Get right to the point in your first few sentences. Stick to one topic and keep your letter brief (one page or less).
From start to finish, maintain a respectful tone.
After stating your position, back it up with examples, facts and statistics.
If you’re writing in support of or against a specific bill, include the bill number.
Provide your contact information. Legislators want to hear from their constituents, and will often respond. Even if they don’t, remember that your opinion counts.
End your letter by thanking the recipient for considering your opinion.
And, finally, spell-check.
Example talking points:
As a legal enterprise, dog breeding should be regulated to ensure humane conditions for the dogs and puppies.
Poorly regulated puppy mills are notorious for churning out undersocialized, sick and poorly bred puppies. This is a health, safety and economic tragedy.
Commercial dog breeding facilities should be inspected regularly and they should pay income and sales tax like any other business, which could increase funds for community improvements and public education.
The shelter in my [city or county] euthanizes [xxxxx number] animals every year, while puppy mills profit by adding to their numbers.
I am opposed to spending my tax dollars to house and kill animals at shelters while mass-production pet breeding continues unchecked.
It makes sense to put a reasonable cap on the number of dogs people can keep for the purposes of breeding.
Responsible hobby breeders who treat their animals as pets and only raise a few puppies a year are not the problem. Responsible breeders will have no problem meeting new basic standards because the level of care they provide already far exceeds the conditions in puppy mills.
