Dear Editor, Thank you, thank you to columnist Pete Keesling for
his wonderful article,
”
Dog buyers Need to Take a Stand on Puppy Mills.
”
At Last, a Columnist Tells the Truth About the So-Called Healthy Pets Act
Dear Editor,
Thank you, thank you to columnist Pete Keesling for his wonderful article, “Dog buyers Need to Take a Stand on Puppy Mills.”
I am the founding president of a national dog rescue group. We neuter every dog we place for adoption. At first AB 1634 seemed like a reasonable solution to pet overpopulation – until we read it. AB 1634 does not help animals or people. In fact, it supports puppy mills.Â
Animal rescue groups have been fighting puppy mills for decades because they are so detrimental to the animals with their deplorable conditions and sick animals. Also, puppy mills are bad for people since they charge high prices for selling defective, poorly bred animals which perpetrates a fraud on the unsuspecting public.
Reputable small, pure-bred dog breeders are the people who should be supported since they take great care in selecting their breeding stock and will take back any defective animals. Puppy mills and retail pet stores are the very things rescue groups dread, yet AB 1634 will promote them.
It will be a dark day for animals and for the people of California if AB1634 the so-called Healthy Pets Act passes.
Thank you for bringing this issue to the attention of your readership. I sincerely hope that people will read this bill for themselves by logging on to the California State Assembly website and really see how poorly written and ill conceived this bill is for animals and people and that they will speak out against it to their legislative representatives.
Cherie Fehrman, STOLA, Saluki Tree of Life Alliance
No Free Pass to the Gym for a Gilroy Soldier on Leave from Duty in Iraq
Dear Editor,
I think that it is a shame that a soldier that is home for a mere 15 days on leave from front line fighting in Iraq is not treated with just a small amount of respect from a local gym.
My son is home from Iraq. He is an Army combat infantry medic. He has been serving in the Anbar Province of Iraq since October and has finally been allowed to come home for a short time. He will be going back and be saving lives over there until January 2008.
He went into a local gym and asked if they could give him a deal on a two- week pass, he let her know he was here on leave. The lady at the front desk immediately recognized him as a former member. For seven years, while he was a student here in Gilroy we had a membership and he was a regular participant at the gym, most every morning before school and many other times.
The employee said let me see what I can do, she asked the owner if they could do anything for him. She said, “Oh sure, $35 per week.” I was amazed when he came home and told me the price, my daughter has a membership at the gym still and I pay $35 for the whole month. How is this a fair price?
I don’t care if they are deployed and home on leave or if they are still stationed in the states if a soldier comes home for leave I would think that a gym should give them a pass.
My son is here to relax but wants to keep in shape so that on his return he will not have to worry about reconditioning. He will be going back to 100-degree weather and wants to stay fit. So what does this gym do? They gouge him for a two-month fee. If I were this company I would be ashamed of this type of policy.
Rose Barrow, Gilroy
