FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Contact(s):
Carol Araneo-Mayer - Puppy Mill Awareness Day (732) 580-9111
Chris Kougher - Keystone Golden Retriever Rescue (814) 371-0111
Bill Smith - Main Line Rescue (610) 337-9225 

Local Animal Rescues
Rally For the Dogs
Friday, May 12th, 2006

 Over 200,000 dogs are suffering in Puppy Mills due to the lack of enforcement of the laws in Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg, PA - Animal rescue groups will be on the steps of the State Capitol Building Friday at 1pm at the 3rd street entrance.

Speakers from local, regional and national organizations will raise awareness of the plight of Puppy Mill dogs and encourage Governor Rendell to go forward with his recent pledge to end the state's reputation as the Puppy Mill Capital of the East Coast.

In fact, Governor Rendell publicly announced in March that he has begun to make administrative changes that might include "a shake-up" of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement while dismissing the current members of the Dog Law Advisory Board.

No other Governor in history has taken this type of stand to protect the dogs suffering in the hundreds of deplorable mass breeding facilities in Pennsylvania.

Also speaking at this Rally is ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Officer Annemarie Lucas, who is well known from the popular Animal Planet series, Animal Precinct.
 
We will not turn our backs on the dogs in this state. This administration has committed to making a difference in the lives of our companion animals. We are taking this opportunity to inform the Governor that animal lovers are tired of waiting. We are escalating our efforts to make people aware of the thousands of animals who suffer needlessly in Pennsylvania Puppy Mills.

 

 New articles regarding Gov. Rendell dismissing the Dog Law Advisory Board
News article on the Rally

News Links
News Link 1

Video of the rally.  Click on the controls on the upper left of the box below

A review of the Rally for the Dogs:

First let me say that I am not happy with any of the pictures of me.  I am not sure who that person is but I am much younger than that.  Maybe not, and if not then I don't have a whole lot of good years left to dedicate to the animals.

When we (Keystone, Mainline and Awareness Day) decided to go to Harrisburg we thought it was a good idea, wasn't sure of the turnout but felt we needed to thank the governor and get the rest of our message out.

So we scheduled the Rally, much work and money went into that scheduling but it was done.

Little did we know that by inviting guests that our message might not be heard.  Little did I think that by ignoring the sign behind the podium, that the only people who would be interviewed were our guests. 

What we are about is not publicity, the very act of allowing someone else to take center stage is basic to what the three groups feel. It isn't about us it is about the dogs and the innocent people who are being hurt by the few who run the mills and the fewer who back them.

Not one article mentioned the issue of composting dead dogs and spreading manure on the growing fields.  Is this issue something that the Pennsylvania press won't touch?  Well, if that is the case, not to worry, because on Saturday, May 20. We are going to Manhattan.  Our main reason for going to New York Is to educate the public. To tell them about puppy mills, to tell them about heath issues and to ask them and perhaps beg them to BOYCOTT PENNSYLVANIA. How was it that not one reporter listened when we spoke about the health risks associated with visiting or living in a place that houses hundreds upon hundreds of caged meat eating animals?  We are not talking about farm animals. They are vegetarians, dogs are not. 

 Why would no one touch upon this issue?  Is it because everyone knows it and have been sworn to silence. I think not. I think the bigger picture is no one wants to rock the boat.

Being know as the Puppy Mill Capital of the East was bad enough.  When the families who are dealing with health issues and the families who have lost a loved one, start to wonder if it had something to do with farming dogs, Maybe then we will see a change in the tides. Maybe then the people who are aware and who grew up in Pennsylvania will no longer be ashamed of where they were born.

Right now all I know is that the dogs are still suffering, they are still caged and they are still polluting the ground.

 Want to visit Pennsylvania? I don't.