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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Thousands of NY Shelter Animals Looking for Homes for the Holidays

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Wednesday, December 17, 2014   

NEW YORK - The holidays are a time when many people think of bringing home a new pet for their loved ones. With thousands of cats and dogs in shelters across New York, Tiffany Lacey, executive director of nonprofit Animal Haven, suggests people "adopt rather than shop."

Thousands of perfectly healthy and adoptable pets are euthanized in the state every year, Lacey said, because there isn't enough space to keep them.

"So, if people would move from the idea that animals should be purchased to adopting them from a shelter," she said, "thousands and thousands - if not millions - of lives would be saved every year."

Some people still have misconceptions about shelter pets, Lacey said; they assume they are somehow damaged or that purebreds aren't available. Her organization and many others provide medical care and help socialize the pets, and are knowledgeable about each one.

There are many types to choose from, she said, from purebreds to "mutts" of all ages, sizes and colors.

When an animal is purchased online or in a pet store, Lacey said, many are coming from "puppy mills" and places with few animal welfare standards or regulations. She said dogs usually are kept in metal cages and live under deplorable conditions.

"The cages normally don't even have bottoms to them; often it's just chicken wire, definitely outside in the cold, in the elements," she said. "And then, the mother dogs and the father dogs, the ones that are bred, are just bred over and over and over again."

While there are reputable breeders, Lacey recommended that people looking for purebred dogs should call shelters, because many are rescued from puppy mills, or look online for purebred rescue groups in their area.

A vote by the New York City Council on regulation of pet stores is expected soon. Details of the measure, 55-A, are online at legistar.council.nyc.gov.


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