This is not anywhere near me, but we all need to stick together on these types of issues!!! I will be sending up prayers for all of you effected by this...that the come to their senses on the issue!!! Marsha
> Please contact local reps to prevent this from passing! > > I just received this on my legislative alert group and thought someone > on here may be interested - hope it's ok to post these :) > > Rep. Brad Hill sponsored H 1948, a bill related to Dangerous Dogs in > this session. The bill was excellent and was supported by both The > Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and The National Animal Interest > Alliance. The bill basically defined what a dangerous dog was without > regard to breed and imposed strict penalties on irresponsible owners. > The bill went to the Municipalities Committee and was sent to study. > However, on July 28 part of the bill was recommitted to Municipalities > and that committee produced H. 5092 which is no longer a dangerous dog > bill, it is something of an anti-dog bill. H 5092 seems to have > collected the worst provisions of every bad dog bill filed in the US > this year. It is just awful! It needs to be killed. > H 5092 does not resemble Rep. Hill's > bill in any way. Because of the procedural issues involved, there will > be no public hearing on this totally different and really awful bill > which essentially means that those who will be affected do not have an > opportunity to state their objections to any committee in a hearing > format. That's why we need everyone to contact people on the committees > listed at the end of this email as well as your own Representative. It > is urgent that you do so! The bill we are told either has just come from > the Municipalities committee or is about to come out and go to the > Steering and Policy Committee. Steering is the Committee that assigns > the bill to a sesion of the legislature. Once in Steering, it could be > moved to a vote very quickly. What we need is for Represntatives to > object to the bill both to the committee on Steering or on the House > Floor. We also need to contact the Municipalities Committee and object. > Among the provisions of this bill that are objectionable: > > 1. Mandatory spay/neuter of all dogs over 12 mos. This will adversely > affect responsible hobby dog breeders who are Massachusetts residents > and will force many of those seeking purebred pets to go to other states > because there will be fewer > well-bred home-raised dogs available in Massachusetts. > We all know MSN does not work where there are problems and > Massachusetts does not have problems. That is why shelters are able to > import tens of thousands of strays to sell here every year! > > 2. > Intact animal permit at a cost of $500 per dog per year. Only a few > wealthy dog owners will be able to afford this onerous tax. Again, small > Massachusetts breeders will be penalized even though they are the best > local source of healthy puppies.This is a copy cat of what was > originally poposed in Dallas > > 3.To qualify for intact permit: you have to > a. belong to a purebred dog club with a code of ethics for breeding > that restricts breeding of dogs with genetic defects (which are not > defined) and the club has to be approved by the city > or town. Since no clubs have been approved, again, breeders will be > adversely affected. > b. have to complete a course on responsible pet ownership approved > by the city or town. Cities or towns do not have such classes. In > Massachusetts you do not have to take a responsible parenting class to > have a baby. > > 4. > You can't breed more than one litter a year from a bitch with minor > exceptions or if you don't follow the law to letter. This means the > state is arbitrarily usurping the husbandry decisions that should be > made by the dog's owner and their veterinarian. > > 5. Sale of > puppies has to be reported to the town. This means towns will have to be > involved in more record keeping. Dogs are not firearms but are being > treated as though they were in this bill. > > 6. Dogs cannot be tethered (no allowance for sled dogs or hunting dogs) > for more than 3 hours out of 24 hours. Racing Sled dogs are routinely > tethered and some hunting dogs are also tethered. This provision is one > sponsored by PETA to make dog ownership more difficult. > > 7: > Any town can ban any breed they wish to ban and can establish a > committee of 3 to name breeds they wish to ban. This anti-dog provision > means that owners of purebred dogs must live in fear that their breed > will be banned. This is a constitutional issue because people do have > the right of enjoyment of their private property. Rep. Hill's original > bill was a very good > generic dangerous dog bill which did not penalize dogs by breed and this > one specifically does. > > 8. Requires vaccinations for > permits including Leptospirosis. Many veterinarians recommend dogs not > be vaccinated with this vaccine because of side effects and lack of > efficacy. Vaccinations have to be certified by a vet. Owners of > multiple dogs often vaccinate their dogs themselves with the exception > of rabies which under law has to be administered by a vet. Asking for > all vaccinations to be done by a vet will make it financially very > difficult to own multiple dogs. Watch your vet bill go up if you do your > own shots! > > 9. If a dog is declared a nuisance (including > but not limited to: running at large, barking for a sustained time, > digging, scratching or defecating off its property) it can be ordered > neutered, banished, or destroyed along with a fine. This is draconian > at best. > > 10. Animal Control personnel or those designated as such can seize or > impound any animal they believe is dangerous. This is a vague provision > which gives > governmental agencies the right to seize property on suspicion. > > 11. > If your dog is seized and you appeal and then lose, you pay costs of > housing and care of the dog and the town can put a lien on your house or > add it to your car excise tax. > > For all these reasons, H 5092 would be extremely bad public policy. > > Please > write something in your own words. That is really important. Be sure to > sign your note and give your full contact information. > Here are links to the Committees involved: > > http://www.mass. gov/legis/ comm/h52. htm > http://www.mass. gov/legis/ comm/j10. htm > > > Hollie > www.holliesangelpups.com > > **Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving > safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in > broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, "Wow, > what a ride!!!"** > > > > ------------------------------------ " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/join (Yahoo! 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