From everyone at Harley’s Dream, we thank and CONGRATULATE little Oscar and his amazing mom (and our hero) Debra Tranter, and everyone who worked so hard for years to make Oscar’s Law a reality. Beginning July 2018, puppy farming and the sale of animals in pet shops will be BANNED in Victoria, Australia! We applaud Oscar’s Law for their dedication and determination. We are tremendously proud!
The incredible story of Oscar is summarized below by Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, Australia:
Once, Debra Tranter went to one of these atrocious ‘puppy farms’ in a remote location to look for evidence of cruelty. During her search, she came across one particular dog. But he “didn’t look like a dog – he looked like a rug that had been rolled up.” He was shivering and terrified at the back of a crowded pen. Debra snuck him out and got him to the vet for urgent surgery. She named him Oscar.
I suppose that’s where this story could have ended.
But a week later, the police came to her house and took Oscar back to the puppy farm. “That night was the most traumatic I’d been through”, Debra told The Australian. “I felt that I had failed Oscar. He had experienced freedom and love for such a short time and now he’d gone straight back to the awful conditions I thought I’d saved him from.”
Again, that’s where this story could have ended.
But 18 months later, Debra went back to that farm disguised in a blonde wig. She found Oscar. He had been shaved bald and was shivering, just like he was when she first saw him. “I want this one,” she said – paying $400 for Oscar and $100 each for the other puppies they were selling.
“When I got him home he was shaking, he was hunched up, he couldn’t walk upright”, she said. “It took him ages to get used to being in a house. He didn’t want to be put down; as soon as I did he scratched to be picked up again. “It took two to three months before I could even take him out to the backyard.” But he was alive. Safe and loved.
These are the sort of deeds that Debra and her fellow animal-lovers have been doing for decades. And yesterday, all that work reached its culmination. We banned cruel puppy farms in Victoria. December 15, 2017 will be known as the day this industry of misery died in our state. It’s what we promised – and I’m so proud we delivered it. But truth is, it’s not our victory. It’s really all thanks to Debra and everyone like her. Their work has made our state a better place. They shone a light on cruelty. They fought so long for fairness. They even joined us on the steps of Parliament as this Bill passed … and they brought some little mates along with them, too.
The beautiful, healthy dog that Debra is holding in this photo? That’s Oscar.
-Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, Australia (reprinted from his Facebook post)
Follow Oscar’s Law on Facebook and Twitter and visit the website at: www.oscarslaw.org