New laws against puppy mills in Pennsylvania
Sammy, happy and running now!
Sammy is a 10 year old Shetland sheepdog. She was rescued by Linda Eroh in Douglassville, Pennsylvania two years ago. Sammy had odd behaviors, like cowering in the corner, eating mouthfuls of dirt and refusing to touch his food. What Linda found out is that Sammy had been used as a stud at a puppy mill for over 8 years and rarely was ever let out of a cage, unless it was to service the females, in addition to other abuses that he suffered.
Pennsylvania was known as one of the worst states on the east coast for unregulated puppy mills. However, what happened to Sammy, will hopefully not happen to any other dogs in Pennnsylvania due to a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell last Thursday. While many are aware of the abuse that takes place in these facilities, it was brought to national attention when people in a suburban shelter organization outside of Philadelphia put up a billboard in Chicago asking Oprah Winfrey to do a show on dog breeder abuse. As a result, the issue has gotten the attention it has long deserved. The issue was moved even farther into the public eye when last August to eastern Pennsylvania kennels shot 80 dogs when they were told that there were going to be veterinary inspections of their facilities and the dogs housed there.
The new law will address how the dogs have to be housed, treated, and cared for. It will also will track kennels and the dogs that they sell privately or to pet shops to insure that the dogs are not being overbred and mistreated in respect to their reproductive capabilities. There are also some administrative aspects to the law which will increase the authority animal wardens have in regards to allegations of violations of the law. Previously, only police and humane officers had any authority to act upon allegations.
Let’s hope that other problem states respond the way Pennsylvania has. It will make it a safer place for all puppies and dogs!!
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