes, including permitting wire cage flooring, allowing trained kennel owners to administer rabies vaccines, modifying ventilation rules, permitting indoor daily exercise and formalizing a veterinarian's relationship with a kennel. ''We feel [the bill] is a very good bill in many ways,'' said Executive Director Charlene Wandzilak. ''We need to work through some of our differences.'' Legislators have much more than the dog law bill to discuss in the remaining weeks of the session, including health care and energy initiatives.. But lawmakers also know that the bill has generated enormous public interest. Rendell's office said it's gotten more feedback on the bill than almost any other issue. It generated more than 16,000 comments during a public comment period and has been the subject of countless meetings across the state. ''Never before has there been such support or momentum for reform at the breeding kenne ls,'' Stephens said, saying supporters won't give up. ''Rest assured that, should the legislation not pass, we'll be back in January.'' URL: http://tinyurl.com/6gvhut ARTICLE 2 -Capitol rally seeks end to puppy mills Organizers want dogs, owners to attend Monday, September 15, 2008 By Ellen Lyon, Of The Patriot-News Organizers of a rally Tuesday on the Capitol g rounds hope hundreds of dogs will show up to bury Pennsylvania's reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East. The dogs, with their humans, will lobby for passage of House Bill 2525, which would set higher standards for the state's commercial kennels. The bill, expected to come up for a vote in the House on Wednesday, addresses "massive and horrific inhumane conditions [affecting] tens of thousands of dogs in Pennsylvania," said the sponsor, Rep. James Casorio, D-Westmoreland. Puppy mills -- generally defined as for-profit kennels where breeding dogs spend their lives in crowded, unsanitary and inhumane conditions -- are a "blight" on Pennsylvania's image, said Jana Kohl, an animal activist and writer. Kohl, who lives in Chicago, plans to bring to the rally her "Stop Puppy Mills" bus and her three-legged dog, Baby, a survivor of a kennel Kohl describes as a puppy mill. A 0 "The pending legislation is so important. It really will be landmark legislation that will influence the rest of the country. It's long overdue," Kohl said. "The issues up for consideration are moderate reforms. They're the least we should be able to provide. .... This should be a no-brainer." MARY O'C-S's NOTES: Jana and Baby will also be participating in this Saturday's Puppy Mill Awareness Day to be held on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at Intercourse Community Park (Leacock Township, PA) from 11:00 AM - 5 PM EST. Committed to educating the public about the connection between consumers and commercial breeding facilities, this event is being sponsored by Adopt A Pet, Inc., Last Chance for Animals, Inc. and Best Friends Animal Society. For more information, please visit - > http://awarenessday.org/. - > Casorio said he is optimistic the bill will pass, despite more than 100 proposed amendments he called "frivolous, time-wasting and ridiculous." The bill, which has nearly 100 co-sponsors, has bipartisan support from legislators in rural and urban districts, he said. The bill also has the support of Gov. Ed Rendell, who tried unsuccessfully to make some of the same reforms through the regulatory process; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; and the Humane Society of the United States. The two organizations are sponsoring Tuesday's rally. But the Pennsylvania Professional Dog Breeders Association, which has about 300 commercial kennel members, and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau oppose elements of the bill. Many of the association's members already adhere to those parts of the bill that match U.S. Department of Agriculture standards for kennels, association lobbyist Ken Brandt said. But other requirements of the bill, such as solid flooring for cages, exceed federal standards and would create sanitation=2 0problems, Brandt said. If passed, the bill "could potentially put law-abiding kennels and breeders out of business," said Mark O'Neill, a spokesman for the farm bureau. Some of the provisions would require major kennel infrastructure changes and contradict scientific findings on dog behavior, O'Neill said. The House bill would: Allow only veterinarians to euthanize dogs in commercial breeding kennels. Two kennel owners in Berks County recently shot to death 80 dogs rather than get them veterinary treatment. Double minimum kennel cage sizes and require that dogs have access to an exercise area. Mandate annual veterinary exams of kennel dogs. Limit stacking of dog cages. Establish daily cleaning standards and set temperature, lighting and ventilation standards for kennels. ELLEN LYON: 255-8167 or elyon CAPITOL DOGS EVENT: Rally to support higher standards for the state's commercial dog kennels TIME: Noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday LOCATION: Soldiers and Sailors Grove, Commonwealth Avenue and North Drive at the Capitol Complex SPEAKERS: ASPCA investigator Annemarie Lucas, who appears on Animal Planet's "Animal Precinct" TV show; Bill Smith, the founder of Mainline Animal Rescue, who recently appeared on an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" devoted to conditions in some of Pennsylvania's dog kennels; Jana Kohl, author