Dog Rescue Gone Wrong

A must read article for all dog breeders in today's market. A family's nightmare when their Olde English Bulldog litter was seized by rescuers.


Report by Donna Joyce, photos courtesy Mrs. John Bass

In the quiet evening of December 23, 2014, a Marine Corps veteran named John Bass and his family were preparing for a happy Christmas celebration at their Waukegan, Illinois home. The children were looking forward to opening their presents, and the refrigerator held delicious holiday foods. Their female Olde English Bulldogge Lola was sleeping peacefully, surrounded by 8 of the 10 healthy puppies she had birthed 6 weeks ago.

This was the Bass’s only litter of 2014. Earlier that afternoon, they had taken all ten puppies to the vet for their certifications of health and first shots. The vet had pronounced them all very healthy, and even stated that two could go to their new homes that day. Shortly after the New Year, the remaining puppies would be leaving. One little girl had yet to find her new family.

Possibly, that might change soon, Mr. Bass thought. He was downstairs waiting for a prospective buyer named Alyssa Finkel. She was very eager to buy the remaining pup and had insisted on coming over that evening. He picked up the sale contract he required puppy buyers to sign and placed it next to copies of the puppy’s veterinary health certificate and proof of vaccination. All buyers were expected to submit to a thorough verification process and a home visit, to ensure that they would be worthy homes. He waited, idly petting Lola and her pups.

The doorbell rang upstairs. Mrs. Bass opened the door. Two women entered.

Two hours later Mr. Bass was at the Lake County Jail. Lola, left alone at home, bewildered by the presence of so many loud strangers in her home, was fretting nervously about the sudden disappearance of her 8 puppies. She was not confiscated along with her puppies only because “there was no legal way to impound the adult dog,” according to Waukegan Police Sgt. Cory Kelly, who engineered the raid.

While the Bass family agonized at the jail, the puppies were on a 70 mile journey three counties south, where a year-old Joliet-based rescue group called Wags 2 Wishes (W2W) quickly offered them for sale at $400 on their website and Facebook page as “saved from a breeder.” The W2W rescue group also asked for donations for veterinary care for the pups. They were either unaware of, or ignoring the fact that the pups had been pronounced very healthy by the Bass’s vet earlier that same day. Dozens of prospective buyers quickly responded. The price was allegedly increased to $600.

FULL STORY AT LINK

 

HSUS Marches into the New Year; News Briefs January 12, 2015

Dear SAOVA Friends,

Welcoming in the New Year, HSUS posted their continuing list of legislative goals.  In Pacelle’s words, this will make 2015 even bigger and better than the year before.   The list includes:  Securing breeding standards in all fifty states to “crack down” on puppy mills; securing legislation against use of gestation crates and what HSUS determines are inhumane factory farming practices; ending horse slaughter.

In 2014 bills attempting to define commercial breeders and/or the departments responsible for regulation were defeated in AZ, MI, NC, PA, and TN.  Whether or not your state has an existing law is immaterial to HSUS; additional regulation can still be introduced.  In states where HSUS plans to introduce new legislation, kennel raids and illegal seizures will increase as HSUS lays the propaganda groundwork to “justify” passage of their bill. 

SAOVA posted a report on the HSUS Taking Action for Animals (TAFA) conference from summer 2014 in which we noted the formation of the HSUS District and County Leader Programs.   http://saova.org/HSUS_TAFA.html    This program is designed to engage people in all 435 Congressional Districts and have those District Leaders lead political efforts to advance federal legislation by concentrating on influencing members of Congress.   Under the guidance of HSUS staff, the Leader is to develop an action plan for successful completion of one goal related to Legislative Advocacy.  In addition to lobbying Congress, Leaders will work with school districts to establish Meatless Mondays; connect with small farmers to unite them against "factory farms;" and work with animal shelters on spay/neuter initiatives in the community.   This program is forging ahead.  You can look up your state and congressional districts on the HSUS site to see if these positions have been filled: http://tinyurl.com/kgnz4nu

 
Within this framework, HSUS also plans to include County Leaders in all 3,100 counties across the U.S.

The world not only belongs to those who show up, it's controlled by the best informed and most motivated.  It is time to sharpen your writing skills, contact your legislators, and take back the conversation.  Silence HSUS in 2015!

Cross Posting is encouraged.

Susan Wolf
Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance
Working to identify and elect supportive legislators

saova@earthlink.net

http://saova.org

FOUR CHARGED UNDER UTAH’S AG-GAG LAW

SALT LAKE CITY – Four animal activists who took pictures of a large southwestern Utah hog farm have pleaded not guilty to charges filed under a controversial law that criminalizes undercover investigations of slaughterhouses and factory farms. The four from California and Maryland entered the pleas Wednesday and Thursday to charges of trespass and agricultural operation interference. The activists from the Farm Animal Rights Movement are accused of driving onto private property at Circle Four Farms in Milford and taking pictures Sept. 24. The second count against them comes under a law that makes it a crime to conduct undercover investigations of slaughterhouses and factory farms. It’s being challenged by activists who say it’s designed to prevent exposure of unsafe practices.  Six other states have similar measures, but the only person to be charged was also from Utah, said Matthew Liebman, an attorney from the Animal Legal Defense Fund challenging the law. Full story at the Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/mdww2gh

PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S TRANSITION TEAM

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf begins to make good on his animal welfare campaign promises.  HSUS PA State Director Sarah Speed was named to his transition team on agriculture issues.  According to a prepared release, the transition review teams work with the outgoing administration to better understand the issues and challenges that face the executive branch.  Wolf was endorsed by Humane PA PAC and by HSUS.

RIGHT TO HUNT AND FISH

Recapping 2014, Mississippi became the 18th state with a constitutional right to hunt and fish provision with 88 percent of voters in favor of the amendment. Alabama voters, nearly 80 percent of them, refined already existing language, adding that hunting and fishing are the “preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.”   States protecting the right to hunt and fish are: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

Moving forward, Texas Senator Brandon Creighton (R, Conroe) and Representative Trent Ashby (R, Lufkin) recently introduced resolutions SJR22 and HJR21 proposing amendments to the Texas constitution that will protect the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife and preserve Texas' hunting heritage for generations to come.