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Monday, June 8, 2009

Puppy / News For the Love of Puppies

Posted by Rachael the Unpaid News Intern on Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 5:58 PM

In a happy event for dogs and puppy lovers, the “puppy mill law” successfully made its way through the Oregon senate last Tuesday, June 2, and onto the desk of Governor Ted Kulongoski, who has already said he will sign it. Passing 18-10, most of the opposition was from Republicans, backed by breeders and puppy-haters.

The new law limits breeders to 50 breeding dogs who must be over two years old and mandates that all dogs be given at least one hour’s exercise a day. And they must have enough room to sit, stand, turn, and lie down.

Furthermore, pet stores can no longer rely on customers’ infatuation with the cute and furry to avoid disclosing their breeders. The new law requires pet stores to state where their puppies come from. No more excuses of protecting financial interest — pet stores often say they don’t want customers bypassing their stores and going directly to the breeders simply to avoid disclosing puppy mills as their source, says Matt Rossell of In Defense for Animals.

Rossell was involved in a campaign against Scamps, a pet store chain notorious for its use of puppy mill puppies. Incidentally, it was reported today that Scamps is closing its doors for good.

89ea/1244508692-large_mill.jpg

Puppy eyes make me cry. Photo via Oregon Humane Society.

Puppy-lover extraordinaire Scott Beckstead of the Humane Society of the United States tells the Mercury this new law “won’t have any effect on the future of responsible breeding….This is really addressed at large-scale operations where dogs are treated as a cash-crop, not a companion animal.”

Puppy mills are large-scale breeding facilities infamous for their inhumane treatment dogs, which often includes stacked cages with wire bottoms, zero medical treatment, no human contact, and forcible breeding cycle after cycle.

To avoid getting a puppy mill dog, HSUS recommends considering adoption and says to avoid pet stores, most of which do sell puppy mill puppies, despite their claims otherwise. For those who really do want to get their dog from a breeder, HSUS offers tips on how find a responsible one.

-Rachael Marcus

 

Comments (7) RSS

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1
Puppies! I wish I had my very own puppy mill!
Posted by Will Radik on June 8, 2009 at 6:20 PM · Report
2
I noticed Scamps was closed yesterday. I got one sentence into this and knew why.
Posted by jakeaaron on June 9, 2009 at 12:38 AM · Report
3
Of course Republicans were against this bill.

PLEASE TELL THE PUBLIC WHO THOSE 10 HATEFUL MORONS ARE, RACHAEL!!

Sorry for yelling, but it's important.
Posted by a.O on June 9, 2009 at 10:08 AM · Report
4
This should be a nationwide bill.
Posted by Jay B on June 9, 2009 at 11:58 AM · Report
5
a.O - you can see the list of every puppy-hater who voted against the bill at the bottom of the bill info page on the legislature's website. Check it out:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/cgi-bin/searchM…
Posted by s.mirk on June 9, 2009 at 12:00 PM · Report
6
"
You have entered a measure number that is invalid, possibly because:
1) This measure has not yet been introduced.
2) This measure number does not meet naming standards
for the measure prefix (e.g., House Bills begin at 2001
and 5001, for budget bills; Senate Bills begin at 1 and
5501, for budget bills)."
Posted by Kyle! on June 9, 2009 at 12:07 PM · Report
7
This well written article should be read by all of Oregon - and California, where Auntie lives.
Love puppies, Hate puppy mills.
Posted by xx on June 9, 2009 at 2:19 PM · Report

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