Bsl

[SmoothCollieluver]

adies and Gentlemen:
The following is a Joint Announcement from the Doberman Pinscher Club
of America and the American Rottweiler Club.

Permission to cross-post.

Jeffrey P. Helsdon, Delegate, DPCA
Joint Initiative Between:
The Doberman Pinscher Club of America and The American Rottweiler Club

Operation: Doolittle's Raid

The Legislative Committees of the Doberman Pinscher Club of America
(DPCA) and The American Rottweiler Club (ARC) have recognized what
every member of the purebred dog fancy has noticed over the past
several years. With increasing frequency, legislative bodies in our
cities, counties, and states throughout this country have seemingly
become hostile to the interests of purebred dog lovers in the United
States. Indeed, the passage of the egregious anti-dog legislation in
Louisville, Kentucky within the past several weeks has raised the
stakes substantially for us.

Anti-breeder legislation is picking up steam. It is in Albuquerque,
New Mexico. It has been introduced in the state of Indiana. It is
metastasizing throughout the country. We cannot merely fight a
defensive struggle and expect that our interests will be preserved.
All too often, our members have been faced with struggles on another
front. Liability and homeowners insurance companies increasingly
refuse to insure, or even cancel, those of us who own purebred dogs
despite the responsibility that we take in raising and housing our
loving members of our families, and regardless of the fact that our
dogs have never had an incident resulting in any claim being filed
with our insurance carriers.

DPCA and ARC know this. The American Kennel Club knows this. The AKC
Legislative Department does an outstanding job in working with all of
us in very difficult circumstances. The problem of fighting against
anti-dog legislation in every state and every city cannot be solved at
the national level. AKC can only do so much. It is up to each of us to
step forward at this time.

People ask: "what can I do"? They see anti-dog legislation everywhere
they turn. They hear stories of insurance companies canceling
policies, forcing their friends and family to make choices. Do I give
up my dogs? Do I move somewhere where I may be left alone?

These are choices none of us should have to make.

Now is the time for us to go on offense. Now is the time for us to
take the lead. Now is the time to advance our cause rather than to
wait for the next anti-dog bill to threaten us.

DPCA and ARC have launched Operation: Doolittle's Raid. In Washington
state, HB 1105 has again been introduced in the Washington House of
Representatives. This bill, the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill", twice
passed the House of Representatives. In 2005, the bill made it through
the House and received a hearing in the Senate Financial Institutions,
Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee. We ran out of time in
that session.

Now, the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill" is moving again. On Thursday,
February 1, 2007, HB 1105 passed out of the House Insurance Committee.
The prime sponsor of HB 1105 is Representative Tom Campbell who is the
Chair of the House Committee on Environmental Health.

HB 1105 is very simple. It is one paragraph long. It simply prevents
insurance carriers from refusing to insure or canceling the insurance
of any homeowner based upon the breed of dog he or she owns. Its
simplicity is transferable to other states.

The DPCA and ARC have committed in Operation Doolittle's Raid to
persuade legislators in 20 states to introduce HB 1105 during the
month of February. We will strike in 20 states simultaneously. For
once, we will be on offense. For once, we will make insurance carriers
have to defend themselves on multiple fronts. For once, we will
control the agenda instead of the agenda controlling us.

Now is the time. For those who have asked what you can do, we have an
answer. Call your state legislator. Meet with him or her at his or her
office. Invite him or her to your local shows as a "Distinguished
Awards Presenter" to present the Group or Best in Show trophies.
Provide him or her with a copy of the "Deeds Not the Breeds Bill",
which is the purpose of our initiative which we have titled Operation:
Doolittle's Raid. Ask him or her to introduce the bill immediately.

Here is a link to the bill:
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summ...1105&year=2007

Lastly, once the bill is introduced in your state legislature, we need
to know so that we can assist you to publicize that the bill has been
introduced in your state. We are now in the process of populating the
DPCA LobbyNow Tool with Talking Points to use in the battle that is to
come. Our Doolittle's Raid, like the original, is designed to be a
daring move intended to shock our adversaries. The DPCA and the ARC
need the help of committed purebred dog fanciers throughout the United
States, in many different breeds, to launch this initiative
successfully.

Cordially,

Jeffrey P. Helsdon
Legislative Director
Doberman Pinscher Club Of America
jurisdobes@aol.com

Jan Cooper
Legislative Director
American Rottweiler Club
jan4rott@rott-n-chatter.com

Monica K Stoner
tsent@ix.netcom.com