WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:06.000 He's nice side with Dan Ray. I'm WBSY Radio. 2 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.480 Thank you very much, Al Griffith. As we move into 3 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:12.199 our nine o'clock hour here on a Friday night, it 4 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.519 is the weekend of Saint Patrick's Day, High Holiday, High 5 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.960 Holy Day, if you will, in certainly in New England. 6 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:23.800 And if there's anything we like more than holidays, I 7 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:25.640 think the only thing that I can think of that 8 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.359 I like more than holidays are pets, animals, cats, and dogs, 9 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:35.520 particularly dogs. But a guy who loves all animals, all animals, 10 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:38.520 is my next guest. He's the president and CEO of 11 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:41.320 the Animal Rescue League of Boston. I got that right, 12 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:44.759 Doctor Edward Stina doctic scatia. How are you. 13 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.479 I'm doing wonderful pleasure being here with you. Dan. Thank 14 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:49.479 you so much for having me. 15 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.280 Thanks very much, and thanks for the time yesterday on 16 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.359 the phone. So let's let's sort of lay this out. 17 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.920 Normally when you're on the on with us here a representative, 18 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:03.600 the anti or other of the of Animal Rescue League 19 00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:06.359 of Boston has done the phone. Were you were talking 20 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:10.879 about some sort of an adoption special weekend, But we're 21 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:16.599 we're talking legislation here tonight. Uh to to basically address 22 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:20.480 some issues and problems that the Animal Rescue League of 23 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:26.519 Boston has identified. So let's let's take it first. What's 24 00:01:26.680 --> 00:01:30.799 the problem that we have to fix and how are 25 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:35.200 you and others proposing that we fix the problem? 26 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.719 Thank you, Dan, that is a great way to start. 27 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.959 So what we know is nearly half of Massachusetts residents 28 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:46.560 for pet owners. We also know that on people struggle, 29 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:50.840 pets struggle, and the Boston is the fourth most expensive 30 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:53.879 need to live in the United States and Boston is 31 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.319 also was ranked the least friendly pet city by a 32 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:03.239 study by wallet Hut. We all also know that nationally nationally, 33 00:02:03.760 --> 00:02:07.680 fourteen percent of surrenders of pets to animal shelters due 34 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:12.879 to housing related issues fourteen percent nationally. At the Animal 35 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:15.840 Rescue League of Boston, we are above that we are 36 00:02:15.879 --> 00:02:18.479 seeing twenty nine percent of all the animals that are 37 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.960 surrendered to us in twenty twenty four were surrendered due 38 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:25.599 to housing related issues of their pet owners. This is 39 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.919 an increase of ten percent from twenty twenty three and 40 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.639 a twenty one percent increase of animals being surrendered due 41 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:36.639 to pet housing reasons since twenty twenty two. And this 42 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:41.159 is due because pet policies are extremely restrictive and regarding 43 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:44.039 certain breeds or weights, and when pet owners are forced 44 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:48.159 to make incredible difficult decisions regarding their pets, and this 45 00:02:48.199 --> 00:02:51.680 is what we've been finding. We also know we've been 46 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:56.039 finding certain cases where people are leaving their pets tied 47 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:59.240 up somewhere outside, very visible, wanting their pets to be 48 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.639 found because are kind of in dire straits, no malicious intent. 49 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:04.919 People just have to make a decision of what to do, 50 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:07.120 and a lot of those decisions are based on housing 51 00:03:07.159 --> 00:03:07.840 related issues. 52 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:15.280 If this situation is now exposing itself by the number 53 00:03:15.360 --> 00:03:20.120 of pets that you find not being or populating your 54 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:23.560 shelters normally, I assumed there's an eb and to follow 55 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:27.039 during the course of any given year, But are you 56 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.000 finding that there are more pets available as a result 57 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.319 of these problems that you've identified in pets shelters and 58 00:03:34.360 --> 00:03:38.680 it's more difficult to get pets obviously rehoused rehomed. 59 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.159 Or finding that the number of animals being surrendered to 60 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:46.240 us due to owners having how housing related issues have 61 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.719 increased substantially over the last couple of years. And we 62 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.599 also found that we are way over the national average 63 00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:56.360 of pets being surrendered to having related issues. And in 64 00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:00.680 Massachusetts only thirty nine percent of rental units accept dogs, 65 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:04.800 and when you consider the number of rental units that 66 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:08.360 accept dogs without any breed or weight restrictions, that number 67 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.599 goes down to seven percent. So there's a real reason 68 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:13.879 why folks that need to make some housing decisions and 69 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:16.680 they have a dog in their lives, they have to 70 00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:22.120 make some really difficult decisions. 