Findster and The Puppy Mill Project are teaming up to #EndPuppyMills. Help us spread the word to stop this horrible – but legal – practice.
We may be well into the 21st Century, but humankind still has a ways to evolve – and the existence of puppy mills is proof enough of this. Findster and The Puppy Mill Project are launching a campaign in an attempt to raise awareness and educate the public about the issue.
The campaign is centered on a video spoof of the “Orange is the New Black” opening credits, featuring dogs as inmates. Although it starts off as a funny parody of the popular Netflix show, the video ends on a serious note, exposing the sad reality of puppy mills and urging the public to act by spreading the message using the #EndPuppyMills hashtag and donating via The Puppy Mill Project’s website.
You can view the video at YouTube via this link: https://youtu.be/YWdatUttWfM
Sometimes known as puppy farms, puppy mills are inhumane, commercial dog-breeding facilities in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maximize profits. The dogs live their lives confined in small spaces where diseases are easily transmitted, and forced to go hours and hours without any food or water. Puppy mill inhabitants typically do not receive veterinary care and rarely experience human touch or affection. Shocking as it is, this practice is not illegal – the Humane Society mentions that “in most states, a breeding kennel can legally keep dozens, even hundreds, of dogs in cages for their entire lives, as long as the dogs are given the basics of food, water, and shelter.”
There are currently an estimated 10,000 puppy mills in the United States – including both licensed and unlicensed facilities – with over 2 million puppies bred in mills each year.
Learn more about puppy mills and spread the word. Donate to the cause to help fund our efforts. And share the video with your friends and family via email, Facebook, Twitter and other social media to help us build awareness, and ultimately abolish, this cruel practice.
Join us for The Mothers in the Mills, our annual benefit, on Saturday evening, May 13th, Mothers Day Eve. Hurry! Buyer of the 100th ticket will receive 2 free tickets to share with friends!
The evening’s party will include:
– Dinner Buffet
– Open Bar
– Luxury Raffle Baskets
– Live performance painting by Elliott From of Artbeat Live
– Dancing to Chicago’s Premier Party Band : Out Of Control
Tickets on sale now!
http://bit.ly/MothersInTheMills2017
Your support enables us to expand our educational and awareness efforts, and to provide financial support for the healthcare and rehabilitative needs of rescued mill dogs.
Those two PRO PUPPY MILL bills masquerading as positive changes are up for review in Springfield this week. Read more about this pending legislation that would undo all the work we’ve done in Chicago and Cook County in this post from Steve Dale.
We had nearly 1500 people fill out Witness Slips OPPOSING the Illinois House bill last week. It was amazing. Now we need you to fill out the same thing for both the House bill AND the Senate bill. We know we can get over 2000 easily.
Please do this and then share, share, share!!!
LINKS TO BOTH WITNESS SLIPS (please do both!):
Instructions for filling out Witness Slips:
Section I: IDENTIFICATION
Fill in your first and last name, street address, city and zip code. In the field “Firm, Business or Agency”, enter the name of your organization, or enter “Self” if you are an individual. Enter “na” in the “Title” field. All fields are required.
Please Note: You will not be able to submit a Witness Slip that contains a slash ( “/” ) in any field.
Section II: REPRESENTATION
Enter the name of your organization, or enter “Self.”
Section III: POSITION
Click on the button to select “Opponent.” Make sure you click inside the round button, and check to be sure it is highlighted. It is a good idea to use the scroll bar to navigate the screen, as the arrow keys may accidentally change your selection!
Section IV: TESTIMONY
Click on the button to select “Record of Appearance Only.”
Double check to be sure your position is set to “Opponent,” check the box “I agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement,” complete the Captcha test, then click “Create.” You should receive a confirmation email.
We need your help! We need everyone in Illinois who loves dogs and cats to complete and submit a Witness Slip to OPPOSE Illinois HB 2824. The hearing for this Bill is scheduled for next Wednesday, March 8 at 1:30 pm in Springfield, so you must take action before then. Just click through the link and follow these directions.
It is highly recommended that you do this using a computer instead of a mobile device as the form can be tricky to navigate.
