There is an article on "Designer Dogs" on
www.puppymillrescue.com below is a part of it that covers a story that the NY Times has done on Designer Dogs and Puppymills. (See Below) I am mom to three Yorkies and One "Designer Dog." I found Tia in the local Newspaper classified section. I think what lead me to her more than anything was disgust on how she was advertised. She was advertised as and I quote "Designer Purse Puppy." The woman that had her listed bought Tia from a puppybroker. Tia was her third dog, yes third. All bought from the same broker. None seemed to be good enough for this person (Tia by the way is probabably the most behaved, well tempered dog I've ever had). All three of these pups the woman bought, each ended up being placed up for sale. And, after selling Tia she once again bought yet another from this broker and guess where she ended up? You got it, up for sale. Not sure why, except to say that the woman is more then likely just nuts, but it goes to show you that the $$ means more to the pet store or broker or some breeders then the pup itself. I mean really to sell this person not one, two or three but four dogs knowing she gets rid of them. Anyway, Tia came to us malnurished, had some fleas and very scared but she's fine now, she's better then fine. She's GREAT. She was just 3 lbs. when we got her at ten months old and she's now a healthy 4 pounds. One pound doesn't seem like a lot but it means a lot in such a tiny dog. The article I refered to early I'll post now and just ask that if you should decide to adopt your "Designer Dog" please consider
www.petfinder.com you'll find plenty of "Designer Dogs" AKA "Mutts or mixed breeds." Elaine
The NY Times story centers on a puppy mill in Wisconsin that has 1,600 dogs on hand. All of the breeder dogs are purebred dogs producing "hybrid" puppies - a mixture of two different breeds and most are sold through pet store outlets. The owner of this mill was suspended for 10 years from the American Kennel Club (AKC) - more for his registering dogs with another kennel club instead of anything else.
The puppy mills are where dogs live in horrible conditions, have extremely poor health, are not socialized and are treated as puppy-producing machines instead of sentient living beings. The end product is the pet store puppy where the ignorant puppy-buying public spends thousands for a puppy that is defective in many ways. Some states have enacted puppy-lemon laws because the problem has become so great. Most states, however, do not have this law.
In my long avocation I have rescued practically every known pure breed of dog and now it looks like all of us at one time or another in the future will be rescuing hybrids. As for breeds of dogs, I prefer the mutt descended from many breeds. I have found them to be healthier with better temperament due to not being so high strung. Currently, I have 4 purebred dogs in my group - a Golden Retriever with a sweet, docile personality but lacking in brains - 1 Shih Tzu with terrible genetic eye problems - 1 Shih Tzu with inherited skin problems - and one Poodle who was born in a puppy mill with a serious heart defect that cost me thousands of dollars to correct when he was only 16 weeks old. All are rescues.
The Times article does not touch on pet overpopulation or the unending work of people who do rescue work, but it does give insight into what lies ahead. So please take the time to read it. Thanks.
Joan
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05361/628536-62.stm (additional reading)
