Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Posts: 6113

To all event-giving dog clubs in Michigan:

From: Cindy Cooke, Legislative Specialist, United Kennel Club, 269-352-7813, doglaw@charter.net[/email]
Al W. Stinson DVM. Director of Legislative Affairs, Michigan Association for Pure Bred Dogs, 517-655-5363, [email]LSFC2@aol.com


It has become apparent to many members of the dog community that we need to increase our political presence in the Michigan Legislature in Lansing in order to preserve our rights to breed and own dogs. To that end, we are organizing a meeting of Michigan event-giving dog clubs to propose a means by which the clubs may raise the money to hire a professional lobbying firm to represent the interests of dog owners and dog breeders.

Our proposal to your club is as follows:
• At the bottom of this letter is a list of 25 paragraphs that list positions on the various legislative issues that affect dog owners. Your club will be required to adopt all of the position statements and issue a written document to that effect signed by two club officers.
• You will be asked to add $1.00 to the entry fee for each dog entered in future events offered by your club and donate that money to a fund that will be used solely to pay the fees charged by the selected lobbying firm.
• All communication to the lobbyist will go through one or more of the following three people: Dr. Al Stinson, Ann Hier, and Cindy Cooke. All of these people are experienced in the field of canine legislation and are well-known in Michigan for their work in this field.
• An umbrella organization will be established which will include every club that agrees to the above terms. The organization will serve as a figurehead around which to develop legislative strategy and pay for professional lobbying services.
We have had some initial contact with several firms, including the firm of Kelly Cawthorne. Kelley Cawthorne was founded by Frank Kelley, a Democrat and the longest serving attorney general in United States history, and Dennis Cawthorne, former Republican caucus leader in the Michigan House of Representative. You can read more about this firm at http://www.kelley-cawthorne.com/index.html. We estimate that the cost for retaining this firm will average about $3,000.00 per month. A representative from Kelley Cawthorne will attend the meeting to explain the services his firm can offer. In addition, he will answer your questions about how the proposed umbrella organization will operate.

As you know, a separate "Challenge Fund” has already been established by the Michigan Association for Pure Bred Dogs with contributions from Michigan Dog Clubs through the efforts of the Ann Arbor Kennel Club. The current total balance of this account is $4,422.17 and will not be used until a formal contract has been establish with a lobbying firm. No registry will be involved in the umbrella organization. The umbrella organization will be made up solely of event-giving dog clubs and the Michigan Association for Purebred Dogs, which will serve as the organization’s policy-making arm.

We know this is short notice, but we would like to have a representative from your club join us on Saturday, December 12 at 1:00 at the Small Animal Clinic, MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. The clinic is located on Wilson Road, across the street from the Wharton Center for Performing Arts. (Map & directions at http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...p;z=17&om=1) When you enter the clinic, ask at the desk for directions to the meeting room. We will be glad to answer all of your questions there and listen to any suggestions you may have.

HSUS has, for the first time, appointed a representative for the state of Michigan. It’s very likely that we will be in the fight of our lives in 2010. Having a skilled lobbyist to represent and advise us will help us be more effective in winning that fight. Please be sure to send a representative to this meeting.


Cindy Cooke Dr. Al W. Stinson
Legislative Specialist Director of Legislative Affairs
United Kennel Club Michigan Association for Pure Bred Dogs



Legislative Position Statements for Michigan


The Dog Owners of Michigan:

1. Believe that dog owners have a responsibility to provide proper care for and humane treatment of their dogs, including an adequate and nutritious diet, clean water, clean living conditions, regular veterinary care, kind and responsive human companionship, and training in appropriate behavior.
2. Support public education about responsible dog ownership, dog training and behavior, and responsible dog breeding.
3. Support rescue and rehoming of adoptable dogs and encourages dog breeders and owners to support dog rescue efforts.
4. Support the training and use of dogs to provide assistance and service to humans.
5. Support the use of dogs in veterinary and medical research where no alternative exists, and provided that researchers comply with all federal, state and local regulations.
6. Support the use of dogs in sporting activities, working activities and in competition events.
7. Support the right of Americans to own, breed, train, interact with and exhibit their purebred dogs without interference.
8. Support reasonable and enforceable laws that use performance-based standards of care to protect the welfare and health of dogs without restricting the property rights of breeders and owners.
9. Support state laws to require shelters to report intake and disposition of unwanted dogs so that the solutions to canine population problems can be based on facts.
10. Support reasonable, enforceable dangerous dog laws based on clearly defined dangerous behavior and with reasonable penalties.
11. Support state laws prohibiting any participation in dog fighting.
12. Support the right of dog owners to choose elective procedures such as ear cropping, tail docking, debarking, dewclaw removal and spay/neuter operations for their dogs, provided these procedures are performed humanely and by a licensed veterinarian when necessary.
13. Support reasonable consumer protection laws for puppy buyers provided that such laws are designed to encourage consumer education and also that such laws take into account the limitations of a seller’s ability to identify or predict defects in a living animal, and recommend the adoption of the National Animal Interest Alliance Dog Purchaser Law. (Model law at http://naiatrust.org/PDF/dogpurchaserlaw.pdf)
14. Support the enforcement of the already-existing common law and statutory offenses of public and/or private nuisance rather than the enactment of laws that limit the numbers of pets a person may own.
15. Support city, county and state ordinances giving dog owners the option of electing a three-year rabies vaccination protocol.
16. Support enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act and American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club rules and regulations.
17. Support legislation that rewards owners who permanently identify their pets by means of microchip or tattoo.
18. Oppose legislation that restricts an owner’s right to humanely restrain a dog by tethering or that establishes “one size fits all” requirements for crates and kennels.
19. Oppose government restriction on dog breeding by means of breeding bans, breeding permits or mandatory spay/neuter laws.
20. Oppose dangerous dog laws based on breed, type or size of dog.
21. Oppose statutes that label such normal conditioning tools as treadmills and flirt poles as dog fighting paraphernalia.
22. Oppose any statute that redefines the relationship between dog and owner so that the owner’s constitutionally protected property rights are in any way diminished. Specifically, we oppose redefining dog owners as “guardians.”
23. Oppose setting limits on the number of pets an individual may own.
24. Oppose warrantless searches of breeders’ or pet owners’ homes.
25. Support the legislative work of and membership in the National Animal Interest Alliance, state federations of dog clubs and other allied groups.

__________________
If we're not suppose to eat animals, then why are they made out of meat?

Last edited by Mark Threlfall on 11-30-2009 at 02:22 PM

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