EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Folks, we are close to getting the LSWDA's Working Dog Preservation Bill sponsored and on to the next step in the process.  We have three representatives interested in the bill.  Reps White, Aycock, and Guillen.  What we need now is as many calls, letters and emails to these reps, and your local reps as possible.  If we make it a big deal, it can be a big deal.  Here is the updated text and the info on how to find your rep can be found at  www.lswda.org

Working Dog Preservation Bill

By:________________________ ____.B. NO. ________
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT
relating to the classification and care of working dogs

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1.
DEFINITION. In this Act a “working dog” means:
(1) A dog used primarily for the purpose of driving, tending, locating,
working, or protecting stock to include domestic and feral stock, swine and exotics;
(2) A dog used for police, military, substance detection, protection, search, rescue or recovery purposes;
(3) A dog used as a service, assistance or therapy animal;
(4) A dog used to locate, retrieve, or capture an animal, or used in the
recovery of wounded or dead animals;
(5) A dog that is in training for any of the above purposes;
(6) The definition does not rely upon where the dog lives, or it’s breed,
but its primary use;

SECTION 2.
A dog that is defined as a “working dog” is not considered a
pet and will be exempt from laws intended to apply to pets.

(2) A working dog will not be subject to laws:
(a) Requiring mandatory spay or neuter;
(b) Restricting or requiring permits for the number of animals an owner
may possess, regardless of reproductive status;
(c) Restricting how the dog may be housed;
(d) Requiring additional insurance due to weight, breed, sex, or
reproductive status is of the dog;
(e) Restricting breeds that may be kept by the owner.

SECTION 3. Section 42.09, Penal Code applies to the care of working dogs.

SECTION 4. This act takes effect September 1, 2011.

People for the sake of being able to avoid all these ridiculous bills becoming laws that remove your liberties and rights to use your dogs to hunt and work, WE NEED YOU ALL to write your representatives.

If you do not know how or what to say, these instructions and details can be founds at www.lswda.org on the front page, it only takes a few nimutes of your time but can save you a lifetime of trouble with your dogs. PLEASE lets be PRO ACTIVE, and get started to help ourselves, instead of whining about it next year when its too late. This is time Sensetive and needs to be done NOW.

That's right.  The whole reason this bill was started was because every legislative session we run around playing whack-a-mole with these outlandish bills that have no consideration for a dog that is anything other than lawn art or a lap warmer.  They introduce something and we have to react and try to get it put down.  We decided that is a great way to not lose, but a poor way to win so we did something about it and came up with the bill above.  We need the breathing room.  We need this precident set at the state level so that it will offer protection from there on down.  Please write those letters and emails or better yet make those phone calls.  We only have until 11 March to get this thing filed. 

I will me making phone calls and mailing letters...  Thanks Lance and LSWDA

Also for FaceBook friends
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=184313954938086&comments#!/profile.php?id=100001692200651

click "like" or comment to the post and spread the word to your friends on Facebook, the more people getting behindthis the better!

Thanks Lance for getting this started.
This is the only way too stay on top with our hunting dogs, I'll work with any one too preserve that.

Making calls and sending letters.

Lance has done a great job putting this together. I am not sure everyone realises how important this type of legislation is to all of us who hunt with dogs, Its a game changer. I encourage all TDHA members to support this, everyone who owns a hunting dog or working dog should be vigorously supporting this Bill.

Thanks,
Paul T

If your a member of this board at some point you took a few minutes to sign up to become a member, for about that same amount of time you could send a letter to your congressman/rep.  There should be nearly 3000 people writing a letter or email in the next few days!

what can i do if i'm out of state ?

Thanks everyone for your support so far!!  We now have 5 State Reps taking a look at this Bill!!  Keep the letters, emails, and phone calls going!!
For those that do not know how to write your Representative, there is also a form letter on the main page of the LSWDA website too.  You can add your own reasons for support and we recommend that you change the font to fit your style as well.  We wanted to make this as easy as possible for everyone, so please go to www.lswda.org/ and make your voice heard regarding your working dogs and this bill!

Thanks!!

I also urge all members here to pass on the word through other forums you are members of.
Cross post on all other hunting/outdoor forums, coon, squirrel, hog, retriever, pointer, bloodtracker, etc.
Any and all, even the fishing and bowhunting sights, if it makes 1 more person aware and write a letter or make a call it'll help.
Be sure to clear it with admin at those sights to help get the word out.
Visit www.LSWDA.org to get you copy, it only takes a second.

I sent a letter to the Rep of my district. Who else can I send this to?

