Hello Florida Animal Advocates, 

Your e-mails to Senator Perry and the Senate Agriculture Committee saved the Day!  SB650 passed by a vote of 9-0 with the understanding that Senator Perry and our sponsor, Senator Taddeo, will sit down and work on an amendment to remove the "hunting dog" exemption and instead add provisions for legal hunting activities such as obedience training, exhibitions, field trials, and retrieving trials.  

We couldn't have done this without all of your e-mails!  In some of the e-mails that I was copied on---one advocate said that hunters are a minority, so why should they be granted an exemption---another said that they lived next door to a man who chained several dogs and how they felt helpless and what a nuisance it actually was to neighbors.  Thanks for the excellent letters!  

Senator Thurston asked all the right questions during the meeting!  

Here is video of the meeting.  Go to time 5:15   

https://www.flsenate.gov/media/videoplayer?EventID=1_3wpkrnbb-202103031200&Redirect=true

Let's keep up that momentum of sending e-mails----we still haven't gotten Rep. Wyman Duggan to agree to hear our bill HB177 in the House. Session ends April 28th, if he doesn't introduce it soon, the bill dies.  If you haven't done so, please send an e-mail---all you have to do is write in the subject line  Please Hear HB177  Tethering  and send to  wyman.duggan@myfloridahouse.gov

A lobbyist for Southeast Dog Hunters and Florida Dog Hunters Associations attended the Agriculture Committee meeting as well as a lobbyist for the NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida.  

The NRA plans to fight our bill!  Do they like dogs? Do they like children?

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/03/03/why-is-the-nra-against-a-ban-on-dog-tethering/

Obviously the legislators paid no mind to their waive of opposition---they all voted to keep the bill moving!

SB650 will now move to the Community Affairs Committee.  Senator Jennifer Bradley is the Chair.  She voted "yes' on our bill in the Agriculture Committee and loves dogs---we believe she will hear our bill.

We can make Florida a better place for animals if we all do our part!

Like our Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/DylansDogChainingLaw

Sign and Share our Petition

https://www.change.org/p/florida-legislators-stop-chaining-dogs-in-florida-142b7b88-f73d-40c8-a206-824c76183ad7?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=77554f80-f165-11e7-a512-190b8c221133

IMPORTANT: Once a year Delegation Meetings

Delegation meetings of your state legislators are held in each of the 67 counties of Florida before the opening session of the FL House & Senate.  These meetings offer residents of Florida the opportunity to let their state legislators know how they feel about certain issues.  

Delegation meetings are coming up in January and February. Posted below are some of the upcoming meetings. We will be posting all 67 county meetings, but are sharing those we presently have information on. There will be updates as we go along. We are counting on you making your voice heard, either in person or via zoom, requesting a state Anti-Chaining law, rather than a county by county ordinance as presently in a few counties.

Details for these meetings may be different for each county due to Covid-19.   Please check with your listed county Legislative Delegation contact person about procedure; whether the meeting will be entirely zoom; or in person; or both. Ask about the required procedure to speak at the meeting. Because of Covid-19, the meetings may have limited seating capacity. You may be able to fill out a speaking form ahead of time or you may be able to fill it out the day of the meeting depending on each county’s procedure.

For Delegation Meeting information and Delegation contacts for each county go here:

https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/api/document/house?Leaf=HouseContent/Lists/FP_Reference%20Materials/Attachments/19/2020%20Local%20Legislative%20Delegations%20List.pdf

Upcoming Meetings:

Baker County---January 21st

Brevard County---January 7th--This meeting is virtual only

Broward County---January 6th

Clay County---January 6th

Collier County---already had delegation meeting but will have Town Hall meeting on January 7th

Columbia County---January 19th

Dixie County---January 7th

Gilchrist County---January 7th

Hamilton County---January 20th

Hernando County---February 12th

Lafayette County---January 7th

Martin County---January 20th

Pinellas County---January 19th

Santa Rosa County---January 21st

Suwannee County---January 19th

Please Forward Our Petition to your Contacts

Once our dog chaining legislation has a bill number and it is assigned to committees (we are hoping that happens within the next couple of weeks), we will be sending our petition to key legislators on the committees for them to view our signer's comments.  