71 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:28.480 How okay, you've identified the problems, You've identified what's going on. 72 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:32.680 I know that there's some ancillary aspects of this which 73 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:37.720 are not necessarily hugely contributing factors, but let's at least 74 00:04:37.720 --> 00:04:40.480 just mention them. There were a lot of people who 75 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:43.199 decided to adopt a dog or adopt a cat at 76 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.759 when they were living at home during COVID crisis, were 77 00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:48.759 working remotely. Now they're going back to work. I'm sure 78 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:54.120 that has some impact. And I'm sure that the exodus 79 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:58.399 of animals that seem to be found in the South 80 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.519 for a whole bunch of reasons, perhaps meteorologically, culturally. I 81 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:06.839 know that there are are dogs and cats brought up 82 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:08.839 here from some of the Southern states on a fairly 83 00:05:08.879 --> 00:05:13.279 regular basis. So they can find adoptive homes here in 84 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:17.160 New England, and I know that those are contributing factors. 85 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:23.720 But the two pieces of legislation that the Animal Rescue 86 00:05:23.800 --> 00:05:27.680 League of Boston on is now focusing on to address 87 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.399 each of these problems, as interrelated as these problems are. 88 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:34.199 Do you mind if I go back to one thing 89 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:35.560 you just said them? That's okay? 90 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:38.319 Sure, sure, absolutely so. 91 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:42.040 You mentioned people adopting pets during the pandemic, and that 92 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:45.800 is one hundred percent true. And sometimes these pets work 93 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:47.720 out great now that people are going back to work. 94 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.600 Sometimes it's not the right fit. When somebody surrenders a 95 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.560 pet to us at the Animal Rescue Leage of Boston, 96 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:55.959 we ask them why they're surrendering their pet to us. 97 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:59.240 Could we want to understand are there any trends or 98 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:01.399 are there anything that we need to start thinking about. 99 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.720 And so what we're really focused on is housing, because 100 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.120 that is the trend that has been really increasing the 101 00:06:08.240 --> 00:06:11.800 animals being surrendered. So there are two bills, as you mentioned, 102 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.600 that we're working on in the state legislature. One is 103 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.959 an Act to maintain Stable Housing for Families with pets 104 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.720 and the other one is to codify pet Family, elderly 105 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:25.439 housing policies, and Ensure pet parody are cross housing authorities. 106 00:06:25.879 --> 00:06:28.959 So let's take them. Let's break them up as we 107 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:33.040 can as separately as possible, because obviously both of them 108 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:35.680 are important, but they both have a little bit of 109 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:37.800 an overlap. But I'd like to just try to make 110 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.600 it as clear as possible in the listener's minds. So 111 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:43.040 if they are running into their local state rep. Or 112 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.120 their local state Senator at the diner, as we say 113 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:50.000 here in Boston over the weekend, they could say, hey, 114 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:52.120 there's a couple of bills that we're interested in. 115 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:54.319 Maybe this isn't Maybe this isn't the best weekend to 116 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:55.639 do that at the diner. 117 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:58.879 Well, you know, it's always when you when you finally 118 00:06:58.920 --> 00:07:01.560 see the state rep in the state senators, when they 119 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:07.199 come out of higradation and they're walking in the neighborhood. 120 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:12.120 Actually it's never you never missed that opportunity to go true. 121 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:15.319 So the first to. 122 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.439 Maintain Stable Housing yet the Act to Maintain Stable Housing 123 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.839 for Families with Pets. The goal of this bill is 124 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:25.079 to make housing more friendly for families with pets by 125 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:28.319 increasing access to housing and reducing the cost of pet 126 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:32.439 rent and insurance. What this bill will do is prohibit 127 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:38.120 discrimination by landlords and condo associations based on a dog's breed, size, weight, 128 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:42.000 and appearance. It will also limit the amount landlords can 129 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:45.480 charge for pet rent. It will state that during a 130 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:49.720 state of emergency, it will prohibit hotels from unreasonably refusing pets. 131 00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.480 And it will expand current pet programs and elderly housing 132 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:57.519 authorities to apply for all state funded housing. So there's 133 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.319 a variety of things this is doing, and the most 134 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:05.920 important thing is really removing the restrictive pet policies based 135 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:10.079 on a dog's weight or size and appearance. 