CA Action: Puppy Mill Bill + 2 More Bills Await Governor’s Okay!

Dear California Advocates,

Good news! Three important bills that the ASPCA has been fighting for in California have finished their journeys through the State Legislature:

Assembly Bill 241, a.k.a. the Responsible Breeder Act, will limit the number of intact adult animals that pet-breeding facilities are permitted to own.
Assembly Bill 1122 would prohibit the sale of animals on streets and in other public spaces. (It exempts legitimate adoption events.)
Senate Bill 135 would prohibit the docking of cows’ tails.

All that is required for each of these bills to become state law is Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature.

What You Can Do

Take a few minutes today to contact Governor Schwarzenegger to ask him to sign these three bills into law.
Governor Schwarzenegger’s Office: (916) 445-2841

If you’d like to learn more about each bill, or see our tips on what to say when you call, please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center online.

Thank you for your help advancing this humane legislation—we’re just one step away from victory!

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Puppy Mill Awareness Day 2009 – September 19th

SEPT 19 is Puppy Mill Awareness Day!!! In case you want to educate people on the existence of Puppy Mills and the harsh reality of what these dogs go thru or just learn more about Puppy Mills yourself… here is a great website where you can order br…Read More

Please read through this entire page — it will save us accounting nightmares and ensure your brochures arrive quickly and safely!

PetShopPuppies.org

Source: www.petshoppuppies.org

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Puppy Mill Awareness Day 2009 is almost here! Please join us for this important event on September 19th in Lancaster, PA. We will gather to provide a voice for thousands of dogs that remain in puppy mills around the country waiting for a hero. While public awareness has drastically increased over the past few years but we still have a long way to go. On September 19th we will celebrate rescue, increase awareness to the cruelty within the mills, and provide a day of fun! Come a day early and participate in our “Dog Auction” where we will be auctioning off art that was created by puppy mill survivors. We promise laughter through tears during this unforgettable event. See you at PMAD!!!

Help us save them…..

Puppy Mill Awareness Day

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Related Posts:

• Orange Bone, a New Kind of Pet Store
• Pennsylvania… Puppy Mill Capital, USA
• The HSUS Assists with Seizure of About 400 Dogs at Washington State Puppy Mill
• 285 Dogs Are Out and Never Looking Back
• Victory in Pennsylvania – Landmark Puppy Mill Reform Bill Passes
• Doomed Dogs Get On The Rescue Wagon to Other Shelters
• Chattanooga: Chihuahua Movie Raises Puppy Mill Concerns
• Shelters Full of Chihuahuas
• Stop Puppy Mills Update From HSUS
• Petland Supports Puppy Mills

As the ASPCA says… “We Are Their Voice!”  Please report all suspected abuse or neglect of any kind… and to anyone!!

California: Puppy Mill Bill to be voted on by Senate this week. We need you! ~~ Please Call Your State Senator: Yes on AB 241 ~~

Dear California Advocates,

The California Responsible Breeder Act of 2009 is moving quickly toward becoming state law—the Senate is expected to vote on it as early as this week. It is crucial that your senator votes YES on this humane legislation that will help crack down on puppy mills.

If passed, the Responsible Breeder Act will limit the number of intact animals that large-scale breeding facilities are permitted to own. With this law on the books, law enforcement will finally have the authority to put an end to inhumane, overcrowded conditions at puppy mills.

Similar legislation limiting the number of dogs who may be kept by commercial breeders has already passed in Louisiana, Virginia and Washington. You can help California be next!

What You Can Do

We all hate puppy mills. This is your chance to really do something about them—call your state senator’s office today to urge him or her to vote in favor of the Responsible Breeder Act (AB 241).

Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to find your senator’s phone numbers and to let us know you called.

Thank you, California, for joining the battle against puppy mills.

Having trouble viewing this email? Read it online in your browser.

