I care very much about pet overpopulation in this country. I volunteer at a shelter and most of my charitable contributions go to animal welfare.
That being said, I think the original article is way off base. First, I believe it is factually incorrect. From what I understand, puppy mills are by far the largest producers of pure bred animals today. Second, it's a huge logical leap to claim that mostly BYB dogs end up in the pound. As WoogieMan pointed out, this overlooks mixed breed dogs entirely, and that's not even the only hole. Finally, its accusatory tone is going to turn off people who otherwise might want to help.
Honestly, to me, it seems like the attitude in the article is shared by some people in this thread. What good does it do to get offended and accuse people of nefarious acts simply because you're not getting the number of replies you think your thread "deserves"? If people are that bad, then the problem will never be solved, so there's no need to expend any energy on it.
Alternatively, if you are not getting the results you want, be it nationally, or on an online forum, maybe it's time to reconsider your approach.
I don't believe breeding responsibly has anything to do with breeding to a standard of physical appearance. You should:
- breed for health. Frankly, this should be more important than appearance.
- ensure all your pups go to good homes.
- follow up with your buyers.
- *****sell ALL of your pet-quality dogs under a spay/neuter contract.
I can't claim to be an expert, but I'd like to see a conversation about how to make these kinds of things happen.
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