The Oprah Effect

Tivo Alert!!

Set your tivos or VCRs to Oprah this afternoon at 4:00 (EST). She is doing an entire show on the puppy mills in Lancaster County, PA. I have written about the billboards that dot the turnpike outside of Lancaster drawing attention to the fact that Lancaster is notorious for having an abundance of these breeding factories (Lancaster is Home to More Than Amish) and it turns out that it is the man behind these billboards who is responsible for getting Oprah to devote an entire show to this situation.

Bill Smith, the founder of Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester County, PA came up with the idea of putting a billboard about four blocks away from Oprah's studios in Chicago, literally on her doorstep. The billboard read: "Oprah--Please do a show on puppy mills; the dogs need you!"and gave the contact info for Main Line Animal Rescue. A local supporter bankrolled the billboard for a month.

It turns out that within a week, Oprah's producers called Smith and told them they were sold. Smith is the featured guest on the show that includes footage of the horrors perpetrated in puppy mills. Oprah correspondent Lisa Ling came to Lancaster to file the report and get the footage.

Apparently the footage is rather gruesome but the intent is to dissuade consumers from buying puppies in pet stores. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Smith said that this one television show has the potential "to have greater impact than any legislative or regulatory changes" that have been stalled in the Pennsylvania Senate over opposition from breeders, farmers and sportsmen.

Oprah, a well-known animal lover is dedicating the show to her cocker spaniel, Sophie, who died last month and has vowed to adopt her future pets from shelters. "I am a changed woman after seeing this show," she reports.

Now if we could only get her to do a show about horse slaughter...