Sample Letter

Here is a <<<Google Doc Version>>> is a sample letter from "In Defence of Potcakes"

Contact both your Senators and your Representaive.  Call them wekely to ask for an update.

Contact every member of the Agricultural Committee.  We included a list with hotlinks to each of their pages below this letter, so cut, modify with your name and information, then hot the hotlnk and paste.  It shoud go pretty quickly, especially if you have your auto-populate set up.

Below is the letter we re sending that addresss both the CDC Edict and House Bill under consideration

RE: Opposition to H.R. 1184: Healthy Dog Importation Act: Section 10404A (b)(2)(B) and CDC Docket No. CDC-2023-0051 – Control of Communicable Diseases. Foreign Quarantine: Importation of Dogs and Cats – Final Rule (“the Ruling”)

This is to inform you of my opposition to part of CDC Docket No. CDC-2023-0051 and section of HR 1184 and request this age requirement to be changed to four months in accordance with the recommendations of the Humane Society of the United States and CDC stidy from 2023.

We oppose the verbiage stating ANY dog entering the US is required to be “at least six months of age”. This will impact thousands of dogs and their owners a year.
It applies to ALL dogs, including:

- Military & Law Enforcement Working Dogs (87% of all DoD K9 dogs are born outside the USA. This is true of LEA K9s as well)
- Rescue Pups from established and vetted organizations.
- Hunting & Show Dogs
- Pets of Military Families returning from Overseas
- Pets of those crossing the Canadian of Mexican Borders to visit Friends and Families

This means early socialization, bonding and training cannot occur, which often leads to behavioral challenges in the future. This action provides no exceptions or nuances. It is contradictory and illogical in places.

Items to note:
⁃ These actions portend to address the risk of rabies entering the country.
⁃ It applies to islands in close proximity to the USA where no endemic rabies exists.
⁃ Feline rabies cases in the US are 100 times greater than canine, yet cats are exempted from this ban.

We support microchipping and a vet health check. Many responsible breeders transfer ownership at 8-10 weeks. We support moving the age requirement to three months to allow this essential, early socialization, training and bonding to occur, while still allowing a puppy to receive full vaccinations, including rabies. This course of action was acknowledged and recommended by the CDC in their discussion document, yet they chose to disregard their own information when the final ruling was made.

Please change the age requirement to four months, allowing US pet owners, military and law enforcement personnel to bring their personal pets and partners to bring their dog across the border and into the United States of America.

Respectfully submitted,
[Name]

[Contact Info]