This is for those dog or even cat breeders that are thinking about making your kennel/cattery legal. Maybe you are thinking that if you go to the local governing body and get a business license and permits to make your breeding operation legal you will be safe. After all, you take really good care of your animals and no one can fault the cleanliness of your facility. Right? Let me tell you about what is happening in Pasco County, Florida.

 

Approximately 100 dog breeders that have long established kennels are being shut down. One breeder in particular that I have spoken to has had her license and permits in place for 16 years. She has never had any complaints or any type of citations. She runs a model kennel with glowing comments about the great care she provides to her dogs. Much to her dismay, two weeks ago she was issued a citation that states it has been determined that the county now plans to enforce their 9 dog pet limit law and it will apply to all breeders as well. She felt this must be a mistake since her permit was for numbers up to 49 dogs. Her permit is current !!!! County officials assured her that they fully intend for her to reduce her numbers and to do it within 90 days. She was given a possible option of applying for a variance for her property which would cost her approximately $1,000 but there was no guarantee that she will be approved. She was then told that this would affect all kennels in the county and that includes about 100 dog breeders. You can do your own math to see what kind of money that might net to the county. Their reasoning was that it was costing the county $2.3 million each year to address the overpopulation of dogs and cats, and it seemed contradictory to give incentives to breeders via breeding permits.

 

So here they are with 90 days to place roughly 40 dogs each. If the breeders don't get them all placed in that time they have already been told there will be a large daily fine to pay. After a certain number of days, the county will more than likely remove the dogs and take them to the already over crowded shelters. But never fear, these dogs will probably be the lucky ones and find homes right away because they came from reputable breeders. The county will of course have to charge the breeder for the care of these dogs while in their care, but I'm sure they will give any excess cash over to the kennel. Right?

 

My personal question is how can a county issue business licenses and permits for that many years AND THEN determine that your zoning does not qualify for the permits that they have issued to you and charged you to get for the past 16 years? Let's not forget that these are established breeders that invested heavily in dog runs, pens, grooming supplies, medications, cages, carriers etc. These are also breeders that are claiming their businesses on their income taxes. In this one particular case, it is the bulk of her income. The county wishes to take away her business and livelihood.

 

By the way, in searching the county ordinances, we have been unable to find the so called 9 dog limit. However that is not slowing down the county from enforcing it.

 

All of these breeders are faced with 3 possible options.

 

1-Attempt to get the variance. And what are the odds that they will approve ANY, much less all of the 100 kennels?

2-Reduce their numbers to only 9 dogs within the 90 days. 

3-Hire an attorney and start a class action law suit.

 

Moral of the story . . . . making your kennel/cattery legal, pretty much places a bulls eye on your forehead. Makes it just that much easier for the animal control to know where you live.

 

Was that a brick or a shingle that just hit you in the head? Maybe just a little part of the sky is breaking loose in a neighborhood near you. Once this action is completed here in Pasco County, it will most assuredly be appearing in your own neighborhood. That is how case law is set and then it spreads like wildfire.  ~~~~ Longtime breeder in Florida, Supporter of WethePeoplePets

 

Please crosspost this news far & wide.

 

 If you wish to protect your animals, please support the efforts of We the People Pets.

We now have a 501 c (3) & (4) and you will be able to take your tax deduction. We have a No-Kill PSA starring Laddie, the dog actor that played Lassie, that came to the Capitol helping to defeat AB 1634 on a crucial vote day.

Laddie & the Weatherwax Group have agreed to spearhead the No-Kill movement & initiatives in CA. We believe that solving the shelter mismanagement is critical at this point in time. We intend to lead the way for animal welfare reform. WE NEED YOUR DONATIONS for the post production costs for the PSA (Public Service Announcement) for our No-Kill statewide initiative. This is a top shelf production utilizing award winning talent from the Director, Director of Photography, Grammy winning sound-mix, etc. I have already paid out many thousands of dollars toward this production OF MY OWN monies, and now I am pleading for your financial support to finish these three PSAs and get these up on every TV station in CA. PSAs will run free of charge on television stations. Let's EDUCATE the public. What better spokesman could we have than Laddie? We expect to do a series addressing the issues at hand. Hollywood talent is on board to support the No-Kill initiative. The door has opened. Now it is up to YOU! The first three PSAs are awaiting your help.

 

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