Blog

What determines the success of a dog breeder? Is it the number of puppies produced? The selling price of each pup? The health of the parents? A good reputation? In reality, it is a combination of all these factors, plus many others, that causes a breeder to have success and fulfillment in their puppy-raising endeavors. As many individuals are well aware, it takes an enormous amount of dedication, persistence, experience, commitment, and lots of continued education to earn the much-desired title of "successful dog breeder".  Such was the goal of this year's 3rd Annual ICAW Seminar - to provide opportunity for fellow dog breeders to gain further knowledge and encouragement regarding their dogs, puppies, and businesses. The seminar was held on October 28th and 29th at the Allen County Fairgrounds with well-respected veterinarians, trainers/behaviorists, businessmen, and dog breeders whose presentations were wonderfully informative and uplifting. Various vendors were also available both days, providing information about their products and services. An appetizing banquet was offered on Friday evening, followed by an auction to help support the efforts of ICAW.

It is through events such as this that we as dog breeders can gain the momentum to dissipate the agenda of HSUS and other animal rightist groups. We must first ensure our utmost respectability, sincere intentions, and ongoing education, then boldly confront these groups and individuals that attempt to persuade the public otherwise. This is our mission and our duty as dog owners, dog lovers, and successful dog breeders. Join us in the battle to save the art of raising puppies!

 

We hope this finds you and your family doing well. We just wanted to give you an update on any number of Legislative topics involving our industry.

Federal: S.3519 (Us Senate) & H.R.6949 (US Congress) now known as H.R.835

We are going to provide you two sections of H.R. 835 that will explain what Congress is trying to enact in our industry
right now..

‘‘(B) HIGH VOLUME RETAIL BREEDER.—
The term ‘high volume retail breeder’ means a person who, in commerce, for compensation or profit—‘‘(i) has an ownership interest in or custody of 1 or more breeding female dogs?and‘‘(ii) sells or offers for sale, via any means of conveyance (including the Internet, telephone, or newspaper), more than 50 of the offspring of such breeding female dogs for use as pets in any 1year
period.

View Newsletter
View Proposed Candidates ICAW Board 2012
View Thank You Letter from Senator Brent Steele

October 28th & 29th, 2011
ICAW wishes to invite you to be an exhibitor at our 3rd Annual Pet Breeder Seminar this year. It will be held at the Allen County Fairgrounds, 2726 Carroll Road Fort Wayne IN 46818-9501 in the 4H Exhibit Hall and the Home Loan Bank Building Phone: (260) 4494444..

View Cover Letter
View Flyer
View Booth Contract
View Sponsor Agreement

This event is held on Friday October 28th through Saturday October 29th. After the guest speakers on Friday, we will be hosting a banquet and auction, then continuing our education and fellowship through guest speakers and vendors on Saturday.

ICAW Auction Sale Items:

• Throw blankets (Lord's prayer ; scenic/wolves)
• Leaf burning cart
• 6 foot ladder
• 2-6 foot lifetime folding table
• Volleyball net & ball
• Wooden clothes dryer
• Polyethalene glider
• Handy man jack
• Bird feeders & houses
• Aluminum hip roof mail box
• Dog feeders
• Wind chimes
• Bulldog stud service (Winston)
• Misc.
• And much more!

We look forward to seeing you at the Seminar!!

  This is a extremely hard post for me personally to write today. I had to wait so as to be able to truly pull my thoughts together. Last year during the throes of HB 1468 I met so many people at times I truly did not know how I was going to remember every one. One in particular that I do remember was a little lady that walked up to me and absolutely unloaded on the Animals Rights folks. She was a hundred pounds of dynamite in a small package. Little did I know!!!

   As my odyssey led me to ICAW that little package of dynamite didn't forget me either. I started getting one e-mail after another from her. How invaluable every single thing she sent me was over the last two years. I have always talked about the tenets of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare, "we can agree to disagree" "i may not like what you do but who am i to tell YOU what to do". Now I had a AKC Purebred show breeder on our side who got it. For over a year I had no idea where Sheila lived. One day I especially needed some help (typing over 200 words a minute is a skill that I do not have).

