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Gaia Angel 
ezOP
Posts: 2334
(1/28/05 2:02 pm)
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Matthews Law
I just finished watching a segment on Tony Danza's show about a boy named matthew. Motivated by a devastating Pet shop fire in Long Island in which most animals perished, Matthew Went on a crusade to have a law mandating that pet shops and vetinary hospitols in new york be required to have sprinkler systems that notify the fire department of fires. As of yet, fire mandates of petshops differ not at all from shops where you buy clothes and other non living goods. Matthew was given the news on the show that, A) His area fire department was cordinating an effort with local vets and pet shop owners to do as he suggested and B) A bill with stricter fire codes regarding facitlities that care for animals to also do as matthew's suggests.... The bill named "Matthew's Law" will be up for vote in the next meeting.
Tony asked Matthew what motivated him to do this.... "I love animals" was his reply, so matter of factly and simply.
Go Matthew!
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sjay66
New Student/Teachers Apprentice
Posts: 9
(1/29/05 4:29 pm)
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Re: Matthews Law
Oh that is so sad that a trajedy like this, has to happen, for something to be done about it 
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Akuma Kijin
Defender Beast and Fowl
Posts: 165
(1/30/05 8:13 am)
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Re: Matthews Law
Agreed. But the good news is somthing good might come out of it aslong as this law is passed. Personaly I think they would be insane NOT to vote for this one.
~Sam
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shadeaux63
Keeper of dreams
Posts: 1072
(1/30/05 10:31 am)
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Re: Matthews Law
I agree that it's incredibly important to have a sprinkler system in ANY building where liviing things must be.The drawback is, the cost of iinstalling the type of system they're talking about is unreal.They want shops to have to put in a system that automatically alerts the fire dept.The big chain stores, like PetSmart,can afford to do this,but most of the "mom and pop" places, who are barely making enough to keep thier doors open,in light of the competition with the chains,will not survive.
And I can tell you that there are worse things than fire.Very few large chain stores give a damn about the animals they have in thier stores.Many hire people who don't have a clue about the animals(how to care for them, what thier basic needs are).I've seen young hedgehogs placed in cages full of cedar shavings,and had employees of places like that actually advise me to use cedar shavings for them.Hedgies are allergic to cedar oils.Living in it would considerably shorten thier life span.I was told recently that I could feed my ferret " any old cat or dog food" and he would be fine.Ferrets need very high protien levels,and most cat and dog foods dont cut it.They also need a food that's made of primarily meat-based,and cat and dog foods usually have corn meal as thier main ingredient(which isnt really good for your cat or dog, either).I've been in those places and seen animals that were sick,and the staff had no clue what to do for them, so they continued to be sold to unsuspecting customers.I could keep going, but I wont.
When I had my shop, the animals I sold were loved,as are most who are lucky enough to go to a "mom and pop" place.What I didn't know about them, I learned very quickly.If I didn't know how to care for something, it didn't come into my shop,until I did.My customers were welcome to ask me questions,and if I didn't have an answer,I found it for them.I even discouraged many people from buying certain pets,if I felt they couldn't care for them properly,because of lack of knowledge.That will never happen at at a chain store.
Yes, it's a tragedy when a fire breaks out,anywhere.And sprinkler systems are a good thing to have.But demanding,by law, that every pet shop have them is only going to run many of the best places out of business,and encourage the chain stores to keep on growing.The few animals killed in fires,will be replaced by untold numbers of animals living in misery at larger places who only see it as a profit driven business.
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