136 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.000 Okay, so let's break those down. Okay, you're going to 137 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:20.000 have the real estate industry lobby against this bill. If 138 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:24.759 you're going to try to in any way limit the 139 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:30.480 amount that that theoretically a landlord might charge for the 140 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:33.480 presence of a pet, that's going to make it a 141 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.120 tougher sell at the state House. I'm sure you figured 142 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:36.519 that out. 143 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:40.440 We have. We have, and it's not limit, it's not 144 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.519 telling it's not telling landlords they can't charge anything additional. 145 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:50.559 But it's really making it equal if somebody has a pet. 146 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:55.440 It's not discriminating or based on the breed or size 147 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:57.639 of the dog, and that is what we're really focusing 148 00:08:57.639 --> 00:08:58.240 on now. 149 00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:01.360 I see, Okay, So okay, so if well, within that bill, 150 00:09:01.639 --> 00:09:03.799 they can't say, oh, if you had a chouah, we'll 151 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:06.639 charge you an extra twenty dollars a month, but since 152 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:10.120 you have a bull mastiff, we're going to charge you 153 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:15.159 five hundred a month. Something is obviously that's part part 154 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:16.000 of it, part of it. 155 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:17.200 That's definitely part of it. 156 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.759 Correct, okay, and what else give us? Let's break down 157 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:24.240 the facets of that bill, so everybody's converse and what's 158 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:26.320 the other points you made? 159 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:30.919 So if you're a renter, landlords and insurance can't charge 160 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:34.200 can't charge you more or out refuse renting to you 161 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:38.799 based on your dog's breed, size, light, or appearance. If 162 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.360 you're a homeowner, insurance companies can't charge you more or 163 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:46.159 refuse or cancel coverage solely based on the breed of 164 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.840 the dog in your home. And if you're a condo, 165 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.080 association can't refuse to allow dogs on the basis of 166 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.080 a breed of a dog or prohibit a dog that 167 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:59.279 might increase insurance premiums. So it's all the christ factors. 168 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:05.399 Our kindo was so now in Massachusetts able to have 169 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:09.399 a no pet condo. I should probably know this, but 170 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.679 I don't. If let's say there's a condo association of 171 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:18.440 I don't know, you know, ten units, a relatively small group, 172 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.039 and everybody in the group, for whatever reason, is not 173 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:25.759 you know, doesn't feel about pets as you and I do. 174 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:30.399 Can they say can they in effect? I mean, obviously 175 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:35.279 they cannot say a Constitutionally, if let's say they are 176 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:37.960 all of one race, they can't say no, one can 177 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:42.960 sell to someone of a different race. We know that's unconstitutional, 178 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:47.679 as it should be. But are condo associations able to 179 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.159 agree amongst themselves, hey we will we will not have 180 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:55.360 any dogs or cats in our unit? 181 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.279 Is that I believe they can. I believe they can. 182 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:03.039 I believe they can make the decision no pets entirely, okay, 183 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:05.279 And that's what this bill is not addressing that. 184 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:07.840 Right, No, I understand that. I think it's important to 185 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.360 make to point that out. That that that's that's why 186 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.639 I asked the question. So what you're saying is is 187 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:18.399 that if pets are allowed, they can't say, okay, you 188 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:20.960 can have a dog that weighs no more than twenty 189 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:26.279 pounds or ten pounds. Okay, right, they can't. They can't 190 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:31.639 if once they accept dogs or cats, they can't make 191 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:33.679 restrictions or on the breeds. 192 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.200 Yeah, so that is correct, one hundred. So let's let's 193 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:39.919 let's address addressing. 194 00:11:40.279 --> 00:11:42.960 Let's address not the elephant in the room, doctor, but 195 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.000 let's address. 196 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:50.799 The pit bull, the lovable Yes, let's talk about Well. 197 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.480 I think I think it's important because I think that 198 00:11:53.120 --> 00:11:55.879 that this is an issue that we need to address it, 199 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.039 and my daughter would be very upset with me if 200 00:11:58.080 --> 00:11:58.960 we didn't address it. 201 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:02.039 I know what type of hot dog your daughter hasn't 202 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:03.919 shared with me yesterday. I'm a little afraid of that 203 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:09.440 breed yesterday. Don't tell your daughter, and don't mention the 204 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:11.120 breed name, because I don't want to get in trouble. 