Posted:  Just One More Pet

ASPCA Asks Court to Direct Helmsley Money Back to Dogs

The ASPCA, along with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Maddie’s Fund, filed suit this week in New York Surrogate’s Court to intervene in the matter of the late Leona Helmsley’s $5 billion estate. The suit seeks to overturn an earlier ruling that allows the Helmsley Trustees—those responsible for issuing charitable grants from the estate—to disregard Mrs. Helmsley’s specific instructions that her wealth be used to help dogs.

“Just a fraction of the money involved in Mrs. Helmsley’s estate is a game-changer for animal welfare,” says Marsha Perelman, ASPCA Board Chair. “The fate of dogs in this country could very well rest on the decision of this lawsuit—it is that critical.”

No nonprofit groups involved with animal welfare were contacted or given an opportunity to register formal objections prior to the court’s controversial ruling last fall. As a result of that ruling, and in clear violation of Mrs. Helmsley’s wishes, less than 0.1% the trust’s initial round of grants was allocated to dog welfare-related charities.

“Dog fighting, puppy mills, pet homelessness and overpopulation are not $100,000 problems. But they’re not billion-dollar problems, either,” says Ed Sayres, President and CEO of the ASPCA. “Mrs. Helmsley understood the importance of animal welfare. She wanted her worldly estate to make our society better for dogs and animals—and if distributed as she intended, it definitely has the power to do so.”

This case has larger implications beyond the fate of the Helmsley estate. The three organizations believe that the court system has a responsibility to protect the wishes of any decedent, and also to protect the charity world from the whims of trustees who wish to ignore estate planning instructions. The misdirection of the Helmsley fortune should be of interest to everyone who hopes to provide for beloved pets after death, as well as to the multitude of organizations, from nonprofits to universities, that rely on bequests.

The groups involved in the lawsuit are not seeking grants for themselves, but do hope to work with the Helmsley Trustees in an advisory capacity to award grants to animal welfare groups of various size and scope around the country. “There has been a sea change in recent years in how we treat animals. It’s a shame that the Helmsley Trustees don’t understand or respect that change,” says Sayres.

Do you Twitter? Use this hashtag to tweet on this article: @aspca and #HelmsleyEstate

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Related Posts:

• Leona Helmsley’s Will to Give $1 Million to Dog Causes, Down From $12 Million
• Plan Ahead For Your Pets’ Care… Like Oprah
• Providing for Your Pet’s Future Without You
• Should Pets Get Inheritances? – Just One More Pet Says Absolutely!!

Order Your Copy Today

Every Dog’s Legal Guide: A Must-have Book for Your Owner

Pennsylvania… Puppy Mill Capital, USA???

Thanks to “Nightline” for the episode about puppy mills in Pennsylvania.  Watch the video, and think about it before purchasing a puppy in a petstore.  Sadly by “saving” that one pup from the store, you are causing several more to suffer.  This will only stop if we quit shopping and supporting these types of stores!

Source: Sandi’s  K9  Management

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Concerns lead to ASPCA raid at Wisconsin shelter

ASPCA Rescues Over 300 Animals!

Was it an animal shelter, or a puppy mill, or perhaps a little of both?

Whatever the case, the Thyme and Sage Ranch in Wisconsin is no more after 300 dogs were seized and owner and founder Jennifer Petkus was charged with 11 misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. The story sounds a little similar to the one we told you about earlier this week – Pendragwn Chow Rescue in Pennsylvlania.

In the Wisconsin case, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant Tuesday at the ranch, seizing the first 100 dogs, eight horses and a goat. At least six dog carcasses were discovered and a ram needed to be euthanized, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

According to a criminal complaint, Dr. Lisa Kerwin-Lucchi, a veterinarian with the Dane County Humane Society, used a hidden camera and temperature probe to record conditions at Thyme and Sage Ranch in rural Cazenovia in March, documenting dogs without access to food and unfrozen water, dogs with severely matted fur and inadequate bedding for unheated buildings.