If you have not already signed our petition, please do so---AND also pass it on.  We are at about 1600 signers---but there are 20 million residents in Florida---so we would like to see more Floridians have the opportunity to be heard.  Post the petition everywhere you can.  Our dog chaining petition can be found here:

  https://www.change.org/UnchainFlorida

We can make Florida a better place for animals if we all do our part!

This information was sent to me on 6/27/16  by a member to share with cat guardians, volunteers and fosters and is directly quoted. There is a [promising drug in the treatment] of FHV (Feline Herpes Virus)! But only in compound form. It's called Cidofovir o.5% Eye Drops. Here are a couple of links to give you more info:

• http://www.wedgewoodpetrx.com/learning-center/medication-information-for-pet-and-horse-owners/cidofovir-ophthalmic-for-cats.html

• http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/cidofovir-shows-promise-treatment-fhv-1-conjunctiviti

This information came to me when my own experiences took me to University of Florida's Small Animal Hospital. I had x3 kittens that were not getting better with the standard Vet care, that consisted of BNP antibiotic eye ointment, Tobramycin drops, & oral antibiotics.

Amazingly, the visit there at UF was the answer! The brain storming between the UF Vet Ophthalmology doctors (Resident & Clinician), and their Grad student, was very educational, which ultimately sent me home with a script for Cidofovir. Then the next trick came trying to find an affordable Compound Pharmacy.....which ended up being Lincourt Compound Pharmacy in Clearwater. And it worked!! Kittens recovered quickly. :)

To arm you with this wonder medicine, I have called Lincourt to request a copy of this script, so that I can share it with you.  Having this information for whomever is trying to help them would be good info to know.

Respectfully, 

Lisa

What do Iowa Puppy Mills have to do with Florida pet stores?

More than you can imagine! Learn the shocking truth about the Florida connection to Iowa puppy mills during Puppy Mills: From Iowa to Florida, an informative presentation conducted by Mary LaHay, President and Founder of Iowa Friends of Companion Animals.

Mary LaHay is coming to Florida  from Iowa to give her special presentation on Iowa puppy mills.  She was told that there were many dog lovers here who want to know what they can do about this cancer that exists regarding sales at pet stores of dogs bred in abysmal conditions. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear it straight from "the horses mouth", so to speak. We hope the variety of venues, listed below, will offer you a convenient location to meet and greet a woman who is working to change puppy mill dogs lives.

Three presentations:

Wednesday, October 9, 2013
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
St. Petersburg College Veterinary Technology Center
12376 Ulmerton Road
Largo, FL 33744

Thursday, October 10, 2013
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
SPCA Tampa Bay
9099 130th Avenue North
Largo, FL

Saturday, October 12, 2013
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Regency Park Branch Library
9701 Little Road
New Port Richey, FL 34654

Free to the public!

The Society is one of only 23 humane societies in 20 states to receive Charity Navigator’s Highest Rating

TAMPA, FLA (JULY 11, 2013) – In a recent blog post titled, “Spotlight on Charity: The Fight Against Animal Cruelty”, the Humane Society of Tampa Bay (HSTB) is named as one of only 23 local charities in 20 states to receive Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating, it’s highest level. In light of recent scrutiny of charitable organizations that has left many donors feeling wary, HSTB’s inclusion as one of America’s Best Animal Charities demonstrates to the public that the Humane Society of Tampa Bay is worthy of their trust.

In the Wallet Hub post, author John Kiernan makes the case for supporting animal charities, despite the current economic climate that may cause some individuals to hang on to their hard-earned dollars. For all that animals give to us, he points out, we have a responsibility to give back to them, especially since they “can’t speak for themselves” and are “at the mercy of man”. He promotes being smarter about what organizations we give to, to ensure that our donations are being handled with integrity.

