Surrounded by about two dozen dogs from rescue shelters across central Ohio, two Republican lawmakers said they will push for tougher standards and licensing designed to curb animal abuse by high-volume breeders.

Sen. Gary Cates of West Chester shared the stage at the Goodale Park gazebo with his two Shih Tzus. He had bought one of the dogs in July 2004 from a breeder who was planning to have her put to death.

Pretty Girl was "barely hanging on to life," he said, after years of living in a filthy environment and giving birth to litter after litter of puppies, each of which can sell for $600.

The dog was skinny, had tumors, was missing teeth and had badly matted hair. Rep. Shawn N. Webster, a Republican from Millville and a veterinarian for 33 years, removed a bladder stone from her that Cates said was the size of his thumb.

"When she was too old to breed, she was left to die," he said. "We were able to save Pretty Girl, but I know there were others there that are long gone."

Cates and Rep. Jim Hughes of Columbus said they will introduce identical bills next month requiring the Ohio Department of Commerce to license kennels that house nine or more dogs, and establishing a new inspection and investigation unit to follow up on complaints about puppy mills. Sen. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, has discussed introducing a similar bill.

Details are being worked out, but Cates said the proposal also would outline minimum standards to ensure that dogs used for breeding purposes are not abused.

Hughes said, "We?re not going after the responsible breeders. We?re going after the puppy mills, where the conditions are horrendous."

Hughes got his dog Sheeba before she could be put to death. Today, Sheeba is a licensed therapy dog that visits patients at Children?s Hospital.

Critics say that puppy mills often practice overbreeding and inbreeding; their food is lowquality, the cages are overcrowded and veterinary care is inadequate.

"We care about dogs, and we want them to stop living in shameful conditions while they are literally bred to death," said Peggy Kaplan, a volunteer with Petsohio.com, which handles funds from Ohio?s specialty pet license plate.

Terri Wolf of Clintonville, who works with Ohio Pug Rescue, brought along Spring, a tan and black pug that was among a boxful of puppies dumped at an animal shelter.

The dog was underweight with chewed up ears, a bad heart and no knee sockets in her back legs, the result of overbreeding.

"It would be nice to shut down all of the puppy mills," Wolf said, noting the proposed bill would make breeders more responsible and accountable.

Webster, who treated a puppy-mill dog Tuesday night for many health problems, said the bill should allow the state to trace where a dog has come from, making it easier to learn whether pet stores are selling animals from abusive breeders.

Cates said he hopes to work out the details so the bill can pass in 2007. He admits it?s not always easy to get his colleagues to take animal bills seriously.

jsiegel@dispatch.com?