Once again our new hard fought dog laws are being threatened. Not by the commercial breeders, or their lobbyist, or by those who profit by selling the breeders registration papers - but by the governor's own staff. Jessie Smith and Sue West, both of the Bureau of Dog Law, announced last week that they will ignore the provisions of the new law requiring breeders to provide their adult breeding dogs with solid flooring and unfettered access to the outside (indoor/outdoor runs). Instead, they will allow breeders to continue to force their dogs to live on painful wire strand flooring (which was recently voted down by the vets on the Canine Health Board), and breeders will not be required to provide their dogs access to outside runs. This is in violation of the law - the law we all fought so hard to pass. This is outrageous and we cannot let this go unchallenged. Please take five minutes and write to the below persons (copy and paste) and demand that our new laws be enforced and that Jessie Smith and Sue West stop trying to protect Pennsylvania's commercial breeders by setting illegal policies that will harm PA's puppy mill dogs. Jessie Smith claims wire flooring is more sanitary - so is cleaning every day which is required by law. Jessie Smith claims the mother dogs will only be on the painful wire, locked away inside, for one week prior to giving birth and for the time it takes to wean their puppies - since the dogs in these facilities are there for the sole purpose of breeding, the mother dogs could spend half of the year facing conditions we all thought we abolished by pushing through the new dog laws. Jessie Smith claims she's worried about puppies being caught outside in bad weather - better to confine the mother to a small cage inside a sweltering barn than ask the farmer to watch that his puppies don't get caught outside? Jessie Smith claims that the mother dogs will have the solid floor of their whelping boxes in which to stand - will breeders use whelping boxes? Can we trust them? Whelping boxes are not required by law.....BUT SOLID FLOORING AND ACCESS TO OUTDOOR EXERCISE AREAS ARE - FOR EVERY ADULT DOG IN EVERY COMMERCIAL BREEDING FACILITY IN PENNSYLVANIA AND THE BUREAU HAS NO RIGHT ATTEMPTING TO REWRITE OUR NEW HARD FOUGHT DOG LAWS. Contact the below individuals. Remind them that regardless of how they may feel, solid flooring and access to outdoor runs is now REQUIRED by law. Ask them when will this finally be over and when will the Bureau finally enforce our laws instead of handing out endless extensions and waivers. Be polite, but firm. It was 102 degrees outside today and the hutches in Lancaster County are filled with dogs that have only us to fight for them. The Governor has repeatedly stated that his goal was to get breeding dogs off wire and to give them access to outside runs. Why is his staff going against his wishes and why is he not stopping this? No doubt, you will receive a reply from Jessie Smith - no matter what excuses she offers, ask her why adult dogs are being allowed to be housed on wire flooring now that it's illegal. She'll tell you puppies can be on wire and the mothers should be with the puppies. Tell her they can be with their puppies - on solid flooring.