Truth is that dogs (and cats) are real, living beings - and purchasing or adopting one is like going to Vegas; even under the most 'pristine' of circumstances, you can wind up with a dog suffering from separation anxiety or a cat with heart disease. But you can weigh the odds in your favor by NOT visiting a pet store, and not making an impulsive purchase.
Of course, I want to see pet stores stop selling dogs and cats. Or at least for there to be 'disclosure' laws so consumers know more about where these animals came from. And I would like to see the some of these idiotic 'designer breeds' go away tomorrow - I am most of all, talking about the dwarf-sized 'teacup' dogs which inherently seem riddled with health issues.
I even agree with the quote from Jordan Matyas, Illinois director for the Humane Society of the United States that appears in the Tribune story (lately I don't agree so much with HSUS, as many reasonable people don't), "A good breeder breeds dogs in homes. When you are talking about someone who has 100 or 200 dogs, that is a massive endeavor and there is no way to socialize the dogs."
So, how many is too many? I don't honestly know...100, I'm thinking, is way too many.
My problem with some of the laws is that they are so far reaching they unintentionally or intentionally include the quality breeders. Did I make a point of saying intentionally?
Some blame quality breeders, and all pure bred dogs and cats, for homeless pets. Not true. The responsible breeders are actually a part of the solution:
- They contractually include spay/neuter in contracts to pet owners
- Contracts explicitly indicate if the pet has to be given up for any reason - the breeder will take it back at no charge, even many years later
- They work on improving breed health, and often pay real money to do it.
It's breeders who provide for rescue. Every breed now has a pure bred
rescue, which pulls animals from shelters delivering them into Foster homes. Not only
is a home environment better for them, and improve their chance of
adoption, rescue frees up shelter cage space.
Good breeders are beginning to be targeted as 'bad guys,' they are NOT.
What I was attempting to communicate in the Tribune story is that legislation wouldn't be quite nearly as important is people didn't buy these dogs in the first place. But that is actually very hard to do. All puppies - especially those designer 'teacup designer dogs' have big eyes, large foreheads, features shared
with human babies.
And, yes, there's that smile. We're hard-wired to respond
to these human baby features, All of this combined stimulates
the nurturing hormone oxytocin which makes us feel warm and fuzzy all over.
However, if we could just exhibit some self-control, and we no longer supported these places that sell these dogs - it's all supply and demand, they would simply go out of business without picketing and without more laws - they would merely go away. And I'm all for that!
Filed under: cats, dogs, health
Tags: commercial breeders, Humane Society of the United States, Jeff Long, Lisa Black, oxytocin and puppies, pet stores, puppy mills, Steve Dale arhives
I'm sure there are some breeders who also rescue, but I've never met any. I've been in rescue for many years, also work at a vet clinic. We have a few "reputable breeders" for clients and some that are far from it. None of them, however, have anything to do with rescue. The breed specific rescuers that I have come into contact with are all people who just happen to love a particular breed, but choose to rescue them rather than create even more of them. My first reaction to your statement "It's breeders who provide for rescue" was - Yes... they provide an unending supply of dogs to rescue. I realize that isn't true of the "best" breeders, but from my experience they are very few and very far between.
There is, of course, a place for good breeders and pure bred dogs. It's also important to make sure people know that there are huge numbers of pure bred dogs available from shelters and rescues. As you said, most breeds have their own breed specific rescue organizations, but every shelter and rescue in the country also has pure bred dogs. Of the last 14 dogs I adopted out of my very small rescue, 7 of them were pure bred. I don't look for pure bred dogs, I take in injured and abused dogs, whatever breed they may be. My point is that no matter how popular or expensive or "new" a breed is, you can find them in most shelters and rescues. When you adopt from a shelter or rescue rather than buy, you save two lives; the animal that you are adopting and the one that will take it's place in the shelter.
The good news is - rescue has really expanded over the last 12 years or so. People can now go to a local rescue group or breed rescue somewhere and get just about any dog - mutt or purebred - they desire. And yes, puppies are available in rescue.
The bad news is - the puppy mill industry continues to flood the population with dogs that are purchased through impulse buying.
What we need across every state are laws that set strong, minimum standards for care at breeding facilities. The breeders should only be allowed to cage the dogs for a set number of hours each day and large outdoor areas should be required to allow for play.
The good breeders are the ones who are breeding dogs that live as pets, as opposed to caged "puppy machines."
It is important that dogs and cats have time to be dogs and cats - through interaction with humans and other pets, play time and proper vet care.
Tom Grady
Cape Fear Critters Blog
If you look at the original story, this puppy was diagnosed with kennel cough WAY after it was purchased...long after the symptoms would have appeared if kennel cough was contracted at the breeder's facility, or even the pet store. I'm not a fan of purchasing a puppy from a pet store, but hey, let's be fair here. I'm willing to bet that the owner was thrilled with her new puppy, and was showing him off before vaccinations had a chance to take effect, and unknowingly exposed him to a contagious disease. THAT is not the breeder's fault nor the pet store's fault, and neither should be held accountable for this.
Steve,
I wish I would have found this blog sooner! I am the owner of Ralphy and I would like to set the record straight about his health issues.
Ralphy was mildly coughing since the day we first took him home. We were completely unaware about kennel cough