So many of us preach against puppy mills that sometimes we forget the most direct route to this desired end. I had too until I got involved recently with some local and state politics. That’s when I had an “ah ha!” moment.
If we want to rid our world of puppy mills we have to convince the people who can outlaw them. That means we have to win over the lawmakers. Most of us don’t have great access to the federal legislators but almost all of us living in the US have no problem getting access to our local and state legislators. All we have to do is volunteer to help their campaign efforts. It’s a basic rule of political law — elected officials are more apt to listen to us if we’ve been in their campaigns helping them to win.
How do I know this works? I’ve been doing it. I started looking around here in St. Louis for candidates who both needed help and were open to animal issues. So I’m pitching in on a few campaigns and I make sure that the candidates know I’m doing this because I want their support in ridding Missouri of puppy mills. And you know what? Many of them are just now finding out how bad the puppy mill problem is here.
If you live in one of the states like mine where puppy mills run rampant, why not look around and start asking some questions of your local candidates? I did that at a recent candidates’ forum and not only did I not have to ask the question more than once because after the first candidate answered, all the others felt it necessary to answer that question too. Then after the forum, other candidates came over to me to tell me how much they wanted to get rid of these slimy operations too! I’ll be following up with all of them as soon as the right legislation starts through the state legislature.
So many wonderful people have worked for so long to end puppy mills. If I can put in a few hours of volunteer time and help out the cause, how simple is that? Of course, I’ll be following up AFTER the election and I’ll make sure these sensitized state senators and representatives are ready to pass some great legislation on puppy mills and other animal issues.
