Page 23 - Flathead Beacon // 9.7.16

Monte, an approximately 8-year-old Yorkshire Terrier who is missing all his teeth, is fed by Lori Charette.
Health Inspection Service required by the Animal Welfare Act, a stale piece of legislation enacted in 1966, and recently submitted a petition to strengthen its requirements.
“The growth of the industry is de - nitely taking place in states like Mon- tana, states that lack any puppy-mill spe- ci c rules, and that’s where you’re seeing an increase in puppy mill incidents. But there’s also very minimal federal over- sight,” he said. “These horrendous con- ditions that you read about in high-pro- le cases like the one in Charlo, you want to hope that it’s just an isolated case, but that’s just not so. This is common in puppy mills throughout the country. It’s incredibly prevalent throughout the commercial dog breeding world.”
Goodwin said there are 1,756 USDA Class A and B licensed facilities that breed dogs for the pet trade, but o ered a conservative estimate that 10,000 puppy mills are operating across the country.
As of November 2015, Montana had ve Class A breeders and 3 Class B deal- ers registered with the USDA, meaning they sell pets wholesale, but those who sell directly to the public are not required to be USDA licensed.
Wendy Hergenraeder, state director of the Humane Society, said because Mon- tana does not regulate breeding facilities, there is no accurate information on how many facilities are operating in Montana.
“Unfortunately, there is no cen- tral location where allegations of
irresponsible dog breeding facilities is recorded,” she said.
In August alone in Northwest Mon- tana, two facilities were taken o line, which Prato considers a small victory.
“The best thing for these dogs right now is the situation they are currently in,” she said. “They are one-on-one with families, they are running on the grass, they have food, we are donating medical services, they have all of the things they deserve.”
Over at Camp Duford, the volunteers’ e orts nally paid o .
Sara went into labor late at night on Sept. 1, but didn’t have the strength to deliver the litter on her own. The rst two puppies were stillborn, but after an emergency C-section, three other Papil- lons with butter y-wing ears were born alive, including the runt, who the veter- inarian worked to revive for more than an hour.
“Sara just did not have the strength to do this on her own,” Duford said. “Had she still been at that puppy mill, I don’t think she would have made it, and I cer- tainly don’t think she would have birthed three live puppies. Thankfully, she was being monitored every moment of the day and had immediate vet care. The puppies are all healthy and nursing.”
And they all have names — Darby, Donnie and Je erson, after the members of Je erson Starship, and because of the band’s hit song, “Sara.”
tscott@ atheadbeacon.com
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
she said. “I just can’t let this go, not when there are so many dogs su ering.”
Call her naïve, but Prato never antici- pated an oppositional force to a bill that protects puppies.
“When we started working on this, we thought, ‘Who would vote down a puppy mill bill?’” she recalled. “We were completely unprepared that rst year. We didn’t even think we had a battle to ght. But we’ve continued to be met with resistance. Part of the problem is politi- cal. People view us as a bunch of liberals
from Missoula. Maybe if we all showed up at the Capitol in cowboy boots and Wranglers, we’d get somewhere. But not so much in Birkenstocks.”
John Goodwin, senior director of the Humane Society of the United States’ Stop Puppy Mills Campaign out of Wash- ington, D.C., said LDR Kennel is just one example of a breeder who ed to Mon- tana because of its soft stance on com- mercial breeding. Goodwin has been lobbying the U.S. Department of Agri- culture to revamp its Animal and Plant
LINEUP
The Lil' Smokies
LINEUP
Brought to you by the Rotary Club of Columbia Falls and Oskee Creative
Proceeds Benefit Boys and Girls Club Columbia Falls Food Bank
MT Wounded Warriors
Mike Murray Band
Ticket Pre-Sale Now! fallsfestmusic.com
King Cardinal
Kyle Dean
Tickets are available from the Columbia Falls Rotary Club, Edward Jones in Columbia Falls, Orthopedic Rehab in Columbia Falls and Glacier Bank in Columbia Falls
Advanced Tickets
At The Door
$15 $20
ticket purchase includes
1 free beverage of choice (must be 21+ to consume alcohol)
Saturday Sept 17 | Marantette Park | Columbia Falls, MT
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
23
Gates Open @ 3:30 pm