When I learned
about our current state of affairs regarding dogs seized from dog fighting
rings and other situations of abuse and neglect, I knew I had to do something
if given the opportunity.
It just so happened
that I had that opportunity today at 1 pm.
Despite all the
crap going on with our government right now and the divisiveness it’s caused among
us as a society, I must say, I was refreshed by what I saw today at the hearing:
a bunch of people, talking, listening, and figuring out the right thing to do
for innocent dogs seized from situations of animal cruelty such as dog
fighting.
I had the
pleasure of bumping into the author of the bill, John
Spiros, in the elevator, along with his assistant Katherine Bates, who did
a lot of work to get it ready. I learned after the hearing that Representative Spiros
is a republican – a lovely and timely
reminder that people with varying political viewpoints can get along, share similar
visions, and ultimately, together, make
world better.
Anyway, the long
and short of the hearing was this –
- Our current legislation regarding dogs seized from animal cruelty situations such as dog fighting hasn’t been updated since 1997. This was before a lot of the tools we have today to assess dog temperament. The bill is out of date, and as a result, innocent dogs are being immediately euthanized when they are pulled from these situations.
- There were a number of dog lovers in the room, and most people could agree on the fact that we want to save innocent dogs and do the right thing, and that it really doesn’t make a lot of sense to have a law to euthanize these dogs right off the bat.
- Still, even if this bill passes, Wisconsin has a long way to go. This bill only covers dogs whose owners have been convicted – and doesn’t cover the dogs that are locked up in a waiting period while the cases are still open. This means that these dogs will be held in small cages with little human contact and no attempt at re-socialization or rehabilitation after the abuse. We need to look to other states as role models – for example Illinois, and the work being done through organizations like Safe Humane Chicago.
Want to learn
more or get involved? Here’s a bit more info.
- Summary of today's public hearing: http://docs.legis.wi.gov/raw/cid/992487
- More on the bill: http://capwiz.com/bestfriends/issues/alert/?alertid=62953086&queueid=%5Bcapwiz%3Aqueue_id%5D#.UkuTE8rqWjg.facebook
- WI public hearing schedule (anyone can attend and/or speak at a public hearing!) http://committeeschedule.legis.wisconsin.gov/
- Local rescue I volunteer with: www.fetchwi.org
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