   Sheila answered my e-mail with "Why don't you just come over!" as it turned out she was less than 5 minutes from where I usually write from. She knew it, I didn't. The rest is history.
As our relationship kicked into full gear little did I know what I had gotten myself into. I truly found a kindred spirit, we loved food, movies, animals and freedom. In the last part of this Winter Sheila just didn't feel good, come to find out the cause was stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Everyone always talks about someone they know not complaining about their lot in life. Sheila truly didn't. I am a cancer survivor myself and found it quite interesting that we never talked about cancer.

   We talked about life, always about life. Not in a maudlin way just how we enjoyed it and were not going to let the Animals Rights crazies take it away from us. Many a weekend watching movies I knew nothing about, Sheila cooked and our banter was non-stop. Personally I knew what was coming, I could see it in her eyes. Still she refused to slow down when the rodeo was in Clermont she went by herself because I couldn't go with her. When I saw her later that week she pulled out a picture of her sitting on top of a Texas Longhorn at the rodeo. She told me "I probably should not have done that but I just wanted to". That picture was taken approximately six weeks before she passed.

   Each day got a little longer and harder for her and culminated with her passing last Tuesday 8/17/2010. I went to see her in hospice and the one thing she would open her eyes about, was news on the Animals Rights front. No matter what she whispered, "carry on this battle". Sheila you have my word, " I WILL". Most of you will have not known my dear sweet friend, but she made an indelible mark on me and for that I am forever grateful. Good Bye Darlin!!

I was reading last week that H$U$ filed a complaint with the FTC against Rose Acre Farms (our great egg producer here in Indiana). It seems that H$U$ thinks that Rose Acre Farms is giving misleading claims about conditions at some of their farms. Rose Acres  K.Y. Hendrix says

“They’re claiming we falsely advertise on our website, but it boils down to this — we take care of our animals and our animals are performing to standards,” Hendrix said. “If we weren’t taking care of our chickens, our chickens wouldn’t be taking care of us.”

Of all the folks in the world who should not be talking about misleading statements is the worlds largest Animals Rights group. We often see references to how little the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spends on shelters – less than 1/2 of 1% (.45% to be exact) of their annual budget.

HSUS finance records show that after you’ve made that [$19] monthly donation for a year, a grand total of $1.03 will reach a pet shelter.

Since math is not my strong suit, I got out my calculator:

$19/month X 12 months = $228

.45% of $228 = $1.03

How different the HSUS commercials would appear if they said “With your gift of just $19 a month, we’ll make sure almost 9 cents of that donation reaches a shelter somewhere every month…” It does seem to me that H$U$ makes many misleading statements in their advertising. Aprroximately 71% of the United States populace believes that H$U$ is an umbrella organization for our local shelters. Nothing could be farther from the truth,

If you really want to help Stop Cruelty to Animals in Indiana donate to your local Dog Adoption Shelter or a reputable Indiana Dog Rescue. Maybe if we all started to do that we wouldn't have to worry about being mislead anymore by the crazies at H$U$.

Oh, and before I forget "Where do we go to complain about Wayne and the H$U$ and their misleading statements?" Because in this particular case Wayne does need to get a little "egg" on his face.

Animals Rights Activists groups, the Humane Society of the United States and the Indianapolis Humane Society have been pursuing the elimination of Indiana Dog Breeders for quite sometime. In the last couple of years they have urged a few Indiana legislators to introduce bills making it difficult to breed dogs for profit and have conducted raids on several properties within the State of Indiana. Up until now, the Indianapolis Humane Society along with the Humane Society of the United States has succeeded in closing down several Indiana Dog Breeders.

After the failure to end all Commercial Dog Breeders in 2009 by, among other things, trying to impose ridiculous cage restrictions that even a college professor couldn’t decipher, they are now using a different tactic by attacking the Indiana Pet Stores to eliminate buyers for puppies. How much longer is this behavior going to continue?

