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NAIA Newsletter: July 17, 2007
Patti Strand, National Director
Sacramento, CA – Finally, California dog
and cat lovers can hug their pets and heave a sigh of relief. The
three-ring circus doing business as the California Healthy Pets
Act, AB 1634, has folded its tent and left town – at least
until next January.
On July 11, 2007 about three hundred pet
enthusiasts descended on Sacramento for the Senate Local
Government Committee's hearing of AB 1634. For many it was their
fourth trip. As they squeezed into the hearing room entry line at
5:30 a.m. their spirits were lifted by an article in The
Sacramento Bee morning paper in which all 5 Committee members
acknowledged problems with the bill. At 6 a.m. they were further
buoyed by word that the bill's author, Assembly Member Lloyd
Levine (D-Van Nuys), had told a TV news reporter that he would
pull the bill after the hearing, a move that would prevent a vote
and kill the bill for the rest of 2007.
Senator Gloria Negrete-McLeod (D), the
respected Chair of the Senate Local Government Committee, granted
both sides 20 minutes to make their cases and monitored the time
with care. But when the testimony ended and it was time for
Levine to fulfill his early morning pledge to pull the bill, he
offered instead to amend it again. The bill had been amended
seven times already! Thankfully, the Chair, Negrete-McLeod, and
Vice Chair, Senator Dave Cox, (R) expressed discomfort with
"taking amendments on the fly." Sensing doom, Levine finally
pulled the plug on AB 1634 himself. In doing so, he avoided
committee action and can bring back the entire show – all
three rings – this coming January. But for this session,
the bill is dead
Over the last 17 years, NAIA and its friends
and supporters have fought a lot of tough battles, but AB 1634
qualifies as one of the toughest. The California Healthy Pets
Coalition ran a sophisticated, well planned, well funded, highly
organized campaign. Whatever else one might think of them, they
were not amateurs! They rallied key legislators, a host of
respectable organizations, celebrities, and high-profile leaders
from the animal protection movement to their cause. They were all
over the media in a coordinated, sophisticated communications
effort.
But it's not the California Healthy Pets
Coalition that makes AB 1634 so memorable. In fighting this
pernicious bill, dog and cat lovers truly rose to the occasion.
Scores of individuals and organizations converged to create a new
level of cohesive communication and action that spelled political
power. Never before have we worked with so many wonderful,
dedicated, focused and gifted people as we did throughout this
long but ultimately successful battle.
NAIA's deepest thanks go to all the
individuals and groups that fought AB 1634: In California these
include The California Federation of Dog Clubs,  The Animal
Council, The Concerned Dog Owners of California, PetPac and
SaveOurDogs.net. At the national level we thank the American
Kennel Club ( AKC ) and Cat Fanciers Association (CFA). We also
thank the numerous chat lists that kept everyone informed and
energized throughout the fight.
Our speakers at the Local Government Committee
were qualified, dignified and downright awesome: from Dr. John
Hamil, past president of the CVMA, to Angie Niles, who
represented NAIA; Bill Hemby of PetPac; Joan Miller of CFA;
Douglas Surber of Save our Dogs; and finally to Jeff Leacox, the
AKC lobbyist. All of them deserve our gratitude, and they
certainly have it.
Very special thanks to Laura Sanborn, Angie
Niles and to the veterinarians; John Hamil, Sharon Vanderlip,
Charles Hjerpe, and the many other veterinarians in San Diego and
across the state – who rose in opposition to this bill.
And finally, I want to express my personal
gratitude to the free-form media activist team of ladies led by
Brat Zinsmaster and Diane Amble (Operation Media) who made it
their mission to bring the iconic team of Timmy and his Lassie to
the Capitol.
 Our heartfelt appreciation to Robert
Weatherwax, famed trainer of the "Lassie" collies and to Jon
Provost who played "Timmy" on TV's most memorable series, for
bringing "Laddie" (the ninth generation of the Weatherwax lineage
of "Lassie" collies) to the Capitol and for speaking out against
a bill that threatened the future of all dogs and cats.
As USA Today put it: "When it comes to
lobbying, Lassie's progeny just beat game show host Bob
Barker…Celebrity testimony can be a powerful persuader in
California but in Laddie's case his mere presence was all that
was needed."
Passion and truth make for an irresistible
combination. In the battle to defeat AB 1634, our side marshaled
those qualities as never before. Visit the NAIA website for
details and links to the path, pictures and conclusion of this
entire saga. It is entertaining, but more importantly, it's
instructive for the kind of action that will be required in other
parts of the country as this misdirected onslaught of anti-pet
legislation continues.
Soon we'll be preparing for January; but for
now THANK YOU ALL!
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