of "A Rare Breed of Love," about Baby, her three-legged dog, which survived a kennel she calls a puppy mill. URL: http://tinyurl.com/6jmjal ARTICLE 3 - Stu Bykofsky: Fight puppy-mill horrors: Tell your rep to back HB 2525 By Stu Bykofsky, Columnist Philadelphia Daily News , September 15, 20 08 Returning from summer recess today, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives can make once-in-a-generation changes to the Keystone State's outmoded Dog Law - if they show the loyalty to dogs that dogs have always shown to us. House Bill 2525 will be taken up today and tomorrow, supported by more than 100 humane and fair-minded representatives of the 203 total in the House, along with Gov. Rendell. It is opposed by a gaggle of heartless maggots who lick the hands of callous pet-profiteers: the commercial kennel breeders who have turned our state into the Puppy Mill Capital of the East. To breeders, innocent puppies are just a cash crop, like peas, carrots or potatoes. Westmoreland County Democrat James Casorio is the primary sponsor of HB 2525. "If folks would know - and they're beginning to know - the conditions these poor dogs are subjected to on a day-to-day basis, they would be sick to their stomach," he says. "Sledgehammering a PVC pipe down a dog's throat so it won't bark," Casorio says, "I'd like to have someone justify that to me." HB 2525 isn't revolutionary. I wish it were. All it does is establish minimal health-and-welfare standards that will drag Pennsylvania's 650 commercial breeding kennels from the Dark Ages into the . .. . Middle Ages. HB 2525 doesn't require that dogs get filet, a personal trainer and a swimming pool. HB 2525 doubles the minimum cage space, now about the size of a newspaper honor box. This is how thousands of breeding dogs are imprisoned for their entire lives, never once standing on solid ground, let alone going for a romp. What did these pitiful dogs, faithful companion animals that love human contact, do to deserve this? HB 2525 requires access to an exercise area twice the size of the cage, and solid flooring instead of the painful wire flooring now widely used. It mandates annual veterinary care, unbelievably not required now. It orders free access to fresh water, which dogs are not now guaranteed. Currently m any dogs used for breeding are trapped in tight cages, often caked with their own excrement. The cages might be stacked high in dim, stuffy barns, or in rabbit hutches exposed to extreme weather. When the dogs are spent, they can be shot, as 80 were last month. HB 2525 permits only veterinarians to put them out of their misery. The new law may cost commercial breeders some money, but any modest cost increase will be passed on to the ignorant people who buy puppies at pet stores, the puppy mills' notorious outlets. Decent Pennsylvanians want the minimal reform offered by HB 2525. Space doesn't allow me to recount all the horrors of the puppy mills. Check these Web sites: stoppuppymills.org, aspca.org/puppymills or unitedagainstpuppymills.org. Chester County is horse country, and the leading opponent of the proposed law is a Chester County horse's ass named Art Hershey. In trying to stifle the bill, Rep. Hershey larded HB 2525 with 20 of the 52 amendments that "improve" the bill the way barnacles make a ship sail faster. Hershey's transparent scheme is to ki ll the bill by delay, says Cori Menkin, senior director of legislative initiatives for the ASPCA. The cruelty-enabling Hershey offered amendments to cripple standards for heat, cooling and lighting. My favorite amendment coming down Hershey's highway is A08348, which adds "dishwasher" to the list of prohibited ways to house a dog. Yes, dishwasher. Taxpayers pay him more than $75,000 to dream up crap like that? Another Hershey kiss of cruelty is Amendment A08366, which says that potable water should be offered as necessary, instead of continuously. Hershey's stinking hypocrisy is revealed on his own Web site, www.arthershey.com. Clicking on "Tips to keep pets healthy this summer" (it was there as of Friday) takes you to info from Penn's Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital. Point 3 says dogs need "plenty of clean, fresh water, accessible at all times." Hypocrite Hershey, who didn't return my calls, isn't the only Harrisburg villain, he's just the most prodigious and vicious. Because he's not seeking re-election, he may feel free to disgust the state's humane voters. As the fight to improve the miserable lives of dogs imprisoned in puppy mills moves forward, the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the U.S. are sponsoring a rally at noon tomorrow in Soldiers Grove at the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. People and dogs welcome. If you can't come to the rally, you can call your state rep to say you are sick of horrific conditions for dogs that benefit only pet profiteers. Demand a "yes" vote on HB 2525. Two additional bills address animal cruelty and its consequences: HB 2532 and HB 499. If you can't name your state rep, call 717-772-2854 at the state agriculture department and they'll help you.. By making the calls, dog lovers and other people of conscience will help rid us of the deplorable title of Puppy Mill Capital of the East. E-mail stubyko or call 215-854-5977. URL: http://tinyurl.com/673utm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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