I felt compelled to share the following email that I received from the Responsible Pet Owners Alliance of Texas. The letter was written by Frank Losey, an attorney. For those of you thinking that it will not affect you if you don't ship puppies, you might want to take a look at this.

PLEASE take the time to read it through to the end.

TX-RPOA E-News
From Responsible Pet Owners Alliance Texas Outreach
Crossposting is encouraged.
September 24, 2013
(LONG but IMPORTANT!)

CALL TO "BATTLE STATIONS" - - "IT'S NOW OR NEVER!
Posted by: franklosey@twc.com
Information on Website: www.memoryofchaucer.com/franklosey.htm

I wish to share what I believe "Everyone Needs to Hear, Rather Than What
They Want to Hear."

The APHIS FINAL RULE is like a runaway freight train, and I personally and
professionally believe that the only realistic, practical way to "derail"
the "freight train" before November 17, 2013 is for a Federal Judge to issue
a Temporary (ideally a Permanent) Injunction that would expressly prohibit
the USDA from implementing the Final Rule. In short, the "60-Day Time Bomb
Clock" is ticking, and if a Federal Injunction is not issued before November
17, 2013, the APHIS Final Rule will have the "EFFECT" OF LAW THAT MAY BE
ENFORCED AGAINST ANY BREEDER THAT APHIS (A.K.A. MS. SARAH L. CONANT)
DETERMINES TO BE IN NON-COMPLIANCE!

Although the APHIS Final Rule is a "Regulation," it is a "Readers Digest"
version of the PUPS Bill, and it will "grease" the HSUS path for HSUS to
begin 2014 with a Full Court Press to persuade Congress to enact the PUPS
Bill. In this regard, an unchallenged APHIS Final Regulation will
strengthen the arguments that HSUS will put forward for Congress to enact
the PUPS Bill. And what is so chilling is that when the PUPS Bill comes up
for a vote, the APHIS Rule will - - repeat "WILL" - - be cited in support of
an "eleventh hour" floor amendment to add a few tweaks that purportedly will
be technical in nature, but could be the final nails being drilled into the
figurative coffins of all Hobby and Commercial Breeders.

While there is so much truth in the adage that "Desperate Times Call for
Desperate Measures," I fervently believe that "Desperate Measure" of citing
subjective "loopholes," such as claiming that all dogs bred fall into the
hunting or working or any other "exempt" dog category is doomed - - yes
doomed - - to failure because Dr. Rushin stated that decisions will be made
on a "case by case" basis. Such a subjective "case by case" statement could
be cited as one of the judicial arguments for seeking a Federal Injunction
because it constitutes an admission that the Final Rule is so vague and
ambiguous that breeders may be subject to subjective rather than objective
standards, which will create a realistic potential that their
Constitutionally guaranteed due process rights may be jeopardized because
they will be subject to arbitrary interpretations that would not stand the
scrutiny of judicial review. In this regard, bear in mind that "case by
case" interpretations may very well be made by Ms. Sarah L. Conant, the
former HSUS Litigation Attorney who is now the Chief of the APHIS
Investigative and Enforcement Branch! And she has the authority to decide
how great fines will be for a violation of this Final Rule, and in
"appropriate" cases, she may further make recommendations as to
"prosecutions!"

BOTTOMLINE: Those who believe they can circumvent compliance with the Final
Rule by claiming that they fall within an "exception" are playing with fire
that could ultimately result in fines and lifetime prohibitions from ever
being permitted to breed dogs. That is why it is so important to challenge
the Final Rule before it becomes, in effect, a "Rule of Law." In this
regard, if all breeders contacted their respective Member Organizations and
urged them to immediately and collaboratively work together in order to seek
a Federal Injunction NOW, the "Window of Opportunity" to stop the "runaway
freight train" will not be lost, and the PUPS Bill may be mortally wounded,
and lose Congressional Support!

The "Desperate Measure" that has the greatest chance of success to stall and
"derail" the runaway APHIS FINAL RULE freight train is for all breeders - -
Hobby and Commercial Breeders - - to make a commitment to "STAND UNITED,"
and to cease and desist "pointing fingers at one another," and follow the
HSUS Playbook Strategy of presenting a "unified front."

Last year the HSUS orchestrated the APHIS Proposed Rule as part of its
"masterful" and diabolical Strategic Plan, which it has "masterfully"
orchestrated over the last 10+ years by, step-by-step, deceiving and
dividing the breeder community of Hobby and Commercial Breeders. First, it
deceived the hobby breeder community in the 2004-2006 time-frame by claiming
that it only was targeting the commercial breeders which it referred to as
the nasty and inhumane "PMs." (Note I never publicly use the phrase that
the "PM" stands for because it was designed by the HSUS to create a false
image in the minds of the America Public and Elected Officials! And it has
worked, even though it is the equivalent of a despicable racial or ethnic
slur.)

