Hello, supporters, I'm sad to report that HB646 was killed last night by all 5 Republicans on the subcommittee. Delegate Orrock, known widely for his opposition to animal laws that restrict tethering, motioned for a PBI (pass by indefinitely). Essentially, this means that he wanted to push the bill off the table rather than hold a vote. His motion was supported by the other 4 Republicans, thus trumping the other 3 members. One of my colleagues, Kimberly Hawk, provided this summary: ******************************** "Here are some cliff notes about what happened with House Bill 646: A representative for the Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders opposed this bill because she was worried about breeds such as Huskies who enjoy cold weather. Her point was not valid because the bill only pertained to chained dogs. A husky or other cold weather dogs can be outside if they are inside a fenced area or a pen under HB 646. She also objected to a ban on chaining when the owners are not home to supervise the dog. One of her comments: 'What if I want to go to a hair appointment on a nice day and leave my dog tethered? Will I be charged for that?' How any reasonable person can think it is ok to leave a dog tethered unsupervised is beyond me. They are vulnerable to attacks from wild animals, they could be stolen, they could escape from the chain or tether and be lost. The hunting lobby was there and I posted a video of his argument but the one thing that was the most ridiculous to me was this comment... 'We’re out hunting in sub-zero weather with dogs and they thrive. We can’t take them in the house and have them adjust to a warmer temperature. We’ll have respiratory diseases.' Here is what happened: Republican Delegate Orrock made a motion to “Pass By Indefinitely” and all 4 of the other Republicans on the committee immediately agreed. Two Democrats, Delegate Keam, and Delegate Rodman voted in favor of the bill and the other democrat, Delegate James, had to leave this committee meeting to attend another one so he missed the vote. Well, how could that possibly happen you may ask? I learned tonight that the Republican Speaker of the House, Delegate Curt Cox, assigns committee meetings and will often assign Democrats two different committee meetings at the same time so they will miss a vote." ******************************** What does this mean? We have a Senate companion bill, SB872, which will be heard by the Senate THIS THURSDAY. If SB872 should pass in the Senate, it will be referred right back to the same subcommittee that killed HB646. However, we're hoping that a pass in the Senate will lead to some reconsideration. Virginians, please, please contact your STATE SENATOR and ask him/her to support SB872!!! You can find your Senator's information here: http://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov/ Thank you for your continued support, Gary