I sent this to the list at 11:35 this morning and it has never appeard on the list. I am sending it again. If it is a repeat I'm sorry I am not a Lawyer and no I don't play one on TV. I do however work for a Mid size law firm in the State of Missouri. When this problem arose in Jefferson County MO. I wanted to make a difference. I talked to a couple of the Partners in the firm who were happy to help me. I told them that I didn't want to go in and WHINE "this isn't fair" But more over I wanted to go in and rock their world and make them afraid to pass these things. We won the open ended breed restriction out right but had to settle to a compromise on the spay and neuter. The first time an animal is found running loose it is returned to the owner after proof of vaccinations/micro chip or tattoo is provided. If the same animal is found loose again it is considered a habitual offender and is subject to spay and neutering. (court filings can still get it back in tact) Since then I have spoken before a few county councils that were debating the Spay/ Neuter and Open ended breed restriction controversy. We have had success not by going in and Whining "ITS NOT FAIR" but by going in and quoting the US Bill of Rights. The Bill of rights in Article 7, Amendment 5 state the following: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. We claim that these animals are our property and we can not be made to destroy their value by spaying or neutering them without due process of law. The animal control departments are not willing to go through the expense nor the bad publicity of a long drawn out court battle over every spaying and neutering of an animal. We also quoted the State of Missouri Statutes that also has a statement in it that calls for the Rights Of the People to acquire property and use property for any lawful purpose. I know that several other States have similar Laws and can be used against the spay and neuter. These also work well for the Open ended breed restriction laws that are popping up all over the country. Banning our property when they have not been accused of or convicted of a crime is also taking our property without DUE PROCESS. I have seen several emails on the list concerning Animal bills in CA and TX and I would be willing to bet that QUOTING THE US CONSTITUTION will work much more efficiently than whining. We have the law on our side USE it. Glenn Shaden Shepherds ============================================================================ 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 ============================================================================