When we see a piece of legislation in the works that is labeled for animal welfare, we should support it right?  Wrong. It’s what I devoted much of my life to so I should just support ANY piece of legislation with that label, right?  Wrong.  There is a very big picture out there when it comes to the world of animal welfare.  I am fortunate to have a passion for making the lives of our pets better and I have been able to work within that passion in many facets of the animal rescue world giving me a very broad view and a lot of experience.  I have worked in behavior, humane investigations, community outreach, legislation, transport, training, I was a shelter director with a lot of experience in herd health, the five freedoms, enrichment for mental decline of animals, you name it. I have worked nationally on weather disasters,  on cruelty cases, specifically dog fighting and the efforts to save the victims of that awful awful “blood sport.”  I have been on tv, talk shows, testified before our state House of Representatives and State Senate with a lot of experience and education to back the words I present to them in testimony.  I have written legislation based on what I saw, what I heard, and listening to folks about how we can make things better.  I’m always open to learning, so I listen, I watch, and I learn.  Now I’m asking you to read what I’m about to say and think about it.  It’s my hope you that you learn something from it.

Our state of Pennsylvania has some issues when it comes to our animals, I think we can all agree on that.  We have had some very good pieces of legislation pass over time and things have gotten better.  We have some very popular legislation that was recently introduced and I am have found myself to be not supportive.  I’ll tell you why.

Our state’s Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement (BDLE) has seen cuts year after year.  Back in 2008, after passing some of the BEST laws surrounding standards for kennels then Governor Ed Rendell took 4 million dollars from the BDLE with a promise to replace it.  It was never replaced–not a penny of it.  This has put the BDLE in a vulnerable position in not just having to make cuts in “human capital” but not being able to replace positions currently open.   I’d like to ask that folks please remember that our legislature should be introducing legislation that helps the animals of PA. It really isn’t helpful to all of the shelters, rescues, kennels and animals of PA if we don’t fully fund the BDLE. In addition, we should absolutely NOT be introducing and lobbying for legislation that not only does nothing for the animals of PA, but gives an already financially strapped BDLE more work which in turn will spread the employees of dog law even thinner resulting in less time for inspections, less time to inspect those that harbor dangerous dogs, less time for court cases for dog bites, dog attacks on other animals or service animals, less time for picking up stray dogs and more. This legislation would all but force a for profit pet entity, a pet store, to become a non profit even though the pet stores were never in this for the purpose of rescuing animals – they make money and they will find a way to do just that.  The increase in non-profit kennels will create even MORE work for the dog wardens. Recently a Petland – one who has a non-profit set up, took in 4 week old puppies. According to our dog law, if a mother abandons her pups, is harming them or has died, those puppies must be taken to a humane society or shelter/rescue. So nothing they did was illegal, but 4 week old puppies lived at a Petland. Really? Puppies living in a store, puppies with no mother, hand raised as we call them. The odds are stacked against them with the BEST human foster mom. Here is your $1500 lifetime behavior project. The HSUS just investigated a Petland and found that they were not properly caring for the animals yet these are the very people this legislation wants to care for our animals. What am I missing? With so much pressure on shelters and rescues to increase live release rates will there be the temptation to place questionable dogs with these pet stores? There is nothing in this legislation that penalizes a rescue for knowingly placing an animal in a store with untrained staff that has presented behavior problems.  What will the exercise plans be? Who will walk the animals? What type of cages/kennels will they live in? Pet stores that have rescue animals now do not do dog intros, they don’t do any type of vetting of adopters. A pet store in Eastern PA was used as an example of how this would work and failed it’s inspection for just what I stated above. The dogs were observed in kennels that they could not stand erect in, that they could not complete a circle to then lay down, they were lying in their own excreta, their bedding was dirty, the areas were not sanitized, dogs were in the back area with no lighting.   Rescues/shelters in PA that give pet stores dogs will likely end up in Commercial Kennel Status and also require dealer kennel licenses. No reputable humane society, SPCA or rescue is going to give a converted pet store their adoptable dogs.

There is a narrative that PA has some of the the worst “puppy mills” i.e., commercial kennels in the country.  What you do not hear is that PA has some of the toughest laws and restrictions when it comes to commercial kennels in the country. We also post all inspections online for folks to view, not many states, if any, are that transparent.  When you see that there are citation/charges against kennels it’s because someone is doing their job–a dog warden.  A dog warden employed by the BDLE.  Are there things that can be done better? Of course. Are there parts of this legislation that are good? Absolutely. Any time I have worked on legislation I have always included those that will be enforcing said legislation. It’s truly the best way and it’s the way to get the best legislation that will truly affect our animals for the better.  What is the basis for this legislation?  What are the facts that make this necessary legislation?  Not someone’s opinion or a false narrative, the facts.  What do those who enforce these laws have to say?

We need legislation that will not cause more work that in turn will create more animals in possibly poor conditions because an overworked dog warden from an underfunded department has too much to do.  Online dealers are going to boom with zero oversight. I fear they will be the winners.