Important Alert!
Please Read and Participate!

House Bill 3180 proposes limiting the number of dogs a person may own in the state of Texas within and surrounding counties containing at least one million people.

Even if you live in rural Texas, a law such as this could potentially effect you and your dogs, should it come to pass. If a person lives in a county where the population is at least one million residents, this law could regulate or specify how many dogs a person is allowed to own.

While enforcing such a law would be difficult and rely on any neighbors complaining to the proper authorities about the number of dogs you may have, the bill is already posing a serious threat.

As it is presently worded, it would affect responsible, legitimate breeders and pet owners, instead of just the intended target- puppy mills, puppy farmers and "people who own at least one intact female and produce 20 litters in one calendar year".

We all agree, puppy mills are a serious issue, and currently the state of Texas has no legislature at all regarding this subject (of course not, this is Texas, where there is also no legislature preventing the owning of exotic animals as pets, or the selling of tiger cubs in the Wal-Mart parking lot, for crying out loud!). I am not opposed to legislature regarding the regulation of or prevention of puppy mills. I only want to make sure such legislature doesn't also accidentally and adversely affect responsible pet owners like myself, and legitimate dog breeders. Regulating the number of animals a person is allowed to own does nothing for the overall welfare of dogs already in existence in the state of Texas. Bills like this only continue to thwart and frustrate those of us who have always done our best to abide by the rules, behave responsibly, raise well-behaved animals and strive to set a good example for others in the community to follow.

How can we let the government decide how many pets we can/can't have, tell us HOW we can/can't have them, etc... when the same government currently does nothing regarding the issue of exotic pets in this state? It has already been said that each level of law enforcement is hesitant to take responsibility for such issues, and expects the one higher up to be the "bad guy". Most local law enforcement does not have the means to handle such problems and most also are deterred by property owners arguing their property rights. Legislature is already NOT being enforced, why do we need more of it? Stronger laws are not going to make a difference. People MUST STEP UP!

Please take a moment to review your state's current proposed bills and contact your state governor's office accordingly.

You can also sign up to receive notification of legislative alerts in your area.

In the state of Texas, please go to http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/
select "I am registering my opinion" and click "submit".
Then fill out the pertinent information, state your stance on the issues regarding HB 3180 (you can even copy, paste and fill out the handy sample letter the AKC's aforementioned website provides), and make your voice heard.

This bill still needs some serious rewriting, retooling and reconsideration before it is going to be sufficient and a workable solution.