Quote: Jason Shipley

Pensylvania is the puppymill capital of the world. Good for them in taking steps to ensure that kennels are treating dogs well. There should be more regulation in dogs. Just look at the crap most breeders are producing. The AKC can't do it so its up to states and local government. By the way I wonder how Ed feels about this. I'll bet that the new regulations are well below his standards.

I'm with you, Jason, having been involved for some time in urging changes in Amish Country puppy mill horrors. (If you Google it, WARNING: The videos and photos are very disturbing on the sites where the journalists posed as buyers and got in with photography equipment.)

It's one of those things that for years was so covered up that the general public in Lancaster County, PA (and the many out-of-state tourists) really had no idea of what was going on, and so were unable to do what we can usually do in a capitalistic society, which is to vote with their wallets.

The pups were and are sold in store-fronts, with no public access to the kennels.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/9161328/detail.html is an article that's not as horrific or graphic as many exposes.

I won't even put into words here what I have seen on film.

JMO.

I agree that the PA Puppy Mills should be put out of business - but the new proposed regulations will also put small responsible breeders, boarding kennels and private dog owners out of business and risk pet, working and breeding dogs from reponsible breeders/owners being seized, neutered by the state and possibly lost to their owners if they can't pay the huge fees or make the off-the-wall unreasonable improvements to their kennels to get them back. There has to be a happy medium.

molly

 Quote: Molly Graf

I agree that the PA Puppy Mills should be put out of business - but the new proposed regulations will also put small responsible breeders, boarding kennels and private dog owners out of business and risk pet, working and breeding dogs from reponsible breeders/owners being seized, neutered by the state and possibly lost to their owners if they can't pay the huge fees or make the off-the-wall unreasonable improvements to their kennels to get them back. There has to be a happy medium.

molly

I understand. What would be a good way to deal with it? Maybe change the floor upward from 26 dogs sold in a year so that small responsible breeders would not be involved?

With boarding kennels: I don't know about the rest of you but I absolutely do NOT want them doing anything with my dog if he has to stay there. No exercise for 20 minutes no contact what so ever. Lock him out to feed, water, and clean then lock him in to do the outside run. At the kennel or not, if your dog ends up biting them it's going to get turned in and all of a sudden you have a lot more problems, is the way I see it. I can't say for all but every boarding kennel in W.Pa I have seen have young kids working; cleaning and taking the dogs out if needed. These are not trained experts they are kids usually who thought it would be cool to make a few extra buck working with cute little puppies. NOT. Get rid of the puppy mills yes but I don't agree this is going to get the job done. Laws don't change things it's getting off you ace and enforcing them that makes a difference. Get someone in charge who's going to make things happen not new laws that won't be enforced after a few months.

Jason


Sorry had to edit to many typo's

Absolutely..... I see what you're saying 100%.

I was really talking about breeding facilities, particularly in Lancaster County, and not boarding kennels. Sorry.

Boarding kennels -- there's a place where I would think that we CAN vote with our wallets, either using the kennel or not.

People who are concerned with losing the small responsible breeders, and ALL private boarding kennels, need to contact their PA representative and protest the motions being proposed. Where will you keep your dog if the boarding kennels go out of business? Where will you get your quality well-bred purebred puppy? From out of state, which will be the only option when small "hobby" breeders cannot breed anymore. It is real, and something needs to be done - contact the PA reps and voice your opinion. Radical change that kills the responsible business owners is not the solution. Changes that affect puppy mills would be easy to do without being so radical -
if you've read the proposals, they include dogs in kennels not being muddy or dirty, or wet? That would eliminate any kennel with a nice large grassy exercise yard, like mine - a place where dogs can get out of the kennel and run/pee/poop and get some exercise out of the kennel. Make kennel runs larger, heat/air on the OUTSIDE runs? That would mean all indoor-outdoor run-type facility would have to go all-inside. Bummer for the poor dogs who would not have fresh air and stimulation while living or boarding in the kennels. Permanent roofing over all outside kennels? Huge expenses for those who like their own dogs to live in much larger outside enclosures and not stuck in indoor concrete runs. Clean buckets every day and keep records of it all? Too much paperwork for an owner-run facility, it wouldn't happen. And the list goes on. All of these things wouldn't hurt the puppy mills in the least - but they would hurt the small responsible breeders and boarding kennels.

molly

If anyone would like an easy-to-use email contact page for the PA Dept. of Agriculture and/or the wording of the proposed changes, see below. This is urgent, with a February 10 cutoff to prevent this legislation from driving small reputable breeders and kennel owners out of business while not affecting large puppy mills significantly, IMO. Please write a letter or e-mail even if you are not in PA! It will help a great deal.

http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/cwp/view.asp?a=3&q=139842&agricultureNav= |

Here is the proposed bill - please read it and realize that many of the proposed changes will be impossible for small breeders and boarding kennels to remain in business.

http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol36/36-50/2452.html

If it passes how do they propose to enforce it? There's so little enforcement of the rules already on the books that it's ridiculous to think MORE legislation will do anything positive.
Just my humble opinion.....

they are proposing also huge budget increases per dog warden, to implement the regulations.

molly