I sent this letter to Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens:
I am writing in regard to the stray dog crisis in Syracuse. Many of us are concerned not only as advocates for animals, but as residents, taxpayers and working professionals who have watched this city’s animal welfare situation deteriorate to a point that demands your immediate, decisive attention.
The number of stray dogs in Syracuse is at an all-time high. There is an increasing number of backyard breeders who operate openly and without consequence in violation of New York State Agriculture and Markets Law, city licensing codes and basic standards of animal care. These dogs are the very animals we find homeless, malnourished and injured on city streets, yet enforcement is virtually nonexistent…