Protect Florida’s Dogs: Pass the MADSA Bill in 2026  🐾🐾

Florida is facing an urgent animal welfare crisis, and I know this firsthand because I worked inside one of these kennels in Walton County. What I witnessed will haunt me forever. As a former photojournalist 📸 with work published by the Associated Press and MSNBC, I discreetly documented the inhumane conditions to provide an honest record of the suffering these dogs endure every single day.

Below are just some of the conditions I witnessed firsthand:

1. Dogs confined 98–100% of the time inside kennels. 😡

2. EXTREME HEAT (think Florida in August) and cold in buildings without temperature regulation. 🥵

 3. Puppies confined in small, elevated wire cages — measuring approximately 36" L × 23" W × 18" H — crowded four to five per cage, with no bedding, no comfort, and at times, no access to water. They eat, urinate and defecate all in the same small space. 🤢🤮

 4. Dogs spinning in circles inside and outside kennels which is a sign of psychological distress. 😣

 5. Females in heat housed next to intact males in open-wire kennels, causing stress.

6. No privacy — all animals constantly visible to one another, increasing anxiety.

 7. Very limited daily exercise, if any at all.

8. Improper sanitation — kennels not washed properly, forcing dogs to live in urine and fecal residue. 🤢🤮😷

 9. Dirty drinking water often contaminated when dogs step into bowls.

10. No toys, treats, or enrichment to provide mental stimulation.

11. No dental care or chews to prevent oral disease. 🦷🪥

12. Dogs rarely bathed; hygiene ignored. 🛁🧼🫧

 13. Foul smelling untreated ear infections. 😷

 14. Dogs cowering, begging for attention, stressed and fearful.

 15. Puppies only socialized briefly on concrete floors with fecal and urine residue and Never let outside. 🌴☀️

16. Some dogs lacked elevated resting areas; existing beds were regularly soiled and had fecal matter on them.

 17. Overcrowding — approx. 41 dogs and puppies with inadequate staff time for proper care.

This isn’t rare. This is happening across Florida right now — and it’s still legal. 😡😡😡

Why Florida Must Act

Sign this petition today to demand that Florida lawmakers reintroduce and pass the MADSA bill in 2026 and finally protect Florida’s dogs from abuse and neglect.

Over 30 states already require commercial breeders to be licensed and inspected while also enforcing minimum care standards, including:

1.      Requiring breeder registration & licensing

2.       Mandating regular inspections

3.       Establishing minimum standards for housing, sanitation, water, and space

4.      Ensuring clean water, food, and veterinary care at all times

5.       Requiring exercise, socialization, and enrichment for dogs

6.       Creating a public database of violations

Florida lags far behind the rest of the country. In early 2025, Florida’s ‘Make America’s Dogs Safe Again’ legislation — HB 1481 in the House and SB 1830 in the Senate — was introduced by Rep. Meg Weinberger of South Florida to establish breeder licensing, inspections, housing standards, and a public registry.

   However, under heavy pressure from lobbyists, the bill stalled and ultimately died in the House Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee before it ever reached a vote.

We cannot allow this to happen again. Animals across Florida are suffering in conditions no living creature should endure. By signing this petition, you’re sending a clear message to lawmakers: the public demands stronger protections for dogs and expects MADSA to be brought back and passed in 2026.

Below are pictures and videos from the kennel I worked at.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELP THEM!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