In 2008, Bill Smith, frustrated over conditions in substandard dog breeding kennels in Pennsylvania and the lack of enforcement at that time, reached out to Oprah Winfrey via a billboard in Chicago asking the legendary talk show host to do a show on puppy mills. Considered one of the most successful outreach campaign in the history of animal welfare, the program and undercover footage Bill shot with Lisa Ling was seen by 49M people around the world. Adoptions in shelters around the world increased, hundreds of puppy mills closed their doors, and new laws were pushed through in over two dozen states. 

In addition to his appearances on Oprah, Bill has raised awareness to the plight of puppy mill dogs on Nightline, GMA, the Today show, BBC, Animal Planet, HBO's Madonna of the Mills, and in the pages of Newsweek, LA Times, New York Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He's discussed the horrors of dog fighting on CNN, ESPN, NPR and in the Washington Post, and promoted the adoption of shelter pets on NBC Nightly News, the Meredith Vieira Show, Jill Rappaport's Best in Shelter, and The View. Profiles in Main Line Today and Philadelphia Magazine helped Bill find homes for animals throughout the Delaware Valley. And when People Magazine labeled him "The Puppy Saver," he was able to use the national attention to make changes for the betterment of animals on a national level. Bill feels extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the best reporters, producers, and photojournalists in the country to advance his lifesaving mission. 

Going forward 1 Love 4 Animals will use whatever means available to raise awareness to the many issues facing animals in our society. As Oprah said on her groundbreaking puppy mill show "When you know better; you do better!" 

Horrified by the Office of Inspector General's audit of the USDA/APHIS, Bill Smith came up with the idea to wrap transit buses in the DC area in an effort to pressure the USDA to enforce federal laws protecting dogs in federally licensed dog breeding kennels. Inspectors ignored dogs with wounds with exposed bones, argued that live and dead cockroaches were a source of protein (esteemed veterinary hospitals disagreed), and refused to cite repeat offenders. Then President Obama and numerous members of Congress saw the buses and the USDA was instructed to crack down on substandard kennels (to the surprise of many breeders who had benefited from the USDA's failed policies of "Educate, not Prosecute" and its unwillingness to protect thousands of dogs in our nation's puppy mills).  

Sonny Means Stormy Weather for Mill Dogs

One of the first things Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue did upon taking office was remove inspection reports from the USDA/APHIS data base so consumers and animal welfare organizations could not see which dog breeders, circuses, fur farms, research laboratories, and roadside zoos, were in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (the law protecting animals in these facilities).

Both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House were outraged and demanded the reports be reinstated. Lawsuits filed by national animal welfare groups forced the Department to repost the reports but many of the names and addresses of the puppy mills, etc. were redacted, rendering the reports useless. We were told this was done to protect the privacy of those with a history of abuse and/or are currently being prosecuted?

Secretary Perdue is now pushing to abandon the USDA’s policy of unannounced inspections and provide puppy mills, circuses, factory farms, etc., advanced warning as to when they can expect a visit from USDA/APHIS inspectors. And if inspectors and veterinarians find animals in life threatening situations, Secretary Perdue has told them they can no longer confiscate these animals.

This new policy was adopted after inspectors and vets removed dying animals from a fur farm in Iowa and the owner complained to Secretary Perdue. This policy will result in the suffering of untold animals and has already contributed to the resignations of a record number of inspectors and USDA veterinarians.

To please lobbyists and Big Ag, Secretary Perdue has instructed his Department to “educate” those who violate the law, rather than prosecute them. This BTW didn’t work under any of the previous administrations, regardless of party affiliation. The fifty-year-old Animal Welfare Act requires minimum standards for animals in factory farms, puppy mills, fur farms, etc. Some have called them  “survival standards” because that is all that’s required. These animals should not be denied their most basic of needs by the very people charged to protect them.