Many within the Hobby Breeder Community have used the HSUS' "PM" phrase over
and over again without realizing that this usage supported the "divide and
conquer strategy" of the HSUS because it offended a significant number of
Commercial Breeders who truly, truly care about the health and welfare of
their dogs and puppies, and who meet or exceed even the AKC Standards. And
to the dismay of AKC and the thousands of AKC Breeders, they were shocked
on May 1, 2013 when the HSUS stated that the AKC was "joined at the hip"
with the "PMs!" All the more reason for AKC Breeders to cease using the
"PM" phrase that predictably will transition into the HSUS referring to
Commercial "PMs" and Hobby "PMs."

Predictably, the HSUS will use any attempt by the Hobby Community to exempt
themselves out from under the Final Rule as further evidence that the AKC
and its Hobby Breeders are "joined at the hip" with the "PMs," and the HSUS
will put on a major push at the beginning of next year to claim that the
flaws associated with the APHIS Final Rule can only be corrected by the
passage of PUPS. In short, "loophole" arguments will be cited as a reason
for swift passage of the PUPS Bill, at which time a few "tweaked" provisions
will be added as late night "Floor Amendments," which Amendments would
tighten the noose tighter around the necks of all breeders - - Hobby and
Commercial - - and provide yet another basis for HSUS to press for
publishing a new and even more stringent Final Rule that will have death
knoll implications for all breeders. This is why Commercial Breeders must
support all efforts by the Hobby Breeder Community to stop the USDA from
enforcing the Final Rule with a Federal Injunction. In this regard, if the
collective efforts of "ALL" breeders resulted in a Federal Injunction that
barred the enforcement of the APHIS Final Rule, such an Injunction would all
but absolutely- positively "kill" - - like a "poison pill - - the PUPS
Bill, which Bill is even worse than the APHIS Final Rule. Thus, a "WIN-WIN"
for all Hobby Breeders and all Commercial Breeders. In short, the PUPS Bill
would become "toxic," and even the current co-sponsors would not push for a
vote.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin: "We must indeed all hang together, or
most assuredly we shall all hang separately." In short, Commercial
Breeders must support any effort by the Hobby Breeders to obtain a Federal
Injunction that will stop the USDA from enforcing the APHIS Final Rule on
November 17, 2013.

The time, cost and expense of seeking a Federal Injunction will be
substantial. However, in the long run, the cost of supporting the effort to
obtain a Federal Injunction will pale in comparison to the financial and
psychological cost to all affected breeders who are forced to either comply
with the APHIS Final Rule, as interpreted by Ms. Conant, or to cease
breeding dogs all together. In this regard, no Hobby Clubs or State
Commercial Breeder Organizations have the financial resources to
independently fund an effort to stop the immediate and follow-on "carnage"
that will occur if the Final Rule is not successfully challenged in a
Federal Court. That is why I believe that it is imperative for an
organization, such as AKC, to take the lead in pursuing the effort to seek a
Federal Injunction. They have the name recognition and stature to make the
representation to a Federal Court that it has "legal standing" to represent
the interests of the single "largest class" of breeders in the U.S., as
opposed to just a few breeders. Here it is significant to note that AKC
Breeders not only include Hobby Breeders, but also include a significantly
large number of USDA Commercial Breeders. While AKC is in the best position
to take the lead, all other Commercial and Hobby Breeder Organizations
should financially support the Federal Injunction Option to the best of
their financial ability.

If the APHIS Final Rule is not Successfully Challenged, there may not be
another opportunity to derail the HSUS Freight Train. From a military
perspective, when possible, it is best to pick the battles you have the best
chance to win. The APHIS Final Rule may be the best battle to wage because
there are so many flaws and "omissions" in the Background Justification
published in the Federal Register that may be cited as the legal bases for a
Federal Judge to grant an Injunction. (I do not wish to publicly cite all
of the legal bases as I do not believe it is prudent to give the HSUS a
"heads-up." Never tell your enemy how you plan to defeat it!)

BOTTOMLINE: As an attorney, I professionally believe that the published
discussion of the Comments that APHIS referenced in the September 18, 2013
Federal Register provides a number of legal arguments that may be cited in
support of a Lawsuit that seeks to restrain the USDA and APHIS from
enforcing the APHIS Final Rule.

The Words of "It's Now or Never" have never been truer or more appropriate
to say.
Frank
......................................................

I had thought this ruling wouldn't impact me but I was wrong.

I tried to find a donation page at AKC for a lawsuit, couldn't find one and wrote to them.

Does anyone know if anything is being set up for this?

I will financially and morally support any effort for this injunction.
AKC needs to come forward and if they are not going to do it, then say it and get somebody else to organize a fight.

This should be discussed by local AB clubs and Breed clubs. Everybody needs to get together for this.

There is hope!