205 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:14.240 No, I won't. Most of my my good listeners, my 206 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:17.440 loyal listeners, know exactly what type of breed Mustard is, 207 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:20.240 So we'll let's let that go. But anyway, so you 208 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:23.840 feel you feel, and I know my daughter feels, although 209 00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:26.480 she does not have a pit bull, that that pit 210 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:30.759 bulls have have been given they haven't earned, but they 211 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:33.200 have been given a bad reputation. 212 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:36.600 Tell us why I I agree with that. I agree 213 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:40.600 that pippoles haven't given a bad reputation. And can I 214 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:42.840 have a few facts about pit bulls that I think? 215 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:46.080 Yeah, that's what you're the you're the witness. I'm just 216 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:47.440 asking the questions. Go ahead. 217 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:51.399 I don't like me to call the witness. I'm afraid 218 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:56.120 of where this is going, but I accept no. Oh, 219 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:59.200 I know, I know. A pit bull is the term 220 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:02.879 pitfull an umbrella term for various broots. It includes the 221 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:07.279 American tipule terrier, American bully, the Staffordshire bull terrier. So 222 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:10.440 when somebody says pitbull, what do they really say? That's 223 00:13:10.519 --> 00:13:13.320 number one? And a lot of people are making assumptions 224 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.720 based on what a dog looks like that it's a 225 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:19.080 pit bull, and usually those are mixed breed dogs. We 226 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:23.639 also know that environmental factors cause aggression, not a particular 227 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:28.240 breed or type of dog biting. Biting is not breed specific, 228 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.200 and it's often caused by any many other factors. And 229 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.240 there's no scientific evidence that indicates one kind of dog 230 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:37.919 is more likely to injure human than another. And there've 231 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:43.039 been studies done on this and lastly, lastly, pitboll specific 232 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:47.240 legislations do nothing to keep people safer. In fact, it 233 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:50.440 can make things more dangerous because in areas where there 234 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:54.480 are bands in place regarding pitbulls, people that own pitbulls 235 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:57.919 tend to restrict their dog's outdoor time and socialization. And 236 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.799 when you do that, that can act worse than or 237 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.600 even great behavioral issues and caused that dog to be 238 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.759 more harmful. So what we think we're doing is protecting 239 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:09.360 people from a particular breed and am using their quotes 240 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.720 can actually be doing more harm and causing something that 241 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:13.679 we're trying to avoid. 242 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.360 Okay, Now, I love to tell the story that many 243 00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.759 years ago when I had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 244 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.159 and I was in a bank one Dame's the cutest 245 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:28.799 dog in the world, and there was an older woman 246 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.759 who across the bank asked me, oh, what type of 247 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:35.039 dog is that. In being a practical joker and just 248 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:39.399 doing a little bit of a social experiment myself, I said, oh, 249 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:42.399 he's a pit bull. As she was walking towards the dog, 250 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:45.440 she stopped in her tracks and started to back away. Now, 251 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:48.799 obviously she had no idea what a pitfull looked like 252 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:53.080 because a cavalar King Chiles Spaniel, And I of course correct, 253 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:55.600 I said, I'm only kidding. I'm only kidding. He's a 254 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:59.120 cavalier King Chile Spaniel and come on over and he's 255 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.960 a lovable dog. But that was proof to me that 256 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.960 in the minds of some people, just the word pitbull 257 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:12.759 was intimidating. So that is I think a big part 258 00:15:12.840 --> 00:15:15.960 of this. What are you going to do to try 259 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.919 to make the public better understand that it is a 260 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:23.399 question of nature versus nurture and that a pitfall that 261 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:27.320 is brought up properly is no more dangerous than a 262 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:30.519 capitali Ar King Charles Spaniel that would be brought up properly. 