Click here to access the HB 2824 Witness Slip
Section I: IDENTIFICATION
Fill in your first and last name, street address, city and zip code. In the field “Firm, Business or Agency”, enter the name of your organization, or enter “Self” if you are an individual and enter “N/A” in the “Title” field. All fields are required. Please Note: You will not be able to submit a Witness Slip that contains a slash ( “/” ) in any field.
Section II: REPRESENTATION
Enter the name of your organization, or enter “Self”.
Section III: POSITION
Click on the button to select “Opponent.” Make sure you click inside the round button, and check to be sure it is highlighted. It is a good idea to use the scroll bar to navigate the screen, as the arrow keys may accidentally change your selection!
Section IV: TESTIMONY
Click on the button to select “Record of Appearance Only.”
Double check to be sure your position is set to “Opponent,” check the box “I agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement,” complete the Captcha test, then click “Create.” You should receive a confirmation email.
Two companion bills have been introduced in the Illinois legislature that would overturn the Chicago Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance that prohibits pet stores from selling dogs and cats from inhumane breeding operations, in addition to invalidating similar ordinances in Cook County, Waukegan, and Warrenville.
At first glance, these bills appear to offer additional protections for animals – and we share and support their stated
goals of protecting consumers, increasing transparency in the sourcing of dogs and cats, and screening out inhumane
breeders. We also support the bills’ microchipping requirements. However, one section of these bills (Section 3.8) is
misguided and will be extremely harmful to consumers and animals. Section 3.8 legitimizes sourcing dogs from
inhumane breeding operations, relies on information that is no longer available for its enforcement, and prohibits cities from enacting their own laws regarding the sourcing and sale of dogs and cats in their communities.
Why is this legislation bad for animals and consumers?
What can you do?
Contact the sponsors and co-sponsors of these bills in the Illinois House and Senate and tell them that you appreciate their efforts and concern for these issues, but Section 3.8 must be eliminated in its entirety.
Tell them that removing the home rule provision (Section 3.8(e)) is NOT ENOUGH – keeping the rest of Section 3.8 explicitly allows pet stores to source from inhumane breeders without any means of researching those breeders.
Contact your own representative and senator (even if they are not sponsors of this bill) and tell them that animal welfare is important to you and that there is dangerous legislation (SB 1882/HB 2824) pending that you do not support.
If you live in Chicago: Call your alderman. Tell him or her that there is state legislation that will invalidate a city
ordinance and deny Chicago’s home rule authority on an issue that is very important to you. Ask them to voice their
opposition to SB 1882/HB 2824 and stand up for Chicago’s right to regulate the source of dogs and cats sold in our
community. You can also do this for your Cook County Commissioner if you live in Cook County.
How to Contact your Representatives
Illinois House of Representatives Contacts:
State Representative Jerry Costello, II (representative who introduced the bill, representing the 116th District): (618)
282-7284 or staterepcostello@gmail.com
Lawrence M. Walsh Jr. (chief co-sponsor, representing the 86th District, including Joliet): (815) 730-8600 or
statereplarrywalshjr@gmail.com
State Representative Norine Hammond (chief co-sponsor, representing the 93rd District): (309) 836-2707 or
rephammond@macomb.com
Randy Frese (chief co-sponsor, representing the 94th District): (217) 223-0833 or repfrese@adams.net
State Rep John C. D’Amico (chief co-sponsor, representing the 15th District): (773) 736-0218 or johnd@ilga.gov
State Representative Margo McDermed (chief co-sponsor, representing the 37th District): (815) 277-2079 or
McDermed@ilhousegop.org
Copy & paste to email them all at once: staterepcostello@gmail.com; rephammond@macomb.com; repfrese@adams.net; johnd@ilga.gov; statereplarrywalshjr@gmail.com; McDermed@ilhousegop.org
Illinois Senate Contacts:
Michael E. Hastings (senator who introduced the bill, representing the 19th District including Joliet and other
communities): (815) 464-5431 or http://senatorhastings.com/contact-me
State Senator Jil Tracy (co-sponsor representing the 47th District): (217) 223-0837
Senator Emil Jones III (chief co-sponsor representing the 14th District): (773) 995-7748
or http://senatoremiljones.com/contact-us
Senator William R. Haine (co-sponsor representing the 56th District): (618) 465-4764
or http://www.senatorhaine.com/contact-us
New co-sponsor added, State Senator Sam McCann (representing the 50th District): (217) 245-0050 or
SenatorMcCann@gmail.com
Locate your State Senator and State Representative: http://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/addressfinder.aspx
City of Chicago Alderman Lookup:
https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/iframe/lookup_ward_and_alderman.html
For more information, contact The Puppy Mill Project at info@thepuppymillproject.org.