Petkus was charged with one count of improper shelter to animals and 10 counts of intentionally mistreating animals — all misdemeanors. In addition, she faces five counts of unlawful deposit of animals carcasses.

Court records also show that Thyme and Sage, which has a contract with Richland County to serve as a shelter for lost and found animals, had already transferred 68 dogs and 10 cats to the Dane County Humane Society between Feb. 1 and March 27.

Kerwin-Lucchi started collecting the criminal evidence as early as February to obtain a search warrant and file charges “to make sure (Petkus) can’t do this again.”

She said she’s not sure what led to the conditions of her shelter because Many of the seized dogs look to be “retired breeders from puppy mills,” and the fact that she was adopting out large number of young puppies raised the suspicion she may also have been breeding, Kerwin-Lucchi said.

On Tuesday morning, May 19, the ASPCA was on hand in Cazenovia, WI, to assist in the raid of an animal sanctuary, the Thyme and Sage Ranch. The ASPCA Forensic Cruelty Investigation and Disaster Response teams, as well as our Mobile Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit, are currently working alongside the Richland County Sheriff’s Department to collect evidence and evaluate the animals found at the site.

Successful Protest by the Companion Animal Protection Society in West Hollywood, CA!

SUCCESSFUL PROTEST BY THE COMPANION ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY IN WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA!

On Saturday May, 2009 activists and celebrities protested with the Companion Animal Protection Society in front of Elite Animals Pet Store in West Hollywood California. West coast director, Carole Raphaelle Davis organized the protest in front of Elite Animals Pet Store. The pet store in West Hollywood sells dogs from puppy mills in the Midwest and is defrauding customers, lying about the conditions the dogs are from. The city of West Hollywood, CA passed a resolution against the sale of puppy mill dogs last year. Elite Animals has ignored efforts by the City of West Hollywood to come in for a meeting to discuss the evidence in an open forum with representatives from several national animal welfare organizations. The protest was the lead story on KTLA news the same evening.

 

West Coast Director of the Companion Animal Protection Society, Carole Raphaelle Davis, being interviewed by KTLA Channel 5 News Team.

Source:  CAPS – Companion Animal Protection Society

Publication date: 2009-05-06

Posted: Just One More Pet - 2009-05-09

Related Articles:  

• Orange Bone, a New Kind of Pet Store

Save A Life… Adopt Just One More Pet~

ASPCA Experts Help Secure Puppy Mill Conviction

 

This past March, Dr. Melinda Merck, ASPCA Senior Director of Veterinary Forensics, helped secure an animal cruelty conviction by testifying in the trial of Kathy Bauck, operator of Pick of the Litter Kennels. The New York Mills, MN, breeder sells animals to pet stores and online—and has at times housed more than 1,300 dogs of at least 32 different breeds. Bauck was arrested in August 2008 and charged with several counts of felony animal cruelty, torture and practicing veterinary medicine without a license. On March 24, after a 4½-day trial and six hours of deliberation, a jury cleared Bauck of felony charges but found her guilty of four misdemeanors (one count of animal cruelty and three counts of torture).

In early 2008, a freelance animal cruelty investigator, Jason Smith, began working at Pick of the Litter to gather evidence against Bauck. Smith submitted testimony and videos of alleged abuse to Otter Tail County sheriff’s detectives last May. The videos included footage of injured, ill and emaciated dogs, as well as of Bauck dunking dogs in vats of insecticide. “The veterinarian working with the prosecution contacted me about one month before the trial started,” recalls Dr. Merck. “I was asked by the prosecutor to review all the video and case files and provide expert opinion.”

With a history of complaints and citations against her—including a 2006 cease-and-desist order from the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine for performing surgery on animals without a veterinary license—Bauck is well known to ASPCA investigators. “Kathy Bauck has been a chronic problem,” states Bob Baker, ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives Investigator. “I visited her facility in 1998 and reported her to the USDA for violations of the Animal Welfare Act—but as far as I know, there was no follow-up on the part of USDA.”

