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02-24-2009, 09:12 PM | #1 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,493
| The Dog Delusion - Harvard newspaper opinion piece hope it's ok to share an opinion piece in this section The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: The Dog Delusion The Dog Delusion This year we’ll spend $49 billion on our pets, and kill four million of them Published On Tuesday, February 24, 2009 10:28 PM By Lewis E. Bollard Crimson Staff Writer Last month, as the 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show got underway in New York, sheriffs were raiding a puppy mill in Sparta, Tenn. The emaciated dogs that sheriffs hauled from cramped wire cages could not have looked more different than the pampered pooches atop pedestals in Madison Square Garden. But they hinted at a common ailment: the commodification of our nation’s dogs. Dogs have held a special place in our culture since their domestication some 15,000 years ago. Roman shepherds kept herding dogs, medieval monks first made them pets, and Victorian aristocrats groomed them to perfection. Today, four in 10 American households have dogs, and 94 percent of Americans say they feel close to their dogs—by contrast, just 74 percent say they feel close to their dads. This spring, 104 Harvard students enrolled in a new History of Science course, “Dogs and How We Know Them.” At its best, this reflects the closeness of the human-animal bond. After Hurricane Katrina, one of the most moving stories told was of an old man found floating with his dog on a trailer tire. When asked to leave the dog, he refused, stating simply that he’d lose everything except the one creature he knew he could trust. This dog love has also driven a flourishing industry. Most dog owners bought presents for their canine companions this holiday season, churning $5 billion into the American economy. For those with dogs wanting to bring in the New Year in style, the Ritzy Canine Carriage House in Manhattan offered a “Presidential Suite” for dogs at a cool $175 per night. But the underbelly of the pet-breeding industry is rather less luxurious. Last month, sheriffs in North Carolina and Tennessee raided a series of puppy mills, large-scale breeding operations where dogs are confined in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Videos showed diseased dogs pulled from small, filthy cages, their paws mutilated by the wires. The puppies from such operations are sent to pet stores across the nation, where unsuspecting pet lovers pay a premium for their pedigree. A recent Humane Society of the United States investigation found that Petland stores continue to source dogs from puppy mills. Meanwhile, dog shelters across the nation are reporting record intakes as housing foreclosures and job losses force people to abandon their pets. Last year, an estimated four million cats and dogs were killed in shelters for want of adoption. This year, with fewer adoptions, that figure will likely increase. For a smaller number of these dogs, the alternative to adoption may be a fate worse than death. In 1966, LIFE magazine shocked the nation with an expose entitled “Concentration Camps for Dogs,” detailing the gruesome trade of dog dealers who plied impounded pets to animal testing laboratories. And, though that trade has since been regulated, 70,000 dogs still go unwillingly under the vivisectionist’s scalpel in America every year, some of them former pets. Some solutions to this crisis are obvious. President Barack Obama has publicly announced that he will adopt a shelter dog to be the First Pet—a noble example that will hopefully inspire others. Spaying and neutering have caught on across the country, though a quarter of dogs still slip outside the programs. Tighter regulations on puppy mills and animal laboratories would be a good first step to stopping needless suffering. At a more basic level, we need to reconsider the legal framework that views dogs as commodities. While most dog owners love their companions, for other owners dogs remain disposable items to be cuddled when cute and cut when cumbersome. Sadly, the law still sides with this latter group in allowing the mass production and mass killing of pets. A century ago, a young lawyer named George Graham Vest, later to become a U.S. senator, addressed a Missouri courthouse on a case concerning the killing of a pet dog. “Gentlemen of the jury,” he declared, “a man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground when the wintry winds below, and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be by his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.” Hopefully one day we’ll repay the respect.
__________________ yorkiesmiles Loved by Bubba & Roxy Holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come Last edited by yorkiesmiles; 02-24-2009 at 09:16 PM. |
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02-24-2009, 09:27 PM | #2 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 92
| Wow! That was well written and moving. Thank you for posting this!
__________________ LadybugBellaMistyDaisy MaeWebber Support OKYorkieRescue. org |
02-24-2009, 09:43 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,493
| Didn't you love the quote in the last paragraph? I think I may have read part of that quote before, but not all of it. Yes, I thought the piece was very insightful
__________________ yorkiesmiles Loved by Bubba & Roxy Holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come |
02-24-2009, 09:48 PM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 92
| That quote was beautiful! I really says just how much they do for us and how little we give back sometimes! Insightful is a good description! It's nice to hear some real support for the animals and an interesting comparison to the dog shows! (Not that I am against dog shows!! Just puppy mills!)
__________________ LadybugBellaMistyDaisy MaeWebber Support OKYorkieRescue. org |
02-24-2009, 09:52 PM | #5 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,493
| yes, I don't want to speak out against show dogs, their breeders or owners. Not sure the author was going that far either.
__________________ yorkiesmiles Loved by Bubba & Roxy Holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come |
02-26-2009, 02:26 PM | #6 | |
Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator | Quote:
Vivisection MAKES ME CRAZY! It is one of the cruelest things on the planet.
