A young, female pit bull pooch known colloquially as ‘Puppy Doe’ has become the martyr behind State Senator Bruce Tarr’s PAWS Act.
Puppy Doe was found abandoned in a Quincy park towards the end of August in a condition so sadistic, it makes those ASPCA commercials featuring Sarah McLachlan look like a romanticized pet version of ‘The Notebook.’
Senator Tarr (R-Gloucester), the Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader aptly led the charge of the Senate Republican Caucus which filed the Act Protecting Animal Welfare and Safety (PAWS) earlier this week. The bill aims to protect the prosperity of animals statewide.
According to Senator Tarr’s website TarrTalk, Puppy Doe suffered “from long term, irreversible damage to her body, which included a stab wound to her eye; the splitting of her tongue to look like a serpent; dislocated shoulder, elbow, wrist, and ankle; burned, and starved.” Her condition was fatal and veterinarians were forced to untimely euthanize the young pup.
When asked to comment on the legislation, Senator Tarr’s office referred BostInno to a recent press release in which he stated, “The heinous and abusive acts committed against animals are serious and criminal offences [sic], however, our laws do not adequately reflect the gravity of such crimes. With the passage of the PAWS Act, those who choose to abuse animals will receive the just punish they deserve, and Massachusetts law will serve as a model for the nation.”
The good Senator has until October 15 to garner co-sponsorship, perhaps an obstacle for some on Beacon Hill trying to push their respective law across Governor Deval Patrick’s desk but not for Tarr. He’s garnered 36 co-sponsors, most of which he’s thanked publicly on Twitter (as seen below) and the list keeps on growing.
By the time we’d received a copy of the bill, complete with sponsors, two more names had since been added to the list resulting in the current total.
Poised to establish a number of new initiatives, the 11-section measure would, broadly, allow the Homeless Animal Prevention and Care Fund to raise and allot money towards abused animals; impose a $1,000 fine for veterinarians who consciously fail to report suspected acts of cruelty; bolster the penalty for those convicted by sentencing them to no more than 2.5 years in prison and leving a fine between $2,500 to $10,000 for just the first offense; create a registry of offenders; and create a 9-member commission, which includes the Attorney General, to investigate and review the effectiveness of the law.
The only likely unfavorable aspect of the optimistic legislation is Section 10, which would grant law enforcement officials the authority to enter private property without the necessity of a warrant in times of emergency to protect against deadly situations on the basis of “a reasonable belief.”
It doesn’t seem to phase lawmakers, though, based on the immediate reaction and willingness of co-sponsors to sign on. The Greater Boston area may soon become a safe haven for animals like Puppy Doe to enjoy the kind of frisky, whimsical life they deserve.
