Q&A with Leah Kithcart

Leah Kithcart has worked on regulating puppy mills in Pennslyvania. Leah is an Associate for Government Relations in the Harrisburg, PA office of the Bravo Group, serves as the Fund Chair for Humane USA PA PAC.Leah assisted in achieving passage of the puppy mill reform bill in Pennsylvania and has worked to end the practice of using live animals for trap and block target shoots in the Keystone Satate. At the Bravo Group she assists in the implementation of a variety of client services, including legislative research and analysis and building key client relationships within the political community. Leah graduater from Penn State University.

Question One
What are Puppy Mills?
There’s a difference between puppy mills and responsible breeders. Puppy mills are mass breeding facilities that lack in care for the dogs themselves. They’re typically stocked with hundreds to thousands of dogs and generally the dogs are bred more than twice a year. In a responsible breeding facility, the owner puts the care of the dogs over the profit. These breeders still make a profit however they have vet care, healthy environments and chose the homes for their dogs based on a critical set of standards. Basically, as long as there is a demand for purebred and mixed breed dogs i.e. puggles, labordoodles there will be puppy mills across the country

Question Two
What kind of laws are there about Puppy Mills?
Pennsylvania passed a law last year regulating puppy mills by creating standard by which we believe all breeders should operate under. The bill that we passed has these requirements:
➢ Cage space must be double the size of the dog from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail
➢ All dogs must have unfettered access to outdoor runs
➢ All kennels must have solid flooring
➢ The dogs must see a vet twice a year or at every pregnancy
➢ Heating and cooling requirements include that the kennel must not go below 50 degrees or over 85 degrees

Question Three
How can people help stop the animal cruelty in puppy mills?
Citizens can help stop the cruelty in puppy mills by not buying dogs in pet stores or from irresponsible breeders. There are so many rescues and specific breed rescues overwhelmed with dogs that are purebred. If someone must have a puppy of a specific breed, we suggest they do their research and only buy from someone that applies the critical standards of adoption.

Question Four
Do you feel there should be fines or even jail time to those who own the puppy mills and miss treat the dogs?
Yes, we encourage states to apply severe penalties in their cruelty codes to those offenders of animal abuse.

Question Five
What do you think would happen if puppy mills were shut down in the US?
If puppy mills were shut down in the US I believe we would save a lot of tax payer money. For some of the farmers who breed dogs, this is a constant crop for them even when the weather is bad. I think they could find other means of gaining profit instead of breeding dogs. I believe the US would still manage to thrive in other areas nonrelated to animal abuse.

Question Six
Do you think that making puppy mills illegal can become a reality in the future?
I don’t think we’ll ever be able to make puppy mills illegal. I think we will be able to set higher standards that may even force breeders to go out of business. We hope that one day puppy mills will be nonexistent. Until then we will continue to fight for the best possible treatment of the dogs in any environment.

For More Information go to www.stoppapuppymills.org