__________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann | Pfeiffer | Marcel Verdel Purcell | Wylie | Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° | |
03-13-2009, 12:13 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Iowa
Posts: 9,493
| Saturday, March 14: National Petland Protest Day If you want detailed info on the central Iowa protest PM me; otherwise find your city below Join fellow animal lovers for a peaceful protest in your town. Saturday, March 14: National Petland Protest Day. Petland Rallies Another nationwide demonstration is taking place at Petland stores from 1 to 3 p.m. (unless otherwise indicated) on Saturday, March 14, and we want you to be there! At these peaceful, lawful demonstrations we will be asking Petland again to please stop selling puppies! Contact your local organizer with any questions that you may have. We will supply the signs and flyers; all you need to do is show up. Unless otherwise noted where to meet, please assemble only on the public walkways in front of the strip mall. Check out our events page on Facebook! Arizona Petland Tucson 6061 E. Broadway Tucson, AZ 85711 Contact Jamie Massey at er4az@aol.com California Petland Roseville 9400 Fairway Drive Roseville, CA 95678 Register at Evite - Login to your account or register to send free online invitations and promote public events. *We will be also holding a drive to collect dog and cat food for the Lucky Paws Foundation. Florida Petland Deerfield Beach (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) 3964 W. Hillsboro Blvd. Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Contact Elena Brodskaya at bookworm2471@hotmail.com Petland Lake Park (10 a.m. to 12 noon) 3914 Northlake Blvd. Lake Park, FL 33403 Contact Michelle Rivera at catadvocate@aol.com Petland Orlando (Begins at 11 a.m.) 3920 S. Semoran Blvd. Orlando, FL 32822 Contact Carla Wilson at ArffCentralFl@arff.org *Please bring kitty litter, newspapers, and detergent to donate to local shelters Petland Sarasota 5830 Fruitville Road Sarasota, FL 34232 Contact Karen Ankerstar at ankerstar@comcast.net Georgia Petland Athens 1720 Epps Bridge Parkway Athens, GA 30606 Contact Lauren Keller at lckm97@gmail.com Illinois Petland Bolingbrook 744 East Boughton Rd. Bolingbrook, IL 60440-2279 Contact Kelly Franklin at franklin0119@aol.com *Please bring us blanket and towel donations to benefit local shelters. Petland Wheaton 80 Danada Square West Wheaton, IL 60187 Contact Gloria DeLuco at glor351@comcast.net Iowa Petland Iowa City (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) 1851 Lower Muscatine Rd. Iowa City, IA 52240 Contact Shannon Cronbaugh at shannon@lasthoperescueia.org Petland West Des Moines 6305 Mills Civic Parkway West Des Moines, IA 50265 Contact Kristen Redenius at kredenius@aheinz57.com Kansas Petland Olathe 2008 E. Santa Fe Olathe, KS 66062 Contact Suezanne Law at sympawtico@gmail.com Louisiana Petland Baton Rouge 7014 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70824 Contact Victoria Bourgeois at Victoria.Bourgeois@gmail.com Michigan Petland Westland 34610 Warren Road Westland, MI 48185 Contact Christine White at pchristinewhite@yahoo.com Missouri Petland Springfield 1610 E. Battlefield Rd. Springfield, MO 65804 *No contact person at this time Petland Lake St. Louis 6131 Ronald Reagan Drive Lake St. Louis, MO 63367 Contact Joan McKenna Van Rijswijk at ridgeback_mom@charter.net or Jessica Jensen at thompson__19@hotmail.com *Please bring all types of pet food to donate to a local food bank. Donations of towels and blankets will be brought to local shelters. Nebraska Petland Omaha 120th and W. Center Road Omaha, NE 68144 (W. Center Road is also referred to as Center Street) Contact Lori Hook at Dhook65857@aol.com New York Petland Cicero 5701 E. Circle Dr. Cicero, NY 13039 Contact Amber Coon at info@syracuseanimalrights.com *Meet along the public road fronting the Mobil Gas Station at 7888 Brewerton Rd. (Rt. 11). Parking can be found at the Mobil station. It will be COLD! Wear hats and gloves! New Hampshire Petland Manchester 893 Hanover St. Manchester, NH 03104 Contact Sherry Bezanson at sherry.bezanson@verani.com North Carolina Petland Charlotte 8120 Providence Rd. Charlotte, NC 28270 Contact Jacqueline Shipley at jacqueline.shipley764@gmail.com Ohio Petland Cleveland Heights 2255 Lee Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 Contact Jennifer Kaden at jenniferk@mercyforanimals.org Petland Lewis Center 86 Meadow Park Ave Lewis Center, OH 43035 Contact Lauren Schneiders at lschneiders@hsus.org Pennsylvania Petland Pittsburgh 6401 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Contact Norma Bronder at petlandprotest@gmail.com Texas Petland Austin 9900 South IH-35, Bldg W Austin, TX 78748 Contact Jeanne O'Neil at boycottpetland@sbcglobal.net Petland Frisco (2 to 4 p.m.) 2930 Preston Road Frisco, TX 75034 Contact Dr. John J Pippin at jjpippin@sbcglobal.net Petland Georgetown 1019 W. University Ave. Georgetown, TX 78628 Contact Diane Coker at dkcoker@aol.com Petland Plano (12 to 2 p.m.) 340 Coit Road Plano, TX 75075 Contact Dr. John J Pippin at jjpippin@sbcglobal.net Virginia Petland Fairfax 9404-A Main St. Fairfax, VA 22031 Contact: Beau Archer at stop-puppy-mills@hsus.org *Please bring us blanket and towel donations to benefit local shelters. Petland Roanoke 4335 Pheasant Ridge Rd. Roanoke, VA 24014 Contact Toni Levine at barngrama@hotmail.com Wisconsin Petland Racine 2310 S. Green Bay Rd. Racine, WI 53406 Contact Gina Skorka at happycappy90@hotmail.com
__________________ yorkiesmiles Loved by Bubba & Roxy Holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come |
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