If the Humane Societies believe Indiana Dog Breeders don’t care about their dogs and the quality of life for their animals, they are making a huge mistake. Commercial Dog Breeders could have put up privacy fences and left things as they were. Or, they could have sent some of their breeding stock to friends and other family members thus reducing the quantity of dogs at each kennel. They could have forfeited their licenses and sold their puppies to other states that have recently fallen victim to their new regulations and are now screaming for puppies.

But, the Indiana Commercial Dog Breeders didn’t play games or try to pull any sneaky tricks. The breeders willing paid the USDA license fee and/or the Indiana Board of Animal Health fee. They joined the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare (ICAW). The Indiana Dog Breeders, Indiana Puppy Breeders, Commercial Dog Breeders and anything else you want to call those who raise puppies are spending thousands of dollars to upgrade their kennels. Some are building brand new facilities while others are remodeling their existing kennels with materials recommended in the bill signed into law by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and in effect as of Jan. 1st, 2010.

Raids have been conducted on kennels and private citizens for several years now. Lonely, elderly people have been a prime target. Scared and helpless, these people had to stand by under the watchful eye of law enforcement officers and while their beloved animals were carted off under false pretences. They never get their animals back. The animals were sent to shelters and put up for adoption. According to media reports, the animals were “rescued” because they were “so sick and so abused” and had to be relocated. Relocated means sent to shelters and adopted by the public, sometimes within as little as three days.

If the animals were so sick and so abused, why are the shelters adopting out these sick and abused dogs? Some animals were transported to shelters in other states. How are these animals getting across state lines without health certificates? If they had health certificates, they weren’t really sick were they? It seems to me there is a little more work to be done by the Senate and House of Representatives of Indiana concerning animal welfare.  

It has come to our attention that the USDA is no longer going to put up with the bad actors. 1st, that is great news. When the Indiana legislature passed HB1468 in 2009 we applauded them for sticking to their guns and accepting the federal standards of the USDA. 2nd the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare applauds the USDA for recognizing that some Indiana Dog Breeders and some Indiana Puppy Breeders do not follow the rules.

From day one ICAW has always stated that if you can not raise dogs correctly and legally we would not support you. Our Animals Rights opponents seem to not believe us. We have come to understand that these folks have just become the minions of HSUS. These Animals Rights folks have become brainwashed by the blather from the biggest factory fundraisers in the country HSUS.

We at ICAW are looking forward to the USDA's changes in the next few weeks. So, yes, you heard it here, we applaud what the USDA is doing to rid the industry of the bad actors. Please take the time to read the above article and you will see why we are truly happy about the changes.

For those of you in Indiana that have not heeded our words, whether you are Indiana Puppy Breeders or Indiana Dog Breeders "Get It Right or Get It Gone". ICAW really and truly wants to Stop Cruelty to Animals whether it is in Indiana Pet Stores or any of the Commercial Dog Breeders who don't want to listen. We have sent the message many times, now it will really be sent by no less than the federal government.

When is a dog not a dog?  by Elsie Evans

 How long before the Indiana Dog Breeders, the Indiana Pet Stores and the good citizens of Indiana start asking questions? Recently I was made aware of two alleged veterinarians offering an alternative to dog kennels under roof. Their program is call "FREE RANGE DOGS". Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, has been pushing for "FREE RANGE CHICKENS" in California. Is this just a coincidence? I doubt it.

On this program a fenced area of an acre with a community shelter would support 25 dogs. These veterinarians would teach the breeder how to socialize dogs so they would all get along. The dog breeder targeted for this program was at a loss of what to do. I believe I know what to do. Start asking questions.  

1.First thing you ask is how are they connected with HSUS. Also ask if this program has been approved by the USDA and/or IBOAH.

2.Ask if this is another crazy program to bankrupt breeders and if their intentions are to put them out of business.  Don’t be afraid of offending them. Get a description of their vehicle and get the license plate number. Remember, they most likely will be wearing small cameras and microphones.
   
3.Ask for ID and write down the ID number.