263 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:34.120 What we do at the Amareesk League of Boston is 264 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:36.559 we try not to identify breeds on the animals in 265 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:39.360 our air because unless it's a pure bred dog, we 266 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:41.200 could only make a guess based on what the dog 267 00:15:41.240 --> 00:15:43.960 looks like. And what we do at the Amoresk League 268 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:46.440 of Boston is when somebody is interesting in adopting a dog, 269 00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.120 they may come in because their look online and they'll 270 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.080 see a beautiful dog that they just must have. But 271 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:55.120 when folks come in it's a conversation. We ask folks, 272 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:58.000 why are they interested in that particular dog. Tell us 273 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:00.639 what they're looking for in a dog, tell us about 274 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:04.440 your family, tell us about your lifestyle. And then what 275 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:06.879 we do is we learn as much as we possibly 276 00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.440 can from the dogs in our care. And sometimes it's 277 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:12.320 an obvious match, but other times it's not because some 278 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:15.639 dogs need a little bit more structure in their lives, 279 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:20.799 and it's we try to pair up animals and we 280 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:24.480 really don't. We don't really have that issue where people 281 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:27.159 are coming in afraid of pitbulls. I think when people 282 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.679 come into our doors and into one of our animal 283 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:32.399 care and adoption centers, their hearts are open, their homes 284 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:35.279 are open, and they're really there just to see what 285 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.080 they can do and who's who who they can invite 286 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:38.679 into their home. 287 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:44.840 Okay, my guest is the CEO and the president of 288 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:48.279 the Animal Rescue League of Boston. We've talked about one 289 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:51.799 piece of legislation, and we're going to talk about the 290 00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:54.519 second piece of legislation. And I'm also going to invite 291 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.000 people to call and join the conversation. I know that 292 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:03.000 in this day and age of tariffs and trade wars 293 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:09.680 and cease fires. These may not be the top issues 294 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:13.720 on your mind, but it is. This is a very 295 00:17:13.759 --> 00:17:16.839 important conversation in my opinion, here in the context of 296 00:17:17.319 --> 00:17:19.759 Massachusetts and New England. And if you'd like to join 297 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:22.039 us six one, seven two five four to ten thirty, 298 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.440 any question that you might have for Doctor Edward Scatino, 299 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:27.839 he's the president and CEO of the Animal Rescue League 300 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:31.559 of Boston and he feels very strongly that there needs 301 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:34.519 to be the playing field needs to be leveled here, 302 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:40.319 not only for folks who maybe don't have the ability 303 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:42.920 to buy a home with two acres of land and 304 00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:46.319 buy whatever dog they want, but people who are living again, 305 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:50.160 either in apartments or in condominiums, rental units or whatever. 306 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.680 Feel free give us a call six months seven two 307 00:17:53.720 --> 00:17:55.640 five four to ten thirty or six months seven nine 308 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:59.279 three one ten thirty. I apologize for the technical interruption 309 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.799 earlier this half hour. I promise I hope fingers crossed 310 00:18:03.799 --> 00:18:06.319 that it's not going to happen again. The for the 311 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.440 Battles of the Night, it happens about once every three 312 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:12.920 months periodically, and unfortunately for the role of the dice. 313 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.880 Doctor Skatina Wo had interrupted us, but we'll pick up 314 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.880 the pace and we'll talk about the other piece of 315 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:21.759 legislation right after the news break at the bottom of 316 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:24.279 the hour. Stay with us here on Nightside. 317 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:29.799 You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio. 318 00:18:31.519 --> 00:18:37.359 Sorry, we're talking about pets, and specifically pets who need 319 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:39.440 a home and need to be adopted, and how we 320 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.640 can make it easier for not only people to adopt pets, 321 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:45.920 but to keep pets. With me is doctor Edward Scatino. 322 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:48.680 He is the president and CEO of the Animal Rescue 323 00:18:48.759 --> 00:18:52.559 League of Boston, and we talked about a piece of 324 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:57.359 legislation in the last half hour that, if passed, would 325 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:03.079 make it more difficult for discrimination really to occur against 326 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:08.039 pets based upon their size or their breed, or also 327 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:14.119 insurance companies deciding that they're going to charge exorbitant rates 328 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:19.519 for homeowners or landlords who do either want to have 329 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:23.240 pets or want to allow pets. However, there's another issue, 330 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:31.319 and that is that in the various senior housing in 331 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:36.680 certain communities, there's no consistency as it appears to us, 332 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.759 and I think you want to address that issue. So 333 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:44.440 doctor Scatino tell us about what needs to be changed there. 