Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Jefferson County, Alabama: You are a Puppy Mill If...

You might be a "puppy mill" if...you own more animals than someone else thinks you should.
You might be a "puppy mill" if...you don't adhere to the same standards of care that someone else thinks you should.
And...hold on to your hats, folks, because this next one is new to me!

You might be a "puppy mill" if...you happen to own Jack Russell Terriers AND drive a truck with a camper shell and said animals are VISIBLE in their crates to law enforcement, who just happen to be driving behind you while traveling through the Birmingham, Alabama area.

Let the Criminalization of Transporting Dogs Begin...
Over the weekend a story began circulating on dog related email lists regarding a lady and her daughter on their way to a Jack Russell Terrier Trial in Germantown, Tennessee.  While traveling through Jefferson County, Alabama, the exhibitor was stopped by local law enforcement.

According to the dog owner, the policeman asked her if she knew why she was stopped and she told them, "No I don't".   He said, "I stopped you because I saw you had dogs in your truck".

In an email sent by Lt. Randy Christian, Office of Sheriff, Jefferson County, Alabama, "She was stopped driving a Truck with a Camper Shell. Multiple dogs were visible in rear camper window. This Captain is familiar with people who run "puppy mills" and these were all the same breed and were puppies. The 3 visible in the back window were visible panting."

So, here we have it spelled out for us in black and white:  in Jefferson County, Alabama, if you are driving a truck with a camper shell AND have dogs visible in the back (which were in crates by the way), that is now probable cause for law enforcement to stop you? 

In case some of you need it spelled out, Jefferson County law enforcement has CRIMINALIZED the mere possession of having dogs and puppies in YOUR vehicle.  And unless I missed the memo, there is NO legal definition--in any law, in any state--of "puppy mill". 

There are many, many more obervations about this entire incident, but I will save those for another day.

Victimizing the Victim by Those That SHOULD Know Better...
I guess being in the trenches fighting the animal rights nazis can make you crazy after awhile because that is what seems to have happened to many people whom I NEVER dreamed would victimize this lady. 

Accusations of "it's a hoax", "you're a liar"....I would expect that reaction from the bunny huggers and the animal rights diehards, but not from the very people who are accutely aware of this exact type of harrassment taking place all over the country!

The bottom line is this...what happened to this dog owner is proof positive that the falsely named "Humane Society of the United States" has taken their hatred of dog breeders--and therefore the arbitrary term "puppy mill"--to now criminalize the act of having dogs and puppies in your vehicle too?.  We read about breeders being raided and harrassed at their homes on a weekly basis it seems like; people being criminalized for breeding animals, for crying out loud!  Or for having too many animals!

I can't reiterate this point enough:  this woman was stopped FOR HAVING DOGS IN HER VEHICLE.  Period.  End of story.  Panting dogs my ass.  Just how close was this officer driving behind her anyways? The dogs were in crates, how in the hell could anyone **know** from driving behind the vehicle exactly whether or not ALL the dogs were the same breed--much less if they are puppies or young adults.

Furthermore, it may come as a total shock to some of you, but there are dog events in this country that do not REQUIRE YOU to pre-enter.  How many of you fellow exhibitors take your entry confirmation WITH YOU to the dog show? 

Oh, and for all the AKC dog show snobs that say that folks that choose to participate in UKC, AHBA, or in any other venue (other than AKC) are "puppy mill" people, or "responsible breeders don't participate in those lesser registries events.."    GET OVER YOURSELVES and please don't offer to help in the fight for animal ownership rights...we have enough enemies as it is from the AR side.