4.Ask what kind of dogs they raise and do they have their kennels set up this way. They will have to acknowledge if  they have put this in practice themselves or are they speculating. They probably don't have their own kennel.

5.Ask for names, addresses or phone numbers so you can Find Dog Breeders already on program that you can contact.

6.Ask how you keep your dogs from being stolen when you are away from home or at night when you are asleep since you don't have to be a 20 year old athlete to climb a fence.

7.Does the community shelter have access to the outside of the kennel in order for the owner to enter and check inside the shelter for removal of a sick or injured dog.

8.Ask what to do about hawks and owls if you have small breeds.

9.Ask how you know which male bred which female.

10.Ask how you determine a whelp date.

11.Ask how you discover a weak/sick dog before its too late. A sick dog could appear it is just napping.

12.Ask how you keep one chow hound from getting all the food.

13.Ask about feces removal and how you keep the kennel and the shelter clean, plus where do you put the dogs in order to clean the kennel.

14.Ask how you keep dogs from digging under the fence or finding a hole they can squeeze through and escape.

15.Ask how you keep a dog from eating the feces of another.

16.Ask how you deal with ALPHA dogs.

17.Ask for a list of what breeds you cannot put together.

18.Ask what you do about dogs not sharing the shelter.

19.Ask just how they go about socializing the dogs.

20.Ask about dimensions of shelter and height of kennel fence plus estimated cost.

21.Ask about materials used for fencing and ground cover.

22.Ask what you need to use for flea & tick control since the dogs will be exposed to the elements.

I have experience using a community kennel. Except for the yard dog, my dogs are 4 to 6 pounds and are turned loose together in a 16 x 16 chain link kennel everyday, weather permitting. I have two dog houses because they will not share just one. The male gets to be with the females for no more than a few minutes because they fight. Sometimes two will gang up on one for no reaon that I can see. They crowd the gate when I enter and sometimes one escapes. They ride the fence, they dig holes, they walk in feces, they share a water dish but will not share food. You can't pick feces out of grass or gravel but you can rake the feces into a pile for removal if there is only dirt. The grass is gone so when it rains they are standing in mud. I can't rake the dry ground when the dogs are there because they either attack the rake or want to play with it. Weeds grow into the fence and can't be sprayed or mowed without moving the entire fence. My toy breed dogs look like lunch to hawks and owls, so my kennel is located under my one and only huge tree. None of my dogs know they can dig under the fence but they do know they can squeeze out through the space at the gate. I had to fasten a piece of 2 x 4 to the post to close the gap.

A few things concern me about this "FREE RANGE" idea. The egg producers couldn't make it work. The large commercial egg producer had 10,000 eggs a day while the "FREE RANGE" producer had 900 eggs a day. After a few days the dogs are going to have open wounds, damaged eyes and ears from fighting, filthy from being in mud and some will be losing weight due to lack of getting their turn at the food. This is a perfect set up for the Animals Rights activists to claim abuse and neglect. Socializing dogs may work well when getting a puppy ready to go to a new home but it doesn't work on adult dogs. I have had vet bills as much as $300 to prove it. So, when is a dog not a dog? NEVER.  
 

Tomorrow is May 4th, 2010 the Primary voting day in Indiana. Please, whatever you do "Go and Vote". It has been a long year these past 12 months. A hard battle to get reasonable canine legislation and good animal cruelty laws in HB1468. It was touch and go all the way to April 29th, 2009. In the 2010 Session we had to battle to defeat HB1258. Both of these bills were absolutely the result of the Animals Rights activism from the factory fund raisers at HSUS.

ICAW was founded after the defeat of HB1468 a group of dedicated animal owners who want to retain their human rights as well. It simply amazes us how pervasive the Animals Rights folks are in Indiana. One would think that with Indiana being such a large agricultural state that most folks would be aware of the Animals Rights folks. Little did we know how much so many people did not know about their activities.

The Commercial Dog Breeders found out, the Indiana Pet Stores found out, the Indiana Dog Breeders found out and probably the most important people who found out were the farmers of Indiana. We are grateful for the support of all of these people over the last 15 months.