At her sentencing hearing last Friday, May 1, Bauck was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 20 days to be served right away. The other 70 days were “stayed,” meaning they will be served only if she violates her probation. The judge also sentenced Bauck to 80 hours of community service and ruled that if she plans to continue participating in operating the kennel, she must allow unscheduled inspections—and that inspectors must be allowed entry into ALL areas.

As the ASPCA says… “We Are Their Voice!”  Please report all suspected abuse or neglect of any kind… and to anyone!!

Related Articles:

• 285 Dogs Are Out and Never Looking Back 
• Stop Puppy Mills Update From HSUS
• Petland Supports Puppy Mills
• Victory in Pennsylvania – Landmark Puppy Mill Reform Bill Passes
• Doomed Dogs Get On The Rescue Wagon to Other Shelters
• Chattanooga: Chihuahua Movie Raises Puppy Mill Concerns
• Shelters Full of Chihuahuas
• Humane Society of the U.S. finally changes its policy on fighting dogs
• Manhattan Man Arrested for Beating Dog and Girlfriend

Orange Bone, a New Kind of Pet Store

Selling puppies in a pet store, especially since Oprah’s notorious Puppy Mill episode aired last year, can easily alienate members of the dog community, incite protest and boycott and be bad business in today’s climate. The Orange Bone, Melrose Avenue’s newest pet store, is changing its business model and selling puppies from local rescues and shelters. 

Orange Bone, working with Last Chance for Animals, is committed to saving dogs on death row. It all sounds too good to be true so I decided to check out it for myself. Not surprisingly for a store on Melrose Avenue, the place has a sleek, glossy modern look; it resembles a Pinkberry store more than a typical pet store you’d find in a mall. Los Angeles has its fill of nice looking pet boutique so I went straight to the dogs.

On a Tuesday afternoon the store was packed. I eavesdrop as Ray Maldonado, regularly referred to as the store’s dog guy by many patrons and coincidentally the vice president, talks to a couple considering a pit bull puppy. As I stand around and wait for my turn, I noticed the Orange Bone offers financing. Ray says potential buyers have the option to complete a credit application. He says for those who need it and qualify; it helps to get the dog placed a little easier. Wow. Rays reminds me, “It is all about the dogs.”

While Ray excuses himself to answer another customer’s questions, I take a second to review their sales contract. I was very pleased to see the following, “Adopter agrees if for any reason you cannot keep the puppy you will return it to Orange Bone so we may place it in a new home.” People are not guaranteed a refund, but may exchange the dog within specified timelines for another if they’re inclined. I think it says a great deal about the store that their first priority is to make sure puppies are placed in a stable and loving environment and will always accept a dog back.

Ray is still with another customer so I ask the Kennel Supervisor, Joseph Maldonado, Ray’s little brother, about the care of the puppies. He says he and Ray live nearby and are at the store nearly 20 plus hours each day. Joseph says, “I get here every morning at 8 a.m. to walk the dogs before we open at 11.” The dogs are also all supervised by monitors and short circuit camera feeds.

Ray says they only started working with shelters and rescues in December 2008 after getting some negative feedback. He was once an animal control officer for the city so he really wanted to reinvent the system to make it work for everyone. According to Ray’s records, they have placed about 150 dogs since December 2008 and it’s their goal to place a 1,000 dogs by the year’s end. Ray also happily boasts that about 25 percent, if not more, were on death row.

First impressions can say a lot and Ray and Orange Bone left an indelible impression on me and Rufus today. Ray and his team sincerely seem committed to the dogs with a real hands-on approach in their permanently placement. In the short hour that I lingered unannounced at the store I witnessed more than one person come in who had been working closely with Ray to find the perfect furry friend. It’s not hard to imagine since Ray is the kind of guy who immediately becomes everyone’s best friend.

Other notable features about the store include the Three Dog Bakery treats they offer, the wide assortment of doggie apparel, collars, leashes and stylist carriers. They also work with a trainer, Jessica Dragon, so new parents can get started on the right paw.

