Egg Suckin Dogs

by Jim Foster, DVM

A group of egg suckin dogs has made their way into our old glory Mizzou. These dirty dogs are called animal rights extremists. They are after our licensed professional kennels and next they will be after our livestock. They have a whackadoo psycho agenda in mind for you folks out there in the land of Mizzou. The top of their hidden agenda is to take away your right to eat meat. They are a clever pack and have pulled and tugged at the heart strings of many generations of Americans. They have put little helpless puppies up on your television screens in order to get into your wallets. They made the promise to control the pet populations with spay and neuter. Your generosity of charitable donations would be used to make that happen. Do you really know where your hard earned money went?

You may now only own one crossbred dog. You dog must receive a full comprehensive wellness exam each year by a licensed veterinarian. Your home will be inspected. The dog must have a room the size of your bedroom and large outdoor pen to exercise. Your dog must have unfettered access to the outdoors which means it has to be able to go in and out at anytime on its on free will. The dog must have all its vaccinations, be spayed or neutered, licensed and you yourself will have to maintain a federal and state license. If you do not comply with these mandates, you will be arrested and could face a large monetary penalty and criminal charges. The voters of Missouri decided this on your behalf. How do you feel?

As a veterinarian, I feel outrage concerning Missouri Proposition B that is aimed at our licensed kennels. My associate Dr. Debra Mayes and I have been kennel veterinarians for over nineteen years. Our clients are licensed both federally and through the state. They are inspected annually by a federal inspector, state inspector, an inspector from The American Kennel Association, and by us. The operate under a set of rules and regulations set by The United States Department of Agriculture. These are the folks that actually know something about animal husbandry. They follow our recommended health program. Many of our clients are married couples with children. Their dogs have names and they are loved. The children work in the kennels with their parents and there are also those that hire outside help. Our kennels continually invest money to upgrade their facilities. They also invest money in the community. These are the families that save for their kids college education.

Our clients are being portrayed as monsters. These are the people who have taught me more about dogs than what I learned in vet school. These are the people that cry when we have to put their dog to sleep and have special places to bury them. At risk here is the livelihood of families and of our communities. Their children are the ones who go on to become veterinarians. Would you rather have them treat your dog or someone who watched the television show Animal Planet?

Proposition B would limit each kennel to no more than fifty dogs. Each dog would have a large room inside and a large pen on the outside with what they call "unfettered access." This means a dog must be able to come and go freely. The dogs must be on a solid surface. Thre are other lengthy mandates to this proposition. The ones mentioned are what we feel are the point to the arrow. The size requirement would require nearly ever kennel in this state to either gut or rebuild. The unfettered access would allow a pregnant female to walk outside on a winter night and have her pups in zero weather. Pupsicles! A solid surface means that a dog could urinate on itself and also walk in its own stool. A female could also contaminate a nursing pup with fecal material. We feel that the mandates are not financially feasible and we feel that there is a purpose behind it. The red flag here is that The Humane Society, shelters, rescues and catteries are immune from this proposition. These entities go through far more dogs than our kennels and they aren't a part of their own mandates?

Proposition B has been condemned by many individuals and organizations including: The Missouri Veterinary Medical Association, The Farm Bureau, and The American Kennel Club. They all know that the mandates are unfair to the kennel owners and the dogs. As a veterinarian, if I personally prescribed these changes, I would be guilty of malpractice. I personally believe along with many that this is purposely being done to end purebred dog breeding in this state and across America. They have attempted this in other states and it eventually ended in a battle with our livestock farmers.

Prop B will kill our economy. There are over 1400 licensed kennels. This would cause unemployment for thousands. It will also lead to the senseless euthanasia of thousands of kennel dogs to make the kennels comply to the fifty dog limit. It sickens me to think that we have a Prop B to free dogs when we have many kids trapped in horrible situations like meth labs. Our moral compass is off. We've forgotten the "human" part of humane. Those activists will be rolled over in the nursing home one day for a wipe of their behind. A young male orderly carves "Dirty Dog," into their skin and says, "Where was Prop K for kids?"