Friendship card from Dogstuff

Two seventh-grade students in Washington state have spent the last couple of years urging the Legislature to pass laws against puppy mills.

The students, Theresa Edwards and Audrey Long, have written multiple times to legislators for the 36th District about the poor conditions, inbreeding, diseases, and other health hazards that puppy mills produce.

Art print from Dogstuff

In January, authorities seized over 600 dogs from two kennels in Snohomish and Skagit counties. All the dogs were maltreated, and many were in need of medical attention.

An early bill designed to protect consumers who unknowingly buy sick or dying animals from pet stores, breeders, or directly from puppy mills died in committee. Undeterred, Edwards and Long continued to press for reform.

Puzzle from Dogstuff

Their efforts were rewarded when Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles sponsored a bill, Senate Bill 5651, to prohibit a person from owning, possessing, controlling, or otherwise having charge or custody of more than 25 dogs with intact sexual organs over the age of four months at a time.

Edwards and Long are hopeful that the bill will pass without too many changes and give dogs the protection they need. Both students have received the PAWS Youth Helping Animals Award for their work.