I just found this website and about this bill being circulated. I mentioned it to a couple people I know who are at lobby day in Austin today. They are going to mention the bill to some reps who might be sympathetic to our cause. Hope it helps. Some of the new laws being proposed are outrageous.

Cristina and everybody else Great job! It takes everyone and family members, Emails are overlooked many times but a phone call or a letter well, that is well written are harder to over look. Those letters go into the office and are veiwed by an Aid, put into stacks and when that stack starts getting tall, they have to give it consideration as to "what the people want" what will get them re-elected next term.
Phone calls also cannot be avoided but you have to be simple very polite and to the point. Talking in circles or vulgar langauge, insults will get you put on another list of "nut cases" which none of us want to be on, we want to be taken seriously.

Take the letter and the bill proposal off of the front of LSWDA website, change the letter some to fit your personal views, but it has to stay short and too the point. Before you print it change the fonts so everybodies is a little different, fill in information, and take to your family members, family friends, neighbors, Land owners you hunt for, feed stores you buy you dog feed and supplies from, Go to the local auction barn and coffee shops and have them all do the same thing to send this in, even if you can print theirs for them to make it easier, have them sign it, and then take it to the mailbox for them.

Cross post it on other websites, take what you are doing, explain it to others, and get then on board and doing it also, If we can all unite for this one thing, think how powerfull of a force we can all be?

jdt, since you are out of state, about all you can do is to give these reps that are thinking about sponsoring the bill a call, let them know that you are interested and want to see how this turns out.  Let them know that this is getting some national attention, and if possible get any dog organizations you know of to do the same. 

It may be possible for Texas to set a precident here that could catch on in other states.  I certainly hope so. 

What about the AKC?  Should we be letting them know about the bill?

This would be a great help!!  It will let the 5 Representatives know that working dog owners in other states are watching and interested in moving with a Bill like this in their own state. 
The 5 Reps that are looking at this Bill proposal are:
Jimmie Don Aycoc k
James White
Ryan Guillen
Leo Burman
Cindy Burkett
To find their contact information, click this link http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/find-your-representative/ (http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/find-your-representative/)  at the top there is a box with a drop down arrow and you can scroll to find the Representative by name, click on their name, and then their contact information comes up.

DAMN this is a great idea...... I never thought of it at this aspect...

the staff that we've talked to are telling us that phone calls and paper letters get the most immediate attention.  emails get through eventually but for quickest results the telephone, fax, or mail is what's getting through the best.  Keep it coming folks!

Sent letters out to the box about 30 minutes ago and have been sending emails about two weeks now when i first saw about it on here...thanks for the heads up guys and let me know of any other thing that i can do to help out...as is this is my first post might as well say that i'm new here but have been reading this site for sometime now and love the atmosphere of everyone and the info given....thanks

Thanks everyone!!  Keep it up!!  The more their phones and faxes ring and the more paper we use up, the more attention we get!!  Remember when speaking to them over the phone, be courteous and respectful.

Come  folks dont be the 99% that bitches and doesnt do anthing ,, its really painless and  theres nice folks on the other end ready to help
    Dexter

14 Days Left, Gottta get Phone calls and leters out to follow-up, if you have not started, Its getting down to the wire, PLEASE DO YOUR PART TO CONTRIBUTE to keeping hunting dogs LEGAL,

I'm not in Texas but I'll still make some calls to let them know I support yall. I would love to see this Bill go through..

Thank You, All help is appreciated!

People please keep writing and folowing up with your representatives, get the letter printed with signatures from your family members and sent off to their representatives also.

WE ARE DOING GOOD, EVERYONE THAT HAS PUT FORTH EFFORT, WE ARE HEARING THAT ITS WORKING, BUT CAN"T STOP UNTIL WE HAVE THIS FILED AS A BILL, THEN WE HAVE TO CONTINUE GAINING SUPPORT TO HAVE THIS VOTED INTO LEGISLATION,

ALL THIS LEGISLATIVE ISSUES WILL TAKE AFFECT of FALL THIS YEAR AND CAN"T BE DONE ANYTHING WITH AGAIN FOR ANOTHE TWO YEARS IF IT DOES NOT HAPPEN THIS SESSION.

The form letter references an attached copy or the proposed bill. But there is not one. Also there is also a typo. It should be selfless working dog owners not selflessness. I also highly recommend reading it through and make it your own with just a little editing.

Thanks Dub, and yes we do reccomend changing it to a personal level, but that helps get people started in the right direction, and I will make a note to see if we can get the typo corrected too!