If you’re looking for a new dog, stop by and visit Ray. Tell him Rufus and Johnny from Examiner.com sent you.

by Johnny Ortez, L.A. Small Dog Examiner

Orange Bone
7574 Melrose Avenue 
Los Angeles, CA 90046

T. 323. 852. 1258 
F. 323. 852. 1299 
Info@orangebone.com

Mon – Sat 11am to 8pm 
Sun 11am to 7pm

Related Articles:

• Successful Protest by the Companion Animal Protection Society in West Hollywood, CA!

Posted:  Just One More Pet

285 Dogs Are Out and Never Looking Back

This is why we always encourage you guys to report, report, report animal cruelty! Thanks to the complaints of folks looking to purchase dogs, a puppy mill was busted today in White County, Tennessee, where the ASPCA seized 285 dogs this morning from miserable conditions.  From Their Press Release:

“The dogs are small breeds under 20 pounds and include Boston and Jack Russell terriers, Pomeranians, shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, poodles, miniature pinschers and schnauzers. According to Dr. Melinda Merck, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Veterinary Forensics, the dogs are suffering from a general lack of husbandry, such as little to no food or water, lack of proper ventilation in enclosed areas, and feces encrusted pens. Conditions such as matting, sores, mange, poor teeth, abscesses, and a host of other medical conditions are prevalent.”

We’re thrilled that the dogs are now getting the TLC and medical care they deserved all along. Special shoutout to the White County Sheriff’s Department of Tennessee, who requested our assistance and gave us the authority to investigate. So that’s great for the dogs, but what about the puppy mill? The ASPCA is evaluating the dogs found at the site and collecting evidence for the prosecution of the criminal case. 

 

The ASPCA’s best and brightest are currently on the ground in White County, TN, managing operations of a puppy mill raid that began Wednesday morning, February 11. Our forensic cruelty investigation team, led by Dr. Melinda Merck, ASPCA Senior Director of Veterinary Forensics, is evaluating dogs and collecting evidence for the future criminal prosecution of the puppy mill’s owners. Members of the ASPCA Disaster Response team and several of our legislative professionals are also assisting at the site. More than 285 small-breed dogs—including Boston and Jack Russell terriers, Pomeranians, shih tzus, Chihuahuas, poodles, miniature pinschers and schnauzers—were recovered from multiple buildings on the raided property. According to Dr. Merck, the dogs are suffering from a general lack of basic care, such as little to no food or water, feces-encrusted pens and lack of proper ventilation in enclosed areas. Conditions such as matting, sores, mange, poor teeth and abscesses are widespread.  Dogs in critical condition were examined immediately on the scene and in the Mobile Animal CSI Unit, and those needing emergency care were transferred to local veterinarians who have volunteered their services.

Local officials became concerned about this particular puppy mill last September after a visitor to the property—someone who had intended to purchase a dog—alerted the White County Humane Society to the poor conditions of the animals. The White County Sheriff’s Department began a formal investigation, ultimately enlisting the ASPCA’s support for this week’s raid. Other parties assisting in the rescue include American Humane Association, Nashville Humane Association, several local veterinarians and PetSmart Charities, which provided the majority of sheltering supplies and an emergency relief vehicle.

Back in June, the ASPCA assisted in the raid of a puppy mill in Lyles, TN—the state’s largest raid to date. Thankfully, the Tennessee General Assembly is taking action to address the state’s puppy mill problem—last week, a consumer protection bill addressing large-scale commercial breeders was introduced in the Senate; introduction of a House companion bill is expected soon. How can you help to ensure a safe future for dogs like these? When you donate today, you will help us in all of our life-saving efforts, including ones like the puppy mill raid in Tennessee. To learn more about the White County raid, please visit our blog to see pictures of the puppies we rescued.   

	Before your report cruelty, be sure to gather as much information as you can to help the authorities investigate. If you have evidence—photos, videos, etc.—even better!