Kenzo is barking his longs out to get his fourty friends removed from the puppy mill in the town of Haslev, Denmark. And yes, this is a shameless plee if you will not bark with us, by signing this petition:
If you have not read sunday's post, the short version of what happened is that a long-time Hovawart puppy mill in Denmark is melting down due to economic and health issues with the owners. Fourty Hovawart dogs inside the puppy mill are caught in the middle. They live in an abandoned property, severly underweight and are being neglected. Police has given the owners until February 1, to bring things in order. The Danish Animal Welfare organization, "Dyrenes Beskyttelse", fears for the dogs survival and is afraid they won't make it that long.
Today we learned that the health and economic conditions of the owners are very severe. The property - with the dogs still in it - is foreclosed, and the new place the owners moved to, soon has to be abandoned as well. It is very likely the owners will not be able to recover their business.
We also learned the police fails in handling the situation. They revoked the puppy mill's license based on the the Danish Regulation For Commercial Breeding. A good step although long overdue. More important, they neglected to address the state of health of the dogs. The dogs are in such a bad shape, that this is not about a breeding license, this is a downright animal cruelty case, and falls under the Animal Protection Act which obliges the police to either seize or euthanize the animals when the owner apparantly is not able to take care of them (Art. 21 and 22).
The police won't move unless asked questions by politicians. Politicians won't move if we don't tell them loud and clear: There is only one priority at this moment. The dogs must get out of there. Now.
The petition targets the local Chief of Police, the Mayor, local Town Hall members, and the Danish Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare. If you would like to send them your own letter or e-mail, that would even be better.
We can give you more information from inside the puppy mill soon, as one of their former employees has come forward with her story.
But first we have to get the dogs out. Please sign and share with your friends. I know you will, you love dogs as much as I do when you read this blog. Thank you.
***
For the latest and how you can help, visit the page Stop Danish Hovawart Puppy Mill.