U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle brought his family's golden retriever puppy, Brody, to a news conference yesterday at a Pittsburgh animal shelter to publicize the proposed Pet Safety and Protection Act that he is co-authoring with U.S. Rep. Phil English.

The bill would affect some animal dealers who provide dogs and cats to research facilities, although there are only a handful of them in the country. Those affected are called "Class B" dealers by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are currently permitted to sell "random-source dogs and cats" to research facilities.

Mr. Doyle, a Democrat from Forest Hills, and Mr. English, a Republican from Erie, said some of the cats and dogs that end up in research labs sold through Class B dealers are family pets that have been stolen. Their bill would require research facilities to obtain animals only under certain conditions.

They would have breed the animals themselves, have owned them from a year, or obtain unclaimed animals from pounds and shelters. Individuals or dealers could also donate or sell cats and dogs to research facilities if they have owned the animal for at least a year.

Pennsylvania law prohibits shelters and pounds from selling cats and dogs to research facilities, and the federal law wouldn't supersede that, Mr. Doyle and Mr. English said.

Most of the dogs and cats used in medical and veterinary research come from Class A dealers, who breed their own animals, according to Mr. Doyle, Mr. English. Dogs and cats bred for research labs are generally preferred because their bloodlines and health history are known factors.

But "Class B dealers buy family pets that have been stolen," Mr. Doyle said. "It's clear that they do it knowingly."

Doyle said that the proposal, H.R. 5229, "will ensure that someone's beloved pet does not end up in the hands of Class B dealers."

The two congressmen held their news conference in the North Side offices of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society.

Also speaking in favor of the legislation was Cathy Liss, legislative director of the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, based in Washington, D.C., and Michael Markarian, executive vice president for The Humane Society of the United States.

The national organization does not operate shelters, and the local humane society is not connected to or affiliated with it.

There currently are 15 Class B animal dealers in the country, and only 10 of them deal with live animals, Mr. Markarian said. Though there are a small number of Class B dealers, "We need to put a stop to the practice."

Neither he nor Ms. Liss was able to provide a number when asked how many pets are stolen each year for research labs.

Ms. Liss said 90,000 dogs and cats per year are used for research in the U.S., and about 12,000 of those come from "random-source dealers."

The allegation of pets stolen for research is a hot-button issue in animal rights and animal welfare circles as well as in medical and veterinary circles.

The Foundation For Biomedical Research, based in Washington, D.C., has a full page on its web site that is headlined, "The Pet Theft Myth."

"Scientists neither need nor want to conduct research with pets," the site says.

"We've actually called police departments and never uncovered a single case of pets sold" for research, said Frankie L. Trull, president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research.

Class B labs are already heavily regulated and scrutinized by federal officials, Ms. Trull said, and federal officials already have tough laws prohibiting the use of stolen animals.

"A lot of dogs have given their lives for medical and veterinary research and they have saved the lives of many people and many animals,'' Ms. Trull said. "This bill would not stop research" but could make it more difficult and more costly.

While researchers generally need animals with known bloodlines and known health histories, Ms. Trull said that in some cases "random" animals are needed, including for some nutritional studies and studies where older animals are needed, such as research into arthritis and other joint problems.

"For now we are watching this bill," Ms. Trull said of the Doyle-English proposal. "There have been bills like this for the last 10 or 12 years."

Mr. Doyle and Mr. English said they have 58 co-sponsors for their bill, but it has not yet gained an audience with a House committee.

There also is a version of the bill in the Senate