In addition to being available online, The Puppy Mill Project’s limited edition coffee table book, The Chicago Pet Project, is now available in select locations in the Chicago area. It is the perfect gift for pet lovers. Proceeds from this gorgeous book go to provide medical care for dogs rescued from the horrors of puppy mills.
The book is now available at the following locations:
Bentley’s Pet Stuff
743 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60202
Dog Patch Pet & Feed
1108 E. Ogden Avenue
Naperville, IL 60563
Stumble and Relish
1310 Chicago Ave.
Evanston, IL 60201
Virtu
2035 N. Damen
Chicago, Illinois 60647
The Chicago Pet Project can also be conveniently purchased online.
We are pleased to share the following update with you:
Pet Store Chain Accused of Selling Unhealthy Puppy Mill Dogs Settles Lawsuit
CHICAGO — Consumers and puppies in Chicago are the winners in a lawsuit against local pet store chain Furry Babies, Inc. After multiple failed requests to dismiss the case, Furry Babies has settled the consumer lawsuit, which alleged that the chain was violating consumer protection laws by selling sick puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting customers. In a settlement reached on Friday, Sept. 9, Furry Babies agreed to terms put forth by the legal power behind the case—the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the Humane Society of the United States and international law firm Locke Lord LLP.
The highlight of the settlement agreement requires Furry Babies to verify the specific source of each puppy, including specific breeders when the puppies are acquired through puppy brokers. Brokers serve as an intermediary between breeders and buyers and can conceal the puppy mills where animals originate. While Furry Babies can still buy from puppy brokers, it must verify that the original breeder has no critical or direct Animal Welfare Act violations on its last USDA inspection report. The settlement also requires Furry Babies to be more transparent about the source of its puppies by noting on each puppy’s cage that that the veterinarian’s report card and the breeder’s last USDA inspection report are available upon request, and must provide these documents when a puppy is purchased. The company must also note on their website that they purchase puppies from brokers in addition to breeders.
These changes go a long way toward offering consumers vital information about where they get puppies. Furry Babies and other pet stores are often accused of hiding dogs’ puppy mill origin now that many consumers choose not to support the cruel puppy mill industry. Such breeding facilities treat puppies as cash crops instead of pets, employing horrendous standards of care for the dogs and producing sick animals prone to illness, injury, genetic and behavioral problems.
“We are thrilled by the terms of this settlement, which advance the rights of purchasers who do not want to support puppy mills,” says Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “Such disreputable facilities treat puppies like cheap commodities and can foist thousands of dollars in veterinary bills on unsuspecting consumers. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is celebrating the resolution of the Furry Babies case as a major win for puppies and for Chicago consumers.”
The Animal Legal Defense Fund is the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals, and thanks the Humane Society of the United States and international law firm Locke Lord LLP for their work on this case.
The original post is accessible here.
In Chicago and countless cities across the nation, animal welfare advocates will recognize National Puppy Mill Awareness Day on Sept 18, 2016. Join The Puppy Mill Project as we march down Michigan Avenue. Everyone is welcome but please sign up so we know how many attendees to plan for. Sign up here.
Animal rescue organizations are encouraged to walk with us, bring their signage and wear their rescue t shirts.
We will assemble at 12pm at Plaza of the Americas, on the west side of Michigan Avenue, just north of the Wrigley Building. We will walk to Oak Street and back.
Refreshments will be served in the Plaza of the Americas after the march.
Please join us and bring friends! Dogs are welcome, but all dogs must be leashed.
There will be a blessing of the animals on the plaza when we’ve finished the walk. Chicago Police Department Chaplain Bob Montelongo will do a blanket blessing for all animals present, and then will be available for individual blessings for those who want them.