from Bill Hemby -- crossposted with permission Next week Senator Padilla will stand up and proclaim AB 1634 is no longer opposed by the AKC. That AKC represents hundreds of thousands of dog breeders and they now see the wisdom of AB 1634. If CDOC follows suit (bets anyone?) it is just another nail in the coffin. Then we spend the next few months legitimizing and apologizing for the AKC stand. Its like the PG&E. you may not like 'em but you gotta have 'em. In the end,if AB 1634 becomes law, it will be California dog breeders and cat breeders and our pet owners who will feel the sting of this misguided legislation. It is we who will have to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars to file court suits. We will also continue to go to dog shows, continue to do our dog days, and good citizenship days, because in the final analysis, AKC is the only game in town. I am not giving up. I still feel we can beat AB 1634. But, I fear if AKC has thrown in the towel, it will be the excuse for hundreds of us to do so too. I was in a Senator's office today and mentioned I was with PetPAC and we still oppose AB 1634. I was told, "everyone is opposed to that bill." Just remember we need at least 6 democratic senators to vote No. If AB 1634 passes the Senate, it must go back to the Assembly for them to concur in the Senate amendments--that is a full Assembly vote!, If it passes there, it goes to the governor. Remember: Every Republican in the Assembly and in the Senate opposes AB 1634. The governor's own Department of Finance opposes AB 1634. So, stay in there. Bill Hemby My letter - - Dear AKC Rep & DDTCA President: In California we have been fighting AB 1634 for 1? years. This legislation has morphed many times but in every iteration its terms and conditions have provided powerful tools for Animal Rights activists to assault the rights of legitimate dog and cat owners. It's most recent version, until yesterday (August 13, 2008), was an absolute Mandatory Spay/Neuter bill making it illegal to own an intact dog or cat in California, no exceptions. Yesterday, the proposal was again completely re-written. It now uses mandatory microchipping and mandatory spay/neuter of dogs and cats as a form of punishment for violation of any animal control law, no matter whether the nature of the offense bears any relationship to the offending animal's reproductive status. It is not the worst version of the legislation we have seen through this process, but it still gives the AR folks a "nose under the tent" to attack animal owners who have legitimate reasons for maintaining an intact animal. And, more importantly, it reinforces the misconception in the mind of legislators and the general public that any animal problem can be solved simply by sterilizing all dogs and cats. That is a scary and ugly precedent. Through the course of the last month, AKC has taken an official position of opposition to the proposed legislation. However, informally, various AKC staff members have spent a lot of time trying to convince fanciers that the bill "really isn't so bad" and you have "nothing to worry about." One of our opposers personally spent a long time explaining the facts of California animal control administration to one AKC lawyer who finally (I hope) understood that the bill as then drafted was a terrible risk for dog fanciers and could mean the end of dog shows in California. We have been fighting AB 1634 with letters, telephone calls and meetings with legislators and with lobbying efforts undertaken by various organizations who represent our interests. Generally, the opposition has been unified in the concept that the worst thing we could do was to try to negotiate an "acceptable compromise" with the proponents of the legislation. Our rights as animal owners are well established in law and anything we give up to the AR crowd is a loss for us and a big win for them. To our horror, for the past 3 days there have been rumors that AKC has been privately negotiating a revised bill with the author, Lloyd Levine. Today, in an official statement posted on its web site, AKC has changed its position on the bill to "neutral" and has confirmed that it has been secretly negotiating with the bill's authors. This announcement was literally made during the same hour that the bill was expected to come up for vote by the full California Senate. The proponents have been telling the Senators and their staff for the past 48 hours that "AKC now supports AB 1634." We have heard from a number of Senators that they feel they can now vote for the bill because of "AKC's support." AKC could not have announced their "neutral" position at a worse time. If they simply waited a few days and remained silent on the bill, we had a chance of retaining some of our opposition Senators. Instead, AKC has created the impression that it is both a supporter and now a co-author of AB 1634. If we lose this vote much of the blame can be laid directly at the feet of AKC for this last minute change of position. I hope you can contact AKC immediately and plead our case with the AKC Board and get them to rescind their statement made earlier today and instead to again firmly oppose AB 1634. They have made a terrible mistake that could be fatal to all dog and cat owners in California, but especially to the fanciers who are AKC's own constituency. They cannot wait to act - AB 1634 is again scheduled for a full Senate vote on Monday, August 18, 2008. Please - let's get this bill placed where it belongs - the TRASH CAN!!! **************************************************************** ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================