[News] Cindy Adams Champions Jazzy's Law

[fasteddie]

Cindy Adams, the gossip columnist, would take her beloved Yorkshire terrier, Jazzy, to the finest restaurants in Manhattan. But one weekend, she had to leave the city and could not take Jazzy along, so she sent him with a trainer to the country for some fresh air, boarding him at a kennel on a farm in upstate New York.

When Jazzy was returned to her, he was "caked in blood, cold and dead," she
said, with the trainer giving no further explanation about what had happened. Ms. Adams had an autopsy performed, which showed E. coli bacteria in Jazzy's system.

"Now this is a dog that I hand-fed," said Ms. Adams, who documented her life with Jazzy in a best-selling book published in February 2003, six months before he died. "I would lie on my stomach in the kitchen and hand-feed him kosher chicken. We would go to Le Cirque and eat off of Limoges porcelain. Where would he get E. coli?"

Now Ms. Adams is leading a crusade against the largely unregulated dog kennels that she blames for Jazzy's death. And she has enlisted the help of some powerful friends, including Barbara Walters, Ivana Trump, the lawyer Barry Slotnick, the author Tama Janowitz and the City Council speaker, Gifford Miller.

Ms. Adams and company appeared yesterday at a news conference on the steps of City Hall to call for new legislation - named for Jazzy - that seeks to protect pets, and their owners, from potential abuses at dog kennels. Along for moral support were Ms. Adams's two Yorkshire terriers, Juicy and Jazzy Jr., in matching yellow-and-orange polka-dot sweaters.

Speaker Miller said that unregulated kennels posed a danger to the more than three million pets in New York City, and pledged to immediately hold Council hearings on Jazzy's Law. He said that he expected to pass the law early next year.

"This is a serious problem, and there is no tragedy short of losing a child that can cause such enormous grief for people as losing a pet," said Mr. Miller, who added that he had two cats at home.

Under Jazzy's Law, dog owners would be required to show that their pets have been vaccinated against communicable diseases like rabies, distemper and kennel cough. The law would also require kennels to maintain detailed records of their charges, including duration of stay, services provided and emergency contacts. The records would be open for inspection, and each violation would be subject to a fine of $250.

Ms. Adams declined to give the name of the kennel where Jazzy died, saying that her lawyer had advised her against it.

James Krack, executive director of the American Boarding Kennels Association, which represents 3,000 kennels nationwide, said that most, if not all, kennels already follow similar practices. "That's standard within the industry," he said.

Biscuits and Bath in Manhattan, for instance, has long required proof of vaccinations and kept detailed records of its dogs in a computer system, said John Ziegler, a co-founder. "No dog can come to Biscuits and Bath - even it it's only for 10 minutes to play with the other dogs - unless they have that," he said.

But Mr. Miller said there is currently no way to check that kennels are following these practices every time. He said the new law would require them to do so as a condition of their licenses.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/10/ny...tml?oref=login

[bettyeanne]

GOOD!! Maybe this will start a trend to begin changing all the laws regarding pets, including bad breeders!!

[sngglz]

That is just terriable what happen to her how can anyone want to harm a yorkie there is sick people in the world. That is great the new law. That is why charlie stay with family only I trust know one with my baby.

[MeiMei girl]

OMG! I am actually half way through her book about Jazzy. How sad.

If you guys have a chance to read her book, "The Gift of Jazzy", it is really good.

[fasteddie]

Sad story... Let us know your book review when you are done MeiMei girl!

[FirstRun]

I was a bit shocked today to see that the ASPCA has signed their name to a ridiculous new bill being touted in the media by columnist Cindy Adams called the BOARDING KENNEL REGULATION ACT.

The bill is also being touted as "Jazzy's Law" named after Cindy Adams' Yorkshire Terrier that died from E.Coli while being left at an unnamed boarding kennel.

The bill would require boarding kennels to be licensed by the state and to require proof of vaccinations for all animals left in their charge -- specifically for distemper, rabies, parvo, hepatitis, para influenza and bordetella.

Let's point out some facts:

1.) I love it when they name a bill after a dog that would never have been protected by the measures stated in the bill. Jazzy died from E.Coli. There is no preventative vaccine for that!

2.) There is no immunological evidence whatsoever supporting the practice of re-vaccinations. Immunological experts agree that any adult animal vaccinated after 6 months of age is provided with a lifetime of immunity.

The practice of re-vaccination is not only unnecessary, it is harmfull.

A.) It actually lowers the animal's immunity
B.) Increases the risk for serious side-effects -- especially when
the vaccines are bundled in a combined vaccine (something this bill would
encourage)
C.) Increases the risk of serious side-effects
D.) Increase the risks for cancers
E.) Contributes to shortening your pet's life

Other onerous provisions in the bill would require that all kennel environments be impervious to moisture as well as require kennels to maintain separate kitchen areas for all dog foods.

It should be pointed out that the best kennels operate out of people's homes where your pet can receive individualized care. How can home kennels comply with that? Meanwhile, insitutional kennels -- which relegate your pet to annonymous plastic cages -- are made legitimate by such regulations.

This is another bad bill.

To voice your opposition to this bill, contact:

Ruth Goldstein
ASPCA
(212) 876-7700 ext. 4661