2012 marked the fourth consecutive year that HSTB received a 4-Star Rating. According to Charity Navigator, receiving four stars signifies an organization’s adherence to good governance, fiscal responsibility and minimizing the chance for unethical activity. For the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to receive the highest score year after year is a notable achievement.

“Only 6% of the charities we rate have received at least four consecutive 4-star evaluations,” said Ken Berger, Charity Navigator’s President and CEO. “[This indicates] that Humane Society of Tampa Bay outperforms most other charities in America.”

“We are proud to have been recognized for the integrity with which we treat our generous donations,” said HSTB Executive Director Sherry Silk. “We are committed not only to helping animals, but to protecting the resources we are given by following the highest ethical standards and best practices.”

Victory! The Sale of Dogs, Cats, and Rabbits Banned in San Diego pet stores!

On Tuesday, July 9, 2013, the San Diego City Council passed an ordinance to ban the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in city “pet” stores. Last September, the San Diego Animal Defense Team (ADT) gave the city council a petition with forty pages of signatures requesting this ordinance. ADT joined with In Defense of Animals, San Diego Humane Society, Animal Protection and Rescue League, and other organizations to garner attention and support for the ordinance. More than 75 animal-related businesses and animal advocacy groups signed on to support the ban.

Pet stores get animals from commercial breeding facilities, including puppy mills, where animals are imprisoned for life in cramped, filthy conditions and used as breeding machines until they can no longer reproduce. Three to four million animals are killed in American shelters every year because of the difficulty of securing enough good homes for them. Please adopt rather than buy animal companions to break this cycle of suffering, misery, and death.

We provide lifetime care to horses seized by law enforcement agencies, rescued by the SPCA or humane societies, horses retired from government service such as police patrol or state and federal parks, and unwanted horses that are destined for slaughter.

(We do not accept horses from private owners.)

The Coalition to Unchain Dogs is a non-profit, volunteer effort dedicated to improving the welfare of dogs living outdoors on chains.

Visit their web site and learn more about this exciting organization.  You can also find a link to the organization under the Animal Rescues tab on our Links to other sites page.

We are proud to announce that Manatee County Animal Services received a second-place award in community service at the 21st annual Future of the Regions Award hosted by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council for its entry entitled "Innovation for a No Kill Nation: Anything's PAWSible!"

Please see additional details at the link below.

Euthanizing unwanted cats and dogs at animal shelters happens nearly every day, in every Florida county.  It's a problem costing taxpayers nearly $100 million dollars each year. 

The FOX news article below shows how spaying and neutering of pets could save this amount or more.

Her house call fee includes a physical examination for one pet in your home. Multi-pet households receive a discount if more than one pet is seen at the time of visit. Diagnostic services, other health services and additional pet examinations are all available at an additional cost.  If you have trouble getting your pets to the vets, this service could quite easily be a life saver for you or your pets!

For additional information, see the listing in our Links to other sites page or Dr. Harts web page below.

Cathy Unruh is an Emmy award winning television journalist and long time animal advocate.  She has written a new book based on the life of "Lucy", a feral cat, and Cathy's work with the feral cats on a Bahamian island.  The book is published by Collage Books.

You can see the book jacket by clicking on the following link:  Taming Me.  You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Player plugin to open this link.

Her book is now available for pre-order on the Barnes and Noble website at a discount.  Please help support Cathy and her work with feral cats.

A recent study has shown that babies who spend time around pet dogs had fewer respiratory tract symptoms or infections than babies who grow up in pet-free homes.

"We offer preliminary evidence that dog ownership may be protective against respiratory tract infections during the first year of life," the study stated

"We speculate that animal contacts could help to mature the immunologic system, leading to more composed immunologic response and shorter duration of infections."