Iowa Lobby Day for Dogs

WARNING, some of the photos in this blog are graphic, but I think they are necessary to understand why this topic is important.

 

So today I would like to talk about some legislative issues that will affect rescues, shelters, commercial breeders, and kennels in the state of Iowa.  One of my interests is lobbying at the Iowa State Capital for animal rights.  This past Tuesday, February 18^th was Lobby Day for the Dogs.  One of the bills of interest to me is this one.  SF 2166 - Care of Animals in Commercial Facilities.  It is a bill that was introduced by Senator Matt McCoy.  This bill will help give all animals in Iowa humane care and treatment and will strengthen the penalties for animal abuse.  Specifically, it would revise the laws regarding licensure, fees, standards of care and enforcement of shelters, pounds, kennels, breeders, dealers, etc. caring for companion animals, including establishing a remediation fund to be funded by animal shelters and commercial breeders and dealers.

 

On Tuesday this bill passed a subcommittee and the full Commerce Committee.  This is an amazing step forward to get this bill passed.  What I like about this bill is that my rescue will then be licensed as a Shelter.  Right now we are licensed as a Dealer.   Our rescue was the first breed specific rescue to seek licensing in the state of Iowa and they really didn’t know what to do with us.  Because we were breed specific, we didn’t fit the requirements for a shelter.  With the passing of this bill that will change.

 

I’m going to be blunt…the purpose of this bill is to tighten regulations for Commercial Breeders (Puppy Mills).  There are too many animals that die in shelters every day.  Commercial Breeders are not breeding for the betterment of the breed, but for money. Period.  Every time a movie comes out with a dog as the star, commercial breeders start breeding puppies of that breed to send to pet stores because people want that dog.  Then when the love affair is over the dog winds up abandoned on the street or in a shelter.  Animal rescuers cringe every time a movie starring a dog comes out.

 

Then there are the ‘designer breeds’ or Mutts.  Cockapoo, Goldendoodle, and Puggles, to name a few…all of them are mutts, yet commercial breeders make thousands for every puppy.  And the dogs in their facilities are used for as long as they can breed. Once they are done they are auctioned off or dumped in shelters or even killed.

 

Now I have nothing against these dogs.  I love all animals.  My problem is the people who breed them and the conditions these pets are kept in to breed puppies to make money for the owners.  Most true breeders, who breed for the betterment of the breed, will only breed their dogs once a year or once every two years.  Dogs in commercial breeders are expected to produce puppies every time they go into heat or they are discarded.  Most dogs go into heat 4 times a year.  Now imagine you or your spouse having a baby every 9 months for as long as you can breed.  Commercial breeders don’t care about genetic or hereditary problems a specific breed carries.  Often times the dogs are inbred which makes these problems worse.

 

My own beloved Mirage was a product of a puppy mill.  We rescued her from a pet store that was about to send her back to the breeder because she had been there for almost 8 months.  She had severe hip deformity, yet was going to be sent back to the breeder to breed more puppies.  She lived a very long happy life with us and was the matriarch of our rescue until she passed away on 1/11/12.

 

Ok…I’ll get off my soap box now. 

One of my reasons for writing this blog is, hopefully to educate my readers and teach you that you can make a difference, but also to ask my Iowa readers to contact your legislators and ask them to pass this bill…without any significant changes.  The main goal of this bill is for commercial breeders to start treating their animals humanely.  IF they must breed, treat the animals like the sentient beings they are.

 

You really do make a difference.  When I first started lobbying for animal rights there were over 450 commercial breeders (puppy mills) in Iowa.  Now there are fewer than 250.  The photos throughout this blog are the conditions we are trying to stop.  No sentient being deserves to live like this.  So please take the time to contact your legislators to stop this abuse.

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri
 

All photos in this blog (except the one of Mirage & the Iowa State Capital) came from Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.