What Is PUPS About?

If you haven't written to your representative and senators about PUPS yet, please take a few minutes to write. I think you can find everything you need here below on the TN Pet-Law blog: http://tnpetlawnews.blogspot.com/ You can type in your zip code to find your congressman if you don't know who it is. You can click on a live link to go to their web site. And we have sample letters so you can just paste in what to tell them and your senators. The two senators are the same for all of us in Tennessee.

• If you're not sure what PUPS is about, it would mean that anyone who sells 50 puppies a year would have to be USDA licensed and inspected. You may think that wouldn't affect you BUT it would also include you if you co-own dogs with other people. So, if you co-own a few bitches with other people and they have litters, all of their puppies would be counted toward your 50-puppy total. Even if you didn't have a litter yourself you might have to be licensed because you would be considered as the owner of 50 puppies who were being sold.
• If you have to be licensed it means that all of the areas where you keep dogs (including your house) would have to meet USDA inspection standards and you would be inspected. Yes, you would have to meet USDA kennel standards in your home if you kept dogs there. Since most people can't do that (able to hose down walls and floors, having surfaces impervious to moisture, able to reach high temps to disinfect, etc.) it means you wouldn't be able to raise dogs in your home.
• The bill also covers people who sell over the Internet, by telephone, and just about any other way you can imagine.
• And, the bill describes a four-month old female dog as an adult. If you own just one four-month old female dog for breeding, you could fall under this bill.
• That's how it could affect hobby breeders and people who breed at home. There are also a few provisions in the bill that will affect commercial breeders, such as what kind of flooring can be used in cages/kennels; and how dogs may be exercised.

I'm sorry that AKC has not given guidance on this bill but we can't wait for them. There are now 98 co-sponsors in the House with more signing on every day. Please write to your representative and senators and ask them not to take any action on this bill.

Carlotta