334 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:46.400 Sure, thank you so much. 335 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:46.680 Dan. 336 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.799 So the second bill focusing focuses on pet family, elderly housing, 337 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.559 and many housing authorities, as you mentioned, have different pet policies. 338 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:58.920 Some of them include outright provision on pets, and in 339 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.680 some housing for fac ladies and persons with disabilities, pets 340 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:05.039 aren't allowed. So what this bill will do is help 341 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:09.720 codify existing pet programs and elderly housing into law. It 342 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:13.559 will expand this to all states funding housing for families 343 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:17.119 or for people with disabilities. And it would prohibit restrictions 344 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:20.920 on dog breeds, sizes, weight, and appearance. And it would 345 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.799 also prohibit the requiring a decline of cats, which is 346 00:20:24.839 --> 00:20:28.839 now also illegal in Massachusetts. It would also prohibit the 347 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:31.960 eviction slowly on the basis of owning a pet. It'll 348 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.640 address pet rent and housing authorities and create an advisory 349 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:38.039 group to assist with these regulations, which would include a 350 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:41.480 human health and animal welfare experts. And I would like 351 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:43.960 to mention one other thing of why if these two 352 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:45.960 bills are so important to us at the Animal Rescue 353 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:49.240 of Boston. We believe pets are part of the family, 354 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:52.880 and we believe that and we're doing everything we can 355 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.720 to keep pets and people together and trying to prevent 356 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:58.640 animals from being surrendered to us. We do this for 357 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:01.119 a variety of reasons, but the one thing I would 358 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:03.960 like to share is the health benefits of pet ownership. 359 00:21:04.599 --> 00:21:07.200 All of us that have pets, regardless dogg or pet 360 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.160 or anything else, we know why we have a pet, 361 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.920 how it makes us feel. Studies have shown their mental 362 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.400 health benefits for owning a pet. Reduces stress and anxiety, 363 00:21:17.720 --> 00:21:21.559 helps feelings of loneliness, creates a calming presence. It gives 364 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:26.440 people a sense of purpose. With physical health benefits, pet 365 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:29.680 ownership reduces the risks of cancers, and this is by 366 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:33.480 establishing daily movement and healthy weight for folks that are 367 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.359 out walking their dogs. It also shows that decreased level 368 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:40.440 of cortisol by owning a pet that could help decrease 369 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:45.359 blood pressure and increase cardiovaspar health. Owning a pet makes 370 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:49.680 it healthier as you age. It helps provide central, social 371 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.799 and emotional support for older adults, which reduces retroduction and 372 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:57.680 stress and loneliness. Aging in place is so important. It 373 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:01.039 reduces the rate of depression and really helps with long 374 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:05.480 term dijesus like dementia by decreasing distressed loneliness and also 375 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.880 helps with children in development, helps children with autism and 376 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:12.519 attention deficit disorder by allowing kids to focus their attention, 377 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.559 and also helps kids become calmer and have better social interactions. 378 00:22:16.839 --> 00:22:20.880 So keeping pets and people together, that's what the bills 379 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:25.240 are trying to do. Create healthy people, healthy pets, healthy communities, 380 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:27.000 and a healthy city. And that's why this is so 381 00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:28.079 important to us. 382 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:31.759 Well, you represented really well and everything that you said. 383 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:36.960 I was thinking about the time the times that I'm 384 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:43.759 now a grandfather of two dogs I guess or whatever 385 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:47.200 you want to call them, okay, who occasionally take up 386 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:51.319 residence here. For a long time, I had a Cavalier 387 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:55.559 King Charles Spaniel, and I got to tell you, I've 388 00:22:55.640 --> 00:22:57.799 said to friends of mine and if anyone is out 389 00:22:57.799 --> 00:23:03.160 there thinking about a pet, as I got the calv 390 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.480 from my daughter and my son, but primarily my daughter 391 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:08.920 really wanted a dog, and she was about nine years old, 392 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:12.440 eight or nine years old, and obviously what an eight 393 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:14.599 or nine year old daughter wants, she gets, and I 394 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:17.839 got her Charlie, the Cavalier King Charles, King Charles Spaniel, 395 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.279 who in about you know, he was in about maybe 396 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:25.160 three days. He became my best buddy. And you know, 397 00:23:25.400 --> 00:23:26.759 I was the one who would get up in the 398 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:29.319 morning at two am if he had to go out 399 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:34.319 or whatever. But they're so intelligent they sense your mood. 400 00:23:35.319 --> 00:23:38.160 In the case of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. For 401 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:40.400