Dub the bill link is on front page and you would have to click onthe link and "attatch"  to your letter, fax or email, to them. If we attach it in the link it would be harderto personalize. Its really simple to open those three links
#1 letter
#2 Working Dog Preservation Bill
#3 How to find your represenative

Keep up the Good work folks, YOUR voices, letters, faxes are being heard! Follow Up with Your Reps. and let them know You are still paying attention and awaiting!

The politicians are taking notice BECAUSE ALL OF YOU HAVE SPOKEN, but its not over, and this has pass through the house and then onto Senate after that!

I'm in Alabama, but emailed AYCOCK,BURKETT, AND BERNAM, asked that they would sponsor or support the working dog preservation bill , that Texas has more great and famous lines of working dogs than any state in the union and this bill will help assure those lines can continue.  Also mentioned these working dogs are irreplaceable  for working cattle, and also as an aid to reducing feral hog population, thanked them and  said their support would be a great example for other states, such as Alabama

Thank You! It is My personal hope that if all goes well here in Texas other states will follow suit.
We rae gettin way more positive feedback from the politicians than were are the negative!

Thats wat i was thinkin, if it can get rollin in Texas, we all have a better chance,,, it's just unbelievable to me, that a place that's writtwn about so much, the pioneering and zranching and cows and oil, i mean dang,,, TEXAS! that ya'll have to deal with this crap. Too many people gettin 'citified',,, or sissified

There are just too many people that never leave the concrete jungles and have no idea what goes on once you hit gravel roads, and have no idea how their bogus nanny laws can change a person of family's way of life that has gone on for generations.  They have no idea that a dog can be anything other than lawn art or a lap warmer.  Pull a trailer load of dogs through Austin sometime and see how many middle fingers you get.  I had a lady in Killeen threaten to call the cops on me because I had a cut collar hanging on my dog box and she thought it was dog fighting equipment. 

Everyone has done an AWESOME job contacting their State Representatives!!  LSWDA wants to THANK YOU for that!!  BUT that is just half the battle!! 

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS BY FAX, SNAIL MAIL, PHONE, AND EMAIL!!!  WE NEED THEM TO SUPPORT THIS BILL ALSO!!!

Remember this bill will help keep our working dogs from falling under bills/laws like HB 998 and HB 1451!!!  We are too close to slow up now!!!

I sure thank you for your efforts on this Lance!

The letter and links outlined on the LSWDA website made it real easy!

YES LANCE IS MY HERO ON SO MANY LEVELS!

HB 2833
FRIENDS THis is Awesome news! Our Voices have been heard, and we now have an actuall BILL before legislation, THANKS TO YOU ALL WHO HAVE HELPED get HB 2833 to where it is now!

Lonestar Working Dog Association has also retained a lobbyist also supporting this, anybody want to help make donations to the lobbying of this bill can be done at www.lswda.org
for updates and responses from the lobbyist can be veiwed on the forum at http://lswda.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=18

Next Step is to keep at it and contact Your Senators and get this in the Senate as well!

Permission to Cross Post Granted!

Thanks guys for all the support.  There's been a lot of folks besides me pushing on this thing, and devoting a lot of hours to it, as well as county legislation that could have been bad.  It's been a busy year already. 

Right now we are waiting for the bill to be assigned to a committee, we'll keep you informed on which one and who the members are and we'll need calls and letters for them as well.  Once it makes it through its first committee it will be in the hands of the calendar committee to say when it gets on the floor, and that's another potential pitfall since if it doesn't make it to the floor it can't get voted on so we'll need some noise with them when the time comes.

While all this is going on the LSWDA lobbyist is working to get senate support or better yet a senate sponsor for the bill so it can get started there too.  We will need the same response to the senators as we have given the reps.  It's going to be a series of battles throughout the legislative session, but we can get this done.  Congratulations to you all who have helped with supporting this bill, you are making an impact here in Texas already and if it is successful could be felt in other states too.   

Ok everyone.  Just got off the phone with the lobbyist.  He says to tell everyone to contact your Senator tomorrow!!  It is the last day we can get a companion bill filed by a senator.  You being their constituents will have more pull to get it filed.  So please call!!  If anyone has Senator Brian Birdwell as their Senator...he is a freshman member with a lighter workload than his senior members and an avid hunter as well.  He is the Senator for the Waco area.  Please contact him!  Also all you in the east Texas area, contact Senator Robert Nichols!  We have until midnight tomorrow to get a Senator to file a companion bill to our HB 2833.  By gaining a companion bill filing in the Senate, it will make ours and our lobbyist's job a lot easier.  So please make their phones ring!!  Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!

Find your Senator here if you don't know who it is. I have just e-mailed my Senator and will call in the morning. Every member of this board needs to make a call tomorrow.

http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/Members.htm#FYI