So tonight we encourage all of you to go out tomorrow and execute your constitutional right to vote. Please remember to let Linda Lawson (D) District 1 and John Barnes (D) District 89 know that you won't forget their involvement with the above bills. We think they both need to take a rest (at home that is).

Now the Animals Rights folks at HSUS are taking cues from their old friends at PETA.

On April 13th and 14th in Fort Wayne Indiana the Indiana Milk Professionals held their annual Indiana Milk Quality Conference. Mike Baumgarner from Ohio Farm Bureau was a featured speaker. We would like to quote Mike from his talk.

"Agriculture makes up less than 2 percent of the population," Mike Bumgarner, a vice president with Ohio Farm Bureau, told conference attendees. "You've got people who don't really understand production agriculture."

But the good news?

"Most consumers trust farmers," he said.

Bumgarner said people are influenced in their attitudes toward animals rights by several factors, which include culture, economics, religious and philosophical beliefs, scientific knowledge and aesthetics.

In addition, he said that dollar figures trump animals rights. For example, there is a cost associated with an animal being able to spread its wings or limbs and not be confined for life.

Many of the attitudes prevalent in the animals rights movement, Bumgarner said, are rooted in the ways Americans treat their pets.

"We love our pets!" he said, but there can be trouble when Americans equate pets with farm animals.

People think that "A dog is a cow and a cat is a pig," he said."

"As producers, we have taken care of animals for generations," he said. "But we don't get this word out."

Bumgarner urged farmers to go home and watch "Food, Inc.," a movie that portrays what its producers see as problems with modern agriculture. Many farmers feel vilified by the movie.

"Farming is being blamed for every problem known to mankind," he said.

Bumgarner concluded his presentation by claiming that the Humane Society of the United States, a prominent animals rights group, uses the tactic of dividing and conquering to influence policy. Hence, he told agriculture that it has to present a united front against such groups. He credits unity as a key factor in Ohio not giving in to HSUS.

We also would like to quote Wes Jamison, a public relations consultant and professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Wes spoke at the Indiana Milk Quality Conference as well.
Please pay careful attention to what he had to say.

"You produce for a consuming society that cannot and will not understand what you say," he told farmers. "People don't care about the farmers' story."

Jamison said that HSUS "chooses language that consumers will resonate with," and that it utilizes a strategy of "moral coalition building."

"It has nothing to do with science and economics," said Jamison. "The idea is to moralize the issues."

Jamison said that HSUS has a theologian on its staff, and it uses the appeal of religion to get its word out.

"It urges pastors to preach against animal agriculture," he said.

He even showed a videoclip of Houston megachurch pastor and televangelist Joel Osteen urging his parishioners and viewers not to eat pork, as it is "unclean."

Jamison outlined the core messages that HSUS uses, which include the individual worth of the animal, animal suffering, compassion, guilt and responsibility.

He told his audience that in actuality, animals are a source of protein. In other countries, people eat dog, and the reason why this is not done in the United States is due to cultural norms.

"There are different rules for pets and livestock," Jamison said. "Hypocrisy is approved."

Wes is a great guy but please know that he is facing lawsuits brought by HSUS the factory fundraisers of the Animals Rights groups.

You will notice an almost, I repeat almost defeated attitude by Wes. HSUS will not give up.

We want to quote Gary Haynes from the Indiana Board of Animal Health as well. Gary said:

"Indiana lawmakers have addressed the animal rights issue in recent years.

The Indiana General Assembly passed House Bill 1468 in 2009, which addresses cruelty of domestic animals. In 2010, the General Assembly passed House Bill 1099, which adopted rules for taking care of livestock and poultry."

Haynes warned that HSUS may try to circumvent such state laws, and appeal their case at the federal level with the knowledge that federal laws will trump state laws.

