Dear friend of animals,

Thank you for joining Michiganders for Shelter Pets! Here’s a mid-summer update on our legislation to end gas chamber euthanasia and pound seizure by Class B dealers in our state:

As you heard, Grant’s Bills, S.B. 423 and S.B. 424 to end gas chamber euthanasia, are now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The legislature will meet only one day in August, then will resume its regular session in September. So now is the time to ask your legislator to support these bills when they return to Lansing!

· We have you listed in the district of Sen. Goeff Hansen, who is on the Senate Agriculture Committee and therefore is very important in this effort. If you have not already, please contact him at senghansen@senate.michigan.gov or (517) 373-1635 and ask him to support Grant’s Bills, S.B. 423 and S.B. 424, to protect our state’s shelter pets from inhumane euthanasia methods.

· If you wish, you can add these talking points about Grant’s Bills:

ü No Michigan shelter pet is safe until gassing is banned.

ü There is no excuse to gas animals—the more humane and less expensive euthanasia method of euthanasia by injection is readily available.

ü The vast majority of Michigan shelters already use that more humane method.

ü 18 states have already passed laws prohibiting the gassing of shelter pets—most recently, Alabama. So please tell your legislator that if Alabama can do this, so can Michigan!

ü More talking points here: http://michigandersforshelterpets.org/grants-bills/.

· You can also help educate legislators and the public about this issue by submitting a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or by distributing factsheets in your community. Please email us at m4spets@gmail.com or reply to this message if you’d like a sample letter to the editor, and you can find a one-page factsheet to print out and distribute here: http://michigandersforshelterpets.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/fact_sheet.pdf

Sen. Rebekah Warren is currently looking for co-sponsors before introducing Koda’s Bill to end the seizure of shelter animals by Class B dealers who can then sell them to research laboratories. Recently we were shocked to learn that when Sen. Warren was explaining that the bill is named after Koda, a family’s three-year-old Malamute who was surrendered to a Michigan county animal control shelter in 2007, given to a Class B dealer, then sold to the University of Michigan where he died during a training class, some senators responded that they were told that Koda’s story was not true. We assured Sen. Warren that it is very true, and produced documentation to prove it.

· Please contact YOUR state senator at www.senate.michigan.gov/fysenator/fysenator.htm and inform him or her that they were outright lied to --Koda's story IS true--and that they should co-sponsor Koda’s Bill to show their support for the protection of Michigan’s shelter pets.

· You can use these talking points about Koda’s Bill:

ü Michigan shelters should be a safe haven for animals.

ü Most Michigan counties have rejected pound seizure, but we need a statewide ban to ensure the safety of all shelter pets.

ü The USDA has deemed Class B dealers a ‘high risk’ due to concerns about improper procurement of animals.

ü A Michigan Class B dealer has been cited for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act and is currently under federal investigation.

ü Legislators should be outraged that deception is being used to allow Class B dealers to take Michigan’s shelter pets from the safe haven of a shelter.

ü More talking points can be found here: http://michigandersforshelterpets.org/kodas-law/.

Again, thank you SO much for joining our coalition to protect Michigan’s shelter pets. We will keep you updated as this legislation moves forward. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns!