No need to apologize for your candor. I think on this board, you are talking to the chorus, even among the members who are buyers and not breeders. Truly.
It drives me crazy too and I DO NOT SELL PUPPIES. PERIOD. TEACUPS or otherwise. Yet, every time, without fail, right before I go into the ring, a spectator will stop me and ask if my four pound bitch is a “Teacup.” Although I can assure you at that moment, that last thing I want to be doing is “educating” (while my competitors are brushing out their dogs and checking their arm bands). I take a deep breath and begin my explanation of “why there are no such things as teacups.” It’s so bad, it’s laughable. The best part? Most people don’t even understand what the word “teacup” is SUPPOSED To mean. Many of you have heard about my Bun. He’s a rescue Yorkie who barely looks like a Yorkie (if he is even a pure Yorkie). He also ranges in weight between 7 and 8 pounds. Not even breed standard, let alone small enough to be called a “Teacup”! Would you believe that I get asked if HE is a teacup, ALL THE TIME? I had a woman approach me at an agility trial just this weekend, asked me if Bun was a teacup, and then proceeded to inform me that her neighbor has a “standard” Yorkie of 11 pounds. To her credit, she had come to the trial to look at dogs with her daughter and to determine what type of dog they would like. She’s the kind of person I love to help out. Yes, she is ignorant, but she is also trying to educate herself = and by doing the right thing. Going to shows, going to the library and trying to learn. She isn’t running off to the first breeder with a request for a dog just like the one “celebrity X” has.
As I said, even though I do not sell puppies, and have links to rescue and adoption agencies on my site, my website mailbox was so flooded with requests for “teacups” to the point where I decided I had to do SOMETHING. My response was to put up a special page addressing the “Teacup” issue. Here’s the link:
http://www.mightymitedoggear.com/links.html
I have to say this, the vast majority of people out there, the ones who don’t spend their days on Yorkie talk, reading Yorkie books, buying Yorkie products and being “Yorkie” people, are ignorant. And this isn’t just Jo Shmo. Look at Celebrities and their recent dog “purchases.” Bald Chihuahuas? Teacup Chihuahuas? Dogs purchased to go along with the latest, Burberry accessory? There are whole stores now catering to this craze brought about by public figures who have made tiny dogs “fashionable.” There’s a store in Florida that has named itself for “Teacups.” What scares me most about this fad is the reason why people are looking for these dogs. If you told me that you had a two pound Yorkie growing up and it has passed on, I’d be a bit more sympathetic than I am when a 14 year old girl comes up to me and tells me she has wanted a “teacup” Yorkie all her life (until very recently, the term “teacup” was used solely for Poodles and even then reputable Poodle breeders frowned upon its use. So tell me how a young kid could know that she has wanted a teacup Yorkie for her ENTIRE life?).
We can get angry with the ignorance of people. And behind closed doors, I do. A lot. But there’s no point in getting angry in public. Or at least, letting it show. If we have a message to send – the truth – we can best do “good” by gritting our teeth and then slowly and politely correcting people. I get this personal sigh of relief when I hear the “OW. I get it now!” One less dog will be bought with enlarged hearts, patella luxation, liver shunt, etc. today. If we let out our frustrations on these people, we lose the opportunity to educate them and they become perfect pray the individuals out there who will GLADLY sell them a “teacup” dog. My two cents. I know, it’s easy to tell others to do this. Much harder to do. I certainly don’t blame people who say “why am I responsible to educate the world?” My only response is, “the dogs can’t speak for themselves, that’s why.”