Please take a moment to voice your opinion!

The Legislative Committees of the Doberman Pinscher Club of America (DPCA) and The American Rottweiler Club (ARC) have recognized what every member of the purebred dog fancy has noticed over the past several years. With increasing frequency, legislative bodies in our cities, counties, and states throughout this country have seemingly become hostile to the interests of purebred dog lovers in the United States.  Indeed, the passage of the egregious anti-dog legislation in Louisville, Kentucky within the past several weeks has raised the stakes substantially for us.

Anti-breeder legislation is picking up steam. It is in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It has been introduced in the state of Indiana. It is metastasizing throughout the country. We cannot merely fight a defensive struggle and expect that our interests will be preserved. All too often, our members have been faced with struggles on another front. Liability and homeowners insurance companies increasingly refuse to insure, or even cancel, those of us who own purebred dogs despite the responsibility that we take in raising and housing our loving members of our families, and regardless of the fact that our dogs have never had an incident resulting in any claim being filed with our insurance carriers.

DPCA and ARC know this. The American Kennel Club knows this. The AKC Legislative Department does an outstanding job in working with all of us in very difficult circumstances. The problem of fighting against anti-dog legislation in every state and every city cannot be solved at the national level. AKC can only do so much. It is up to each of us to step forward at this time.

People ask: "what can I do"? They see anti-dog legislation everywhere they turn. They hear stories of insurance companies canceling policies, forcing their friends and family to make choices. Do I give up my dogs?  Do I move somewhere where I may be left alone?  These are choices none of us should have to make.

Now is the time for us to go on offense. Now is the time for us to take the lead. Now is the time to advance our cause rather than to wait for the next anti-dog bill to threaten us.

DPCA and ARC have launched Operation: Doolittle's Raid. In Washington state, HB 1105 has again been introduced in the Washington House of Representatives. This bill, the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill", twice passed the House of Representatives. In 2005, the bill made it through  the House and received a hearing in the Senate Financial Institutions, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee. We ran out of time in that session.

Now, the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill" is moving again. On Thursday, February 1, 2007, HB 1105 passed out of the House Insurance Committee.  The prime sponsor of HB 1105 is Representative Tom Campbell who is the Chair of the House Committee on Environmental Health.

HB 1105 is very simple. It is one paragraph long. It simply prevents insurance carriers from refusing to insure or canceling the insurance of any homeowner based upon the breed of dog he or she owns. Its simplicity is transferable to other states.

The DPCA and ARC have committed in Operation Doolittle's Raid to persuade legislators in 20 states to introduce HB 1105 during the month of February. We will strike in 20 states simultaneously. For once, we will be on offense. For once, we will make insurance carriers have to defend themselves on multiple fronts. For once, we will control the agenda instead of the agenda controlling us.

Now is the time. For those who have asked what you can do, we have an answer. Call your state legislator. Meet with him or her at his or her office. Invite him or her to your local shows as a "Distinguished Awards Presenter" to present the Group or Best in Show trophies.  Provide him or her with a copy of the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill", which is the purpose of our initiative which we have titled Operation: Doolittle's Raid. Ask him or her to introduce the bill immediately.

Here is a link to the bill:

http://www.leg.wa.gov/pub/billinfo/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/1105.pdf

Lastly, once the bill is introduced in your state legislature, we need to know so that we can assist you to publicize that the bill has been introduced in your state. We are now in the process of populating the DPCA LobbyNow Tool with Talking Points to use in the battle that is to come. Our Doolittle's Raid, like the original, is designed to be a daring move intended to shock our adversaries. The DPCA and the ARC need the help of committed purebred dog fanciers throughout the United States, in many different breeds, to launch this initiative successfully.

Cordially,

Jeffrey P. Helsdon

Legislative Director

Doberman Pinscher Club Of America

jurisdobes@aol.com

Jan Cooper

Legislative Director

American Rottweiler Club

jan4rott@rott-n-chatter.com