Be proud of what your Indiana Legislators have done the last two years but be very aware and very vigilant about the fact that this battle for our very existence is not over. Please stay in contact with all of YOUR legislators and let them know where YOU stand on these issues. If you don't, you and all of the members of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare may not be able to eat those great Pork Tenderloins and Rib Eyes that we all so dearly love. No eggs, no milk or cheese, no fried chicken from your favorite Indiana restaurant.

We don't know about you but we would miss that very much.
 

 

 

ICAW wondered how long it would take to start seeing the fingerprints of Cass Sunstein on regulations or documents from any of the agencies under the OIRA! Please remember Mr. Sunstein is a huge Animals Rights fellow. Cass Sunstein… is an ‘animals rights’ attorney who acts on behalf of animals. “Are you an animal with a ‘beef’ against humans? You have the right to sue…” published in prevarication.net. If you don't believe that, please read a paper published in the Social Science Research Network by Mr. Sunstein titled "The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer".

  You probably are wondering at this point why we bring all of this up. We were reading an article in Greenversations (The Official Blog Of The U.S Evironmental Protection Agency) "Living Without Meat" About the author: Nicole Reising is an intern at the Office of Children’s Health Protection. She is a sophomore studying non-profit management at Indiana University. Wow, a sophmore in one of our great Indiana colleges is officially writing on a U.S government blog about why we should not eat meat.

We truly wonder how this could have ever come about? Is the EPA now going to jump in the whole Factory Farming issue? We wonder if Ms. Reising ever gave thought to all of the farmers she potentially wants to put out of business? The real question is, "Would this type of article ever been published prior to Mr. Sunsteins tenure?" The editor of the blog does qualify that the opinions expressed on the blog are those of the authors.

But once again think about it, would this have been possible prior to Mr. Sunstein? We know that we here at the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare don't like to see our tax money spent this way! What do you think about it?

The Indiana Council for Animal Welfare would like to take a minute and express our appreciation to Frank Losey. Frank has fought the so called animals rights folks tirelessly for many, many years. You don't have to be around Frank for very long and that passion about the little guy getting pushed around by the big bully (HSUS) comes out. ICAW had the privilege of Mr. Loseys presence at our 1st Annual Pet Breeders Seminar in November of 2009. Wow, what a speaker. If you didn't walk away energized about the battle with the animals rights folks you must have fallen asleep because of travelling so far to get there.

Frank's latest campaign is known as Spay & Neuter the HSUS. His latest campaign was started as a grassroots movement in just a few states. Now all 50 states, and from what I understand most of the protectorates of the United States are on board. The Spay & Neuter Campaign is being driven to the federal level directly to the IRS about their 501©3 status. Frank is determined to expose HSUS just for what they are LOBBYISTS not a charitable organization. Please take a few minutes and read about Mr. Franklin W. Losey.

Mr. Losey was born in Washington DC on March 23, 1941, and was raised in Newport, KY from the age of two until he graduated from the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law in 1964.  He is an attorney, who is licensed to practice law in the States of Ohio and Kentucky; is licensed to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court; and has submitted written legal briefs that have been considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

After graduating from Law School, Mr. Losey entered on active duty in the United States Air Force as a Judge Advocate in February 1965, and continued to serve on active duty until his retirement in August 1990.  At the time that he retired from the Air Force, he was assigned to the Pentagon as the Director of Civil Law, where he supervised over 100 military and civilian attorneys; provided legal guidance to the Air Force Chief of Staff and other General Officers assigned to the Pentagon; and had oversight responsibilities for all litigation involving the U.S. Air Force, as well as Air Force Government Contract, International Law and Environmental Law issues.  During his Air Force career, he served as a Military Judge, Trial Counsel (prosecutor) and Defense Counsel in over 100 courts-martial, and served as the defense counsel in five homicide cases in Okinawa, Alaska, Germany and Florida.

After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Losey became the Vice President and General Counsel of the Shipbuilders Council of America, a trade association that represented the 30 largest shipyards in the U.S.  On January 1, 1997 he became the General Counsel for Brown and Company (BCI), a consulting and lobbying firm in Washington DC.  BCI represents a number of naval and marine companies - - several of which are multi-billion dollar corporations - - as well as the American Shipbuilding Association, which represents the six largest shipbuilders in the U.S. that build all of the capital ships for the U.S. Navy, such as aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and destroyers.    

