Pet breeders weigh in...and bring pets

Deborah Milette walks with her service cat at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

Pet breeders met with lawmakers on Tuesday in hopes of making changes to legislation that puts regulations on breeding dogs and cats. Deborah Millette and her cats on a leash turned a few heads in teh Capitol hallways Tuesday morning. Millette, a Vietnam veteran who has post traumatic stress disorder, uses her cat as a service animal. The A1 Savannah breed of cat started in Ponca City, Millette said. New restrictions proposed in legislation aimed at cutting down on ‘puppy mills’ in the state could make it difficult for the breeder to do business.

“Vote against these bills, or my breeder will go out of business,” Millette told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Millette says her cat has been trained to notice when she starts having flashbacks to her time in Vietnam as a surgical nurse. The cat gets her attention and helps her to focus on something else, Millette said.

Other breeders said they already follow federal pet breeding guidelines. Additional regulations from the state would only make it harder to do business, not cut down on indiscriminate pet breeders, said Pat Harbett, who breeds exotic cats in Choctaw.

Senate Bill 1712 has passed the Senate and now being considered in a House committee. House Bill 2745 has passed the House and is being considered in a Senate committee.