Dear friends of BRIT – The Texas State Legislature is in their the 87th session. There is an issue being presented in the house TODAY which concerns ownership rights of shelters and rescue groups like BRIT.
It is House Bill 1083 and is attached if you want to read it. The bill amends the law to provide for termination of ownership of an animal after completing a stray hold is sitting in committee. Basically it means the owners can’t come back and claim the dog after the shelter “stray hold” period has passed and the dog has been transferred to a rescue like BRIT.
We need to mobilize the masses to get our representative’s attention! Please call or email your representatives ASAP – THIS IS IN COMMITTEE NOW.
You can find your Texas representatives here: https://house.texas.gov/members/find-your-representative/
SAMPLE email (copy and paste): (share this with your Texas friends who support rescues like BRIT)
March 26, 2021
Representative’s Email:
Dear Representative [last name],
I am reaching out to you on behalf of all 501(c)3 rescue organization’s in Texas, and specifically Brittany Rescue in Texas, Inc. As an animal advocate, I care deeply about issues that increase animal adoptions through local shelters and animal rescue organizations, which decrease euthanasia of healthy, adoptable companion animals.
I am writing to you to encourage you to support and pass House Bill 1083 HB01083I securing pet ownership rights once a companion animal has been adopted through an animal shelter or animal rescue organization.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) states that 6.5 million companion animals enter animal shelters each year and of those, approximately 3.2 million are adopted (1). Animal rescue organizations account for many more lives saved; the animals adopted from animal rescues are not accounted for in this data. A quick search for Texas rescues and shelters on petfinder.com yielded 555 pages of results at approximately 20 shelters or rescues per page, totaling a staggering 11,100 organizations dedicated to companion animal advocacy (2)! Our rescue alone works with over 100 animal shelters in Texas and has been responsible for saving over 900 Brittanys in need since July 2010.
Animal shelters and rescues need to maintain the confidence of adopters in securing ownership once they have chosen to adopt a pet. Challenges to pet ownership, if left questionable and without backing of laws, could have the devastating effect of decreasing animal adoptions and tragically increasing healthy, adoptable animal euthanasia rates.
Thank you for considering my viewpoint on this important matter in support of animal welfare efforts by shelters and rescues in Texas. I care deeply about the unwanted animal population and the plight of animal shelters and animal rescues. I urge you to consider drafting and passing a bill securing animal ownership once a companion animal has been adopted through a shelter or rescue organization, so these important community services continue to thrive.
Sincerely,
[your first and last name],
[street address
city, state zip code
phone number
email address]
For more information see:
“Animal Homelessness: Shelter Intake and Surrender: Pet Statistics.” American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ASPCA, https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-and-surrender/pet-statistics
“Animal Shelters and Rescues for Pet Adoption:Texas” Pet Finder, https://www.petfinder.com/animal-shelters-and-rescues/search/?location=TEXAS&shelter_name=