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In 2021, a young golden retriever died waiting for help in horrifying conditions at an Iowa puppy mill, but now there's a chance to improve protections for more dogs like her with federal legislation named in her honor. Urge Congress to pass Goldie's Act to crack down on commercial breeders!

Goldie was skin and bones when she was found by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspectors in April 2021, and had been given nothing but #142 to identify her by. Despite her emaciated state and obvious need for immediate veterinary intervention, she was left on the property. Sadly, she never received help and when investigators returned in July her condition was so bad she had to be euthanized.
 

In less than two years, Goldie's breeder Daniel Gingerich, who was running Maple Hill Puppies, racked up close to 200 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) at multiple properties for failing to provide proper care to dogs. More than 1,000 pages of damning inspection reports and other material detail the squalid conditions dogs and puppies were forced to endure, including being left without food, water or shelter, sick and injured dogs being denied veterinary care, overcrowding, the use of cages that were too small, leaving dogs to live in their own waste, puppies in unsafe enclosures, inadequate record keeping, hidden and missing dogs, and failing to properly vaccinate, which led to outbreaks of parvovirus and distemper, among many other problems.

While the Department of Justice filed a civil suit against Gingerich, who was forced to give up his license, agree never to engage in any activities requiring a license, and turn over more than 500 dogs to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, it never should have gotten that far and many other dogs are still suffering in similar conditions. Gingerich also faced criminal charges, but in the months before he was shut down, records show he sold hundreds of dogs to pet stores in at least 10 states — all while thousands of shelter dogs across the country continue to be killed simply for a lack of space.

It's tragic that Goldie and countless others like her have been left to suffer by the USDA, despite the obvious need for intervention, and those responsible for this suffering continue to escape any accountability or get away with a mere slap on the wrist. In March, a report by the ASPCA found that in 2023 the USDA documented over 1,000 AWA violations at 400 puppy mills, but only took action against four of them.

Goldie's Act (S. 4033), which was just introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Rick Scott, would bring much-needed change and help protect thousands of dogs who are languishing in puppy mills at this very moment.

This bill would amend the AWA and require the USDA to conduct better, more meaningful, and more frequent inspections, increase coordination with law enforcement, enact stronger penalties for violations, and confiscate animals who are suffering from physical or psychological harm.

The standards that licensed breeders have to meet under the AWA are already the bare minimum; it's unacceptable that the USDA is allowing anyone to continue operating below them.

Letter to Decision Maker(s) for reference:

Subject: Pass Goldie’s Act to Crack Down on Puppy Mill Cruelty

As someone who’s concerned with animal welfare, I’m writing to encourage you to pass Goldie’s Act, which would increase protections for thousands of dogs suffering at the hands of commercial breeders, otherwise known as puppy mills.
 
This legislation was named after a golden retriever who was left to endure prolonged suffering and ultimately die at a puppy mill in Iowa by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In less than two years, Goldie’s breeder Daniel Gingerich, who was running Maple Hill Puppies, racked up close to 200 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) at multiple properties for numerous issues, yet was never shut down.
 
While the Department of Justice intervened and filed a civil suit against Gingerich, it should never have gone that far and thousands of other dogs are languishing in similar conditions at puppy mills without adequate care or hope across the U.S. — despite the obvious need for intervention, while those responsible for this suffering continue to escape any accountability, or get away with a mere slap on the wrist.

Goldie’s Act (H.R. 1788/S. 4033) would bring much-needed change. This bill would amend the AWA and require the USDA to conduct better, more meaningful, and more frequent inspections, increase coordination with law enforcement, enact stronger penalties for violations, and confiscate animals who are suffering from physical or psychological harm.
 
The standards that licensed breeders have to meet under the AWA are already the bare minimum; it’s unacceptable that anyone is allowed to continue operating below them and that repeat offenders escape accountability.
 
I sincerely hope you will take a stand for dogs and bring about much-needed change for them by passing Goldie’s Act.

Sincerely,

Signed

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.