Life-Saving Legislation Needs Your Support by February 5th Deadline!
Landmark spay/neuter assistance legislation and anti-chaining legislation are currently stalled in the Washington State legislature because lawmakers haven’t felt enough pressure to schedule a hearing and bring them to a vote.
Washington State lawmakers need to hear from you today! The spay/neuter assistance bill and the anti-chaining bill were introduced during the 2009 session and went nowhere. The window of opportunity to pass these bills during the 2010 session will close on February 5th! Animal lovers need to step up and be heard!
If passed, these laws will help save thousands of lives due to pet overpopulation and end the suffering dogs continually tethered outside in temperature extremes and cut off from the human companionship they crave. Let’s turn on the heat!
Spay/Neuter Assistance Bill;
Senate Bill 5329/House Bill 1406 if passed into law will set up a fund that will provide up to 70,000 low-cost spay/neuters for pets of low-income families and feral/free-roaming cats. Pasado’s
Safe Haven supporters know first-hand that this
service is vital and highly successful. As the
video
here shows, when our Spay Station pulls
up, there is never a shortage of grateful
families who line up to take advantage of the
generosity of our donors.
Without this service, most unwanted kittens and puppies end up in shelters with a high probability of being killed to make room for yet more unwanted but adoptable cats and dogs. Conservative estimates put this number at 60,000 precious lives snuffed out each year in Washington State.
We can end this vicious and heartbreaking cycle by putting our money where our heart is!
The fund set up by Senate Bill 5329/House Bill 1406 relies on a very small fee on pet food purchased by those
most likely to be passionate about saving lives. The fee works out to be less than $0.03 per pound of pet food.
Imagine knowing that each time your dog or cat comes running excitedly to their food bowl or curl up on your lap
with a full belly, that somewhere there is an animal spared from euthanasia because of your purchase.
If you want to make this a reality then please tell the chairs of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to schedule and pass Senate Bill 5329/House Bill 1406 before the February 5th deadline! These lawmakers need to hear from the citizens of Washington State or these bills will die, along with this
wonderful opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of animals and their families.
Senator Brian Hatfield
Chairman, Senate Agriculture Committee
239 John A. Cherberg Building
PO Box 40419
Olympia, WA 98504-0419
(360) 786-7636
hatfield.brian@leg.wa.gov |
|
Representative Brian Blake
Chairman, House
Agriculture Committee
331 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7870
blake.brian@leg.wa.gov |
Example Message:
Dear Senator Hatfield and Representative Blake:
Please pass SB 5329/HB 1406 through your committee to provide animal spay/neuter assistance.
(Include your own personal message here).
Sincerely, Your Name Your full address
Click
here for suggested talking points.
Senator Hatfield and Representative Blake
represent the 19th District
(see map left)
so hearing from their own constituents is
particularly powerful. If you know someone in
this area, please reach out to them individually
and encourage them to send their emails/make
their calls today!!
Anti-Chaining Bill:
House Bill 2387
if passed would ban the unattended
chaining or tethering of dogs except for an hour
each day or up to 3 hours if the owner is
engaged in a temporary task. For anyone who has
ever witnessed the agony of a dog continually
tethered in extreme temperatures, tangled up in
ropes or chains, we think you’ll agree that this
bill is long overdue. When Pasado’s receives
calls from Good Samaritans asking for our help
to intervene in these cases, most times our
hands are tied. This cruel practice is not
currently breaking any laws in most areas, so
there is very little we can do legally. We need
your help in getting this bill passed so we can
pressure animal control to take action when dogs
are forsaken in this way.
Not
only will dogs benefit but so will society as a
whole. Dogs continually tethered are much more
likely to bite. Not coincidentally, so are
intact dogs!
Please contact the chair of the House Judiciary
Committee and ask that this bill be scheduled
and voted out of committee as soon as possible
before the February 5th deadline.
Rep. Jamie Pedersen
(D) 43rd district
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
318 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7826
pedersen.jamie@leg.wa.gov |
Example Message:
Dear Representative Pedersen:
Please pass HB 2387 through your committee to
limit the time a dog can be chained/tethered.
(Include your own personal message here).
Sincerely, Your Name Your full address
|
Talking Points:
Dogs should never be continually chained outside, away from their families.
When they are, they become lonely, under-socialized, bored, and anxious.
Many times these dogs develop aggressive behaviors and can bite people
unprovoked. |
Share the link to this story on your facebook
page!!! Encourage your friends to join you in
this effort to save and improve the lives of
animals!! Thank you!
(don't forget
to ask your employer
to match your donation)
|
|
|
