Hopefully This Will Get Me Started!

Ugh - the links aren't appearing in my cut and paste. If you'd like to read more about any of these articles, please visit Happy Tails Books. You'll be able to click on links there.

Thanks!

Puppy Mill and Dog Breeding News

7/25 Connecticut Passes Puppy Mill "Lemon Law." The CT SB 499-Puppy Lemon Law and Trace Back Bill has finally completed its legislative journey. On Wednesday, July 8, Connecticut Governor Rell signed this important humane legislation into law. (more)

7/21 California Puppy Mill Ban: A bill that aims to discourage puppy mills has cleared the California Public Safety Committee and heads to the Appropriations Committee. (more)

7/18 CA: After voting against Assemblyman Pedro Nava’s bill to crackdown on “puppy mills” Tuesday, a senate committee reconvened Thursday to approve the legislation. (more)

7/15 CA Pet Store Sells Rescue Dogs Instead. Since having a change of heart, the owner of Pet's Delight claims to have lost $30,000 in paying medical bills for the sick dogs she has sold. However, she says that she is going to stay the course and continue not selling dogs from puppy mills, after having done so for 20 years. (more)

7/14 TN Gov. Phil Bredesen signed The Tennessee Commercial Breeder Act into law. It "requires that these mass dog producing facilities operate as legitimate businesses, subject to licensure and inspection." (more)

7/9 Many dogs seized and people arrested in dog fighting raids. U.S. attorneys in four of the states announced related indictments accusing 26 people of cruelties ranging from denying animals medical treatment to shooting dogs in the head when they didn't fight well, then throwing their carcasses into a river or burning them in a barrel. (more)

7/8 Heddins Ranch and Kennel is finally busted for animal cruelty, after ten years of complaints. Almost 500 dogs from the kennel are now being housed at warehouse owned by Chesapeake Energy until it is determined who gets custody of the dogs. "This is not a typical rescue. It is extremely large. Now we are in the midst of this -- one of the largest puppy situations that we have seen in many, many years." - Sandy Grambort, Humane Society Supervisor (more)

7/7 Thorough update on animal cruelty legislation around the country (mostly East Coast): Many believe that state animal cruelty laws are not tough enough and that states ought to implement an eye for an eye approach. Others believe such approaches would be no more effective for crimes against animals than for crimes against people. In New York, laws are evolving but what’s going on elsewhere? (more)

7/7 Wisconsin Advocates Hope to Crack Down on Puppy Mills: As per Rep. Jeff Smith: "Unfortunately, our reputation as puppy-mill central or a magnet for puppy mills is growing as other states pass legislation that cracks down on these mills." (more)

7/3 Woo-Hoo! Hot Debate about Puppy Mills! The title is "Letter: Puppy Mill Term Offensive to Responsible Breeders." This is a MUST READ if you are interested in learning more about both sides of the puppy mill debate. The comment section is highly opinionated. What do you think? (more)

7/1 Dog Breeding Bill Makes Headway in NC: Senate Bill 460 passed a senate finance committee Tuesday. The bill would classify a commercial breeder as anyone who has 15 or more female dogs and 30 or more puppies for the purpose of sale. Breeders would have to pay $50 to get licensed and follow standards of care. (more)

6/30: Pet Legislation: Responsible Breeder Act and Pet Responsibility Act go to Vote on Tuesday: In a follow up to its protection of farm animals (Prop 2), California is making further moves to protect the well-being of domestic animals with AB 241. Authored by Assemblymember Pedro Nava, the "Responsible Breeder Act of 2009" aims to help law enforcement authorities crack down on puppy mills in California where profits trump the health and well-being of the dogs.(more)

6/29: Missouri Takes Legal Action Against Puppy Mills: Missouri officials have located more than 200 unlicensed breeders and rescued nearly 1,900 dogs since February as part of a statewide crackdown on puppy mills. (more)

6/23 Reputable Breeders Chafe Over Laws Aimed at Puppy Mills House Bill 2470, dubbed the puppy mill bill, was signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski on June 17 and takes effect Jan. 1. Designed to eliminate puppy mills and to protect those who've bought sick dogs from ruthless breeders, the new law will place a number of restrictions and obligations on Oregon breeders. (more)

6/23/09 How to Choose a Reputable Breeder and Avoid a Puppy Mill Ann Sterling, from the Humane Society of America says, "We expect that there are hundreds of puppy mills in Indiana and they don't get caught very often." Sterling says the evidence is in just about any local newspaper's classifieds, where you can find puppies for sale on any given day. She says there are ways to tell if it's a legitimate breeder or someone running a puppy mill operation. (more)

6/22/09 Group Urges Gov. Schwarzenegger to Collect Unpaid Taxes from Dog Breeders Holmes County Exposed offered the plan as an alternative to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s move to cut the state’s animal control costs by reducing the number of days public shelters must hold unwanted pets before euthanizing them. (more)

3/31/09 5 Simple Ways to Prevent Animal Cruelty April is Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month, but there are simple things you can do every day of the year to prevent cruelty. In just minutes, you can help save pets from abuse and make a difference in your community. (more)

Dogs - General
7/11/09 Are Boston Terriers Good Therapy Dogs? They sure are! Just ask patients at Lourdes Medical Center in Philadelphia. Charlie the Boston Terrier does a great job entertaining people! (more)

7/11/09 Microchips reunite pets with their owners in many ways. While they obviously allow vet offices, animal control offices and humane societies to find out the owner's information, they can also help prove who actually owns an animal if that animal is stolen. A perfect example of dogs being stolen, and then being reunited with the owner due to evidence that the microchip provided occured recently with a Tulare woman and her two Boston Terriers. (more)

7/6/09 Golden Retriever Robot is Too Cute to Pass Up It turns out that even if you aren't in a good spot to have a dog, you can still have a dog, thanks to Sega! Elderly folks in Japanese nursing homes are already enjoying their life-like robot dogs as companions. The best thing about them? They don't poop! (more)

6/29/09 Dogs Trained to Help People with Severe Peanut Allergies: This is a great story about adopted dogs who are trained to save the lives of people who have peanut allergies by detecting peanuts where they don't belong!

6/24/09 Americans Consider Pets Family An Associated Press-Petside.com poll released Tuesday found that half of all American pet owners consider their pets as much a part of the family as any other person in the household; another 36 percent said their pet is part of the family but not a full member. (more)


Dog Blogs
6/22/09 M.J. Williams Blog About Puppy Mills Puppy mills have become an area of great concern for those who legitimately breed puppies and for animal rights activists all over the United States and beyond. Puppy mills basically seek to "mass-produce" puppies from relatively few purebred studs and mothers. This is wrong for a number of reasons. First of all, mothers themselves are "overbred" to the point of exhaustion, and then often put down because they can't produce any more. The puppies produced in these places are often kept in deplorable conditions, with overcrowded cages, and too little food or water, as well as inadequate access to veterinary care and grooming. (more)