A candlelight vigil is being held Sunday night in the East Falls sections of Philadelphia to “shed light on the ongoing plight of puppy mill dogs”.
This vigil is being held to stop thousands of breeding dogs from “continuing to stand on painful and dangerous wire flooring in commercial kennels throughout Pennsylvania”.
Many of us thought with the House Bill 2525 that was made into law – Act 119- in 2008- dogs who lived in commercial kennels (we knew this law would only affect a percentage of these kennels) would no longer have to live with wire flooring where dogs routinely live in pain and have their paws splayed. Dogs routinely have their paws fall through this type of flooring which can cause serious injuries including dogs who are below to chew them off. These dogs are forced to walk on this type of flooring in the sweltering heat where their feet have the imprint of the wire “branded” into the pad of their paws. Just imagine trying to live your entire life on this type of flooring, never knowing what is like to walk on a solid floor, let alone grass. Many dogs who have the fortune of leaving puppymills don’t know how to walk on grass because it is foreign to them.
We thought this was supposed to have changed with this new law. It appears Governor Ed Rendell and the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate will vote to reintroduce wire flooring! These people control five of the nine-member panel which will vote. Bill Smith, of Mainline Rescue, has said “No one understands why the governor, who controls the majority of the votes on the board, would allow this to happen.”
At the April 27th Canine Health Board meeting, flooring manufacturers will be showcasing their products which will include the wire flooring.
Why? What exactly is going on here? Why the change of heart? Honestly, I wish I knew.
But if you want your voice to be heard, you can do something about it. Come out Sunday night and be the voices, once again, for the puppymill dogs of PA!
If you would like to attend Sunday night’s vigil from 7-9 PM, it will be held at W. School House Lane and Vaux Street, Philadelphia 19144. Bill Smith told me you can mapquest it using these street intersections. Or if you wish, you can contact Mainline Animal Rescue for more information at 610-933-0606 or email them at mlarevents@gmail.com. Bill also said the street will be closed for this vigil which is being held near Rendell’s home.