Sheltering an Animal’s Perspective

by Gregory M. Simpson

It was a banner first year for Connecticut Votes for Animals (CVA), for which I am proud to say I am a member of the advisory board.  Under the leadership of ASPCA attorney Debora Bresch and Our Companions Animal Sanctuary CEO Susan Linker, CVA saw one of the first bills it lobbied passed and signed into law by Governor Jodi Rell on July 8th, the Puppy Lemon Law Bill.
The Puppy Lemon Law Bill will provide greater protection for consumers and animals sold in pet stores. This new law encourages the sale of healthy animals in several key ways. It increases the potential veterinary reimbursement from $200 to $500 and allows this reimbursement for congenital defects without the need to return the animal.  The law also increases the window for this reimbursement from 15 to 20 days. 
Critically, pet stores will now be required to purchase out-of-state animals only from USDA and state licensed breeders.  As an important consumer measure, pet stores will be required to provide consumers with breeder/dealer information to fully disclose the source of the animals.
Connecticut Votes for Animals is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) organization, whose aim is to mobilize the public to support animals through their political choices.  It serves as the political arm of the state’s animal protection movement by advocating pro-animal policies and engaging public support for the passage of animal friendly laws and opposition to proposals harmful to animals.  CVA is Connecticut’s only grass roots organization that gives animals a voice in the Legislature.  Members are provided with political "scorecards" so that they can make a difference at the polls by electing animal friendly legislators.
Connecticut Votes for Animals educates the public regarding animal protection issues and safeguards the interests of animals by making their well-being a priority for elected leaders.  During this past legislative session, CVA tracked over 20 bills, ranging from acts concerning humane education and the treatment of elephants to an act requiring court ordered counseling for juveniles charged or convicted of animal cruelty.  Most proposed bills do not become law, especially the first time they are raised.
In the last legislative session, CVA also lobbied to pass a bill to prevent the constant tethering of dogs, i.e., chaining or confinement.  The current law is vague and animal control officers are not able to enforce it.  As a result, dogs in Connecticut can be chained or confined day and night.  This is not only cruel to the dogs but also poses a public safety threat as chained dogs are three times more likely to bite people.  Unfortunately, the draft Tethering and Confinement Bill required additional work. 
With your assistance as a CVA member, a Tethering and Confinement Bill can be passed in the next legislative session, ensuring that the outcome of cases like the one in Hartford, where dogs were found stacked in crates in a shed, are very different.  Currently, excessive confinement alone is not sufficient to warrant charges under Connecticut’s animal cruelty law. 
Next session, Connecticut Votes for Animals, with animal control officers and the ASPCA, will work to get the Tethering and Confinement Bill passed.  But it cannot be done without grass roots power.  As the anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Animals don’t vote, people do, so share your support by becoming a member of Connecticut Votes for Animals.  A $25 non-tax deductible donation can be mailed to Connecticut Votes for Animals, P.O. Box 266 Cheshire, CT 06410.  Or you may sign up on-line at: www.ctvotesforanimals.org
 
For the animals,
Gregory M. Simpson