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Originally Posted by Woogie Man  While I'm sure we all agree that far too many animals are being euthanized, I have trouble following the author's logic. After reading her opening statement, I googled around and, sure enough, the estimate of up to 10 million animals is about right from what I see. This number is for shelter animals euthanized, not just dogs. Actually, within that nearly 10 million number, many more cats than dogs are euthanized. I point this out not to diminish the severity of the problem, only to look at the situation for what it is. In the article, the author tosses up the 10 million number and never once mentions cats and jumps straight into talking exclusively about dogs. It leaves the impression that 10 million dogs are euthanized in shelters every year which just isn't true. The rest of the article seems to zero in on those breeding pure bred dogs that don't meet the breed standard as if they're the sole cause of this problem. Have you looked in your local shelter lately? How many pure bred dogs did you see, bred to standard or not? I realize that every area may be different, but my local shelter is full of mixed breed dogs. They have a 'pet of the day' in our local paper and it's never a pure bred dog of any sort. They never have one when they do a weekly 'pet of the week' with the local TV station either. I do recognize that every breed has a breed rescue and there are many dogs there but what does that have to do with the millions in the animal shelter? I can only conclude that the author is an advocate of regulating breeders and is using mis-leading statistics to make her point. Not once does she even mention puppy mills (except to say they aren't the number 1 problem) or the irresponsible owner that leaves a bitch in heat outside so any and every male can have a go at her. Also worth mentioning are those that see a pet as disposable. They really strike a nerve with me. IMO, it's the puppy mills that are adding to the breed rescue problem but it's the irresponsible owner that is filling up the shelters. Articles such as the one posted tug at our heart strings but do they really help to solve anything? If we got rid of all BYBs (however you define them) of pure bred dogs, would the shelters be less full? I would like to see the worst of the worst mills shut down through enforcement of animal cruelty laws and owners to recognize their responsibility to spay/neuter pets. Also, I'd like to see AKC require proof of health testing of parent dogs before a litter could be registered. This would further distinguish AKC from other registries so that having an AKC dog could truly mean something. There are many AKC dogs coming from mills that have health problems and this is stressing rescue groups. If AKC did something like this, many BYBs and mills wouldn't go through the trouble of breeding AKC dogs and, if they did, at least the dogs would have a better chance of being healthy. If this happened, it wouldn't take long for the average person to realize this and opt for AKC when choosing a pure bred dog. Sorry to ramble on but I feel that articles such as this do little but get folks riled up when what we need are real solutions and by that I don't mean half-baked legislation restricting breeders. |
Articles such as this help pet buyers learn that they should only support reputable breeders. Buyers can make up their own minds what a byb breeder is, there are lots of opinions out there. This link compares a reputable breeder from a back yard breeder
Lawrence County Humane Society Abuse and Adoption Center and I would like to see more people choosing breeders who have more qualities on the left side of the list.
The"pet of the day" you mention, is usually a dog that will be hard to place, not one that will be easy to place. You can place any dog, if it's given enough publicity, and people will stand in line for this. Remember that local shelters do have outlets for many purebred dogs, because many go to breed specific rescues, and these rescues are notified immediately after the dog have gone through the waiting period where the owner is trying to be located. I think articles such as this are important because they inform us that millions of dogs are needlessly dying, and while puppymills/petstores are a problem they are not indeed the biggest problem. Backyard breeders produce way more dogs than puppy mills, and I don't think most people realize this.
For me, the biggest problem is unneutered pets, who are allowed to roam freely. We had a thread on legislation California was attempting to pass, and pets that were picked up three times would be required to be neutered. Most YT members were against this, and I was shocked by that fact, I believe responsible breeders don't allow their pets to "roam freely."
I think the biggest point you are overlooking, is that many new time Yorkie owners ponder the thought of breeding. Most people have no idea what breeding entails. Because animals breed all the time in nature, and everything goes well, they think the same is true with domesticated animals, but once man enters the picture, Mother Nature waves her hand by-by. Domesticated animals often need help in whelping, and even having sex. My point is the many people think, if they have a cutie pie dog, it's OK to breed, and the more information that we can get out there that this isn't a good idea, the better.