Since 1990 Mr. Losey has interfaced with Presidents of multi-billion dollar corporations, Members of Congress and their key staff, and senior members of the Executive Branch of our Government.  During this period he successfully obtained actual statutory changes to Title 10 (Armed Forces), Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure  - -  Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act), Title 26 (Internal Revenue Code), and Title 41 (Public Contracts) of the U.S. Code; he was successful in effecting changes to regulations promulgated by the Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Agriculture, OSHA, EPA and the International Maritime Organization; and he has spoken on behalf of the U.S. Government at an Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meeting in Paris, France.  

During Mr. Loseys Air Force Career, he received three Legion of Merit Medals, three Meritorious Service Medals, and the Air Force Commendation Medal, and had the distinct honor and pleasure of being an invited guest to the Queens Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London, England.

Mr. Loseys passion for representing responsible dog breeders is based on his commitment to repay Chaucer, his beloved Yorkie, who he treasured for over 18 years, and who taught him the values of loyalty, so that when they are re-united on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, Chaucer will have an extra reason to be so happy to see him.

ICAW truly wants to express our gratitude to Frank for all of his hard work in representing the little guy. How did we ever get so lucky to have such a special man to help our side? Once it is time for Frank to go over that rainbow bridge as he calls it. We believe the most grateful will be Chaucer not us. But until then when you see Frank shake his hand, pat him on the back and tell him how much you appreciate him.

Well we are sure that our favorite Animals Rights factory fundraising group H$u$ is not going to be happy. On April 9th 2010 the McDonalds Board of Directors has recommended that shareholders vote "NO" against a proposal to require that 5 percent of the eggs purchased for the chain’s restaurants in the United States be the cage-free variety.Last year McDonald’s joined the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply, which is organizing a commercial-scale study led by Michigan State University and the University of California, Davis, to examine different housing options for egg-laying hens.

We are sure that our friends at Rose Acre Farms were glad to hear this news. We at ICAW believe the wisest thing anyone has done recently is to put their foot down and say "Let the Scientists tell us what to do." Those on the Animals Rights front have to be quite upset about this latest turn of events.

By the way read the home page of Rose Acre Farms website and you will see an article about them donating over "ONE MILLION" eggs to churches and foodbanks. Who on the other side of the fence is caring so well. So the next time you say to Rose Acre Farms Stop Cruelty to Animals please make sure and tell H$U$ to stop the cruelty to humans!!

Well we are into our 4th month of HB1468 being the law of the land in Indiana. As of April 7th, 2010 there are over 80 Commercial Dog Breeders and 2 Commercial Dog Brokers registered with the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH). During the heat of the battle in 2009 over HB1468 many numbers were thrown around about how many Indiana Puppy Breeders there actually are in the state, on the low side that number was less than 100 Commercial Dog Breeders and on the high side 3000. We always knew that 3000 Commercial Dog Breeders was ludicrous. Take a moment and think about it, 33 Commercial Dog Breeders per county. This would mean there is at least one Commercial Dog Breeder on every corner in some counties.

With that being said, ICAW would like to know who (if any) has not registered with the state of Indiana as Commercial Dog Breeders or Commercial Dog Brokers. We know that there are more breeders and brokers out there and want to get them registered or find out why they are not. So if you know of any Indiana Dog Breeders that should be classified as Commercial Dog Breeders or someone that should be classified as a Commercial Dog Broker. Please let us know at info@icaw.org.

When we get the opportunity to talk to the Animals Rights folks we have always told them that we want to Stop Cruelty to Animals as much as they profess to. We are going to action as we promised to find the bad actors, so please help us to Find Dog Breeders or Dog Brokers that are not following the law.

The Indiana Council for Animal Welfare was created to protect our human rights but we absolutely will stand up to "ANYONE" about making sure that "THEY" follow their human responsibility to be forthright and legal.