Hey humans,
My last post expressing my dismay for people who breed dogs with the sole intention of making a profit started a great conversation and brought up some interesting points. You can check out the conversation on Steve Dale's blog
here as well as right
here on my post that began the discussion.
I know there are many contributing factors that lead to the "surplus" of dogs in our country. Many of these animals end up in the shelter system and a large percentage of those are ultimately put down. I prefer not to get into the exact numbers, as that's up for debate as well. But I think we can all agree the numbers are probably well over 1 million each year. Think about that number for a second. Think about the dogs many of us have adopted from shelters and what loving members of the family they turned out to be. Then imagine our lives without them. It's a huge waste, not loss, of life. And joy.
I want to say that I have a lot of respect for the people who are doing everything right when it comes to dog breeding. To clarify again, the post I wrote the other day was not intended to be critical of their practices, and I apologize for not going to greater lengths to emphasize that point. I know there are people out their who love their breeds and responsibly breed their animals so that they are of a sound body and temperament. As Steve Dale pointed out, many of these breeders LOSE money but continue to do it anyway because of their love and respect for their chosen breeds.
That being said, I also have a great respect for life, more so than theoretical future lives. So even though we may agree that many breeders are using best practices with proper intent, the following question still nags to be asked again:
Is it truly responsible to knowingly add more animals to a world where millions are being put down every year?
When I pose the question to myself many thoughts come to my mind. One
argument against cracking down on all breeding is the sucking sound of
irresponsible breeders rushing in to fill the void. Not good.
Yet the question still stands. Again, not as a critique or indictment of the responsible breeders or the practice's existence. But it's a legitimate question to stir an intelligent non-agenda-pushing discussion. Because frankly I understand that many of the commenters on both Steve's and my blog were really just using my narrow topic as a way in, a means to illuminate, educate and call us to action on bigger, more complex issues regarding the treatment of animals facing us all as a society--and that's great. Until everyone understands the finer points of the discussion all the passion in the world won't improve the lives of dogs.
Got an opinion? Love to hear it.
Chris
