Iowa Humane Lobby Day ~ Part 1

Monday, February 18, 2013

I was very excited this morning when I woke up because I knew today was the day that I was going to the Capitol to lobby my legislators for the humane treatment of animals.  I arrived at the Capitol around Noon today.  It was a very windy an chilly day and the walk up the hill from my parking space was a workout for sure.  J

 

Once I arrived, I went through security and went up to the 1^st floor lobby to see if the other groups were there.  Iowa Voters for Companion Animals, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and The Iowa Federation of Humane Societies (IFHS) were all there.

 

 

I checked in with Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.  They were very organized this year.  They had a packet of information available for each person who checked in. They looked up who my State Senator and Representative were and told me what seat they were in.  Inside the packet of information were talking points to mention to my legislators.  For folks who were there to lobby for the first they, they had some volunteers to educate them on how the process works and how to speak to their legislators.

This is my fourth Humane Lobby Day visit, so I knew what to do.  For those of you who don’t know what to expect, let me explain how it works. The legislators are there as representatives of the people and most of the time they are more than happy to speak to their constituents.  As you take the stairs up to the 2^nd floor, the Senate is on the left and the House is on the right.

My first stop was at the Senate.  There is a desk just outside the door with a map showing what seat each senator sits in.  I knew my senator is, Kent Sorenson, but if you don’t know, there is a map that can tell you.  You can also go to the Iowa Legislator website and click on the Find Your Legislator link.

 

Once you find out who your senator is, there is a slip of paper you fill out with his name, seat number, date, time, any message you have, your name, and whether or not you are waiting to see him.  Then give this slip to one of the door men and they will take it onto the floor.  In my case, Mr. Sorenson was not on the floor so they asked if I wanted to leave a message or come back in 20 minutes.  I decided to come back and went to see my House Representative.

 

The steps involved in visiting your House Representative are the same.  My Representative is Scott Ourth.

 

I gave my slip to the doorman and was very pleasantly surprised with Mr. Ourth came out in just a few moments to speak to me.  I explained to him that I was there because it was Iowa Humane Lobby Day and showed him photos of dogs from commercial breeders that we have helped here at our rescue.  Mr. Ourth states he has seen similar photos before and understood the problem.  He asked why, specifically, I was there. 

I visited with him about the laws that have recently been passed with regards to inspecting commercial breeders and my fear that they were not being enforced.  While I understand that the legislature does not enforce the laws, I hoped there was something they could do to make it easier for them to be enforced, such as hiring more inspectors and being aware of any issues other lawmakers may try to slip through.  I referenced the previous bill where a representative tried to change a dog’s status from companion animal to livestock.  Mr. Ourth really understood the issues I was concerned with.  He even took down the information for my rescue and invited me onto the House Floor to visit and have his photo taken with me.  I was truly pleasantly surprised that he really seemed to care.

 

When I was done visiting with Mr. Ourth, I went back over to the Senate side and tried to visit with Mr. Sorenson again.  He was still not on the floor, so I left a message with my contact information.  As of today, I have yet to hear from him.

 

To Be Continued in Part 2…

 

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri