[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

This is such a great topic. Here are the stats, just for our COUNTY:

**98,000 pets enter shelters every year in Maricopa County
**53,000 are euthanised every year in Macricopa County

FIFTY THREE THOUSAND animals are killed here, annually. Just in our county. Staggering.

When I bought Wylie, I think I supported a very bad breeder. When I bought Marcel, I tried to make a better decision by purchasing from a show breeder.

I think it's *so* important that we support those who are {truly} preserving the breed, otherwise, we will lose our beloved yorkie. But I also think, if we love the breed, it is now also our responsibility (as animal lovers) to speak up and help clean up the horrid mess that continues to be made by puppy mills, uneducated buyers, etcetera. And we can do this by supporting Rescues, shelters, advocacy groups who expose Mills, buyers, and yes, through adoption too !

And...we must protect those who are protecting the breed .

{and just an aside...to clarify my perspective, I am a 20-yr PETA member, AND I support good breeders and having pets and I support all kinds of animal charities, most of which are direct care; before anyone thinks poorly of me for being in PETA, one might consider that it could also be beneficial to *have* members like me in PETA who do NOT agree w/ their entire agenda and will work to effect change ....}

What a great post, I think you have it all covered, I just want to know if you are now or have ever been a member of the communist party?

Seriously, this is a great topic and close to my heart. I didn't believe in supporting any breeders for a long time. My dogs were pound dogs, and I had no preference in what kind they were, there are always plenty of cute dogs at the pound. As the years grew on I did want a special type of dog, I'm older now, and this will probably be my last dog. I needed a smaller dog under 20 pounds, and I decided to learn more about what was available. I actually didn't even realize that there were breeders who really loved the breed, and bred not for the purpose of supplementing their income, but actually because they had something to offer the breed. So now I see nothing wrong with supporting this type of breeder. I am concerned about what the next few years will bring. In a bad economy more and more people seem to be breeding, and rescues are turning away dogs. It seems like it's changed so much here in the past year. It use to be we could link a picture of a dog who needed adoption and within a week he'd be adopted, and some sort of YT train would be set up to get him to his new owner, now the rescue section has page after page of threads, and not too many people seem to be responding to them. I hate to see people made to feel guilty about buying a dog, and I'd hate to see people rescue when their heart isn't really into it. It doesn't seem fair to the dog. It's a tough situation.