When Someone You Know and Love Buys from a Breeder

If you're not involved in pet rescue you may not understand the title of this blog.
So read it, so you can understand.
Over the years I've heard about friends of rescue friends buying a dog from a breeder oppose to adopting. Over the years I've heard about this action breaking up friendships or driving a wedge between people.
I've also experienced this on a personal level and it has converted once-lovely-friendships into an abyss of separation a time or two.
A few years ago while working at Animal Services I had a girlfriend that wanted a dog, a puppy.
On various occasions I showed her pictures of adoptable pets, I spoke to her about how rewarding adoption was, how she had the power to save a life and asked her regularly, "When are you going to adopt?!"
The next thing I know she's posting pictures on facebook of a french bulldog puppy.
I was horrified.
We discussed her purchase briefly and she said the typical things breeder-buyers say: we wanted this certain breed, we wanted it to be a puppy, it was a sporadic decision, etc.
To make matters worse this 'friend' opted not to neuter her new frenchie (doesn't every other person on the block have one of these breeds now?).
Immediately our friendship changed. We lost touch.
I felt angry and disappointed on behalf of all the dogs that had missed out on a loving home due to my friend's decision.
And that's the issue- when an animal-loving-pet-owner to-be chooses to buy oppose to adoptthis person is inevitably choosing not to save a shelter pet's life. This person is choosing to be an onlooker, a bystander, a spectator- seeing, hearing of the shelter pets waiting for loving homes, knowing the shelter pets are being put to sleep daily, but choosing to do nothing about it. These bystanders are choosing not to be part of the solution, choosing not to help end euthanasia by their decision to buy rather than adopt. It's just that simple.
And something so strange to me is, the grand majority of people that buy from breeders are big-time animal lovers and are generally great pet owners. You'd think they'd make the connection on their own-
adoption = saving a pet's life, I want to save a pet's life because I love pets!
Now 15-20 years ago it was a different story. Some of you, my animal-rescue-friends, bought a pet from a breeder yourselves, some of you were even involved in breeding, but you didn't know about the plight of our shelter pets then. "You don't know what you don't know," as the saying goes.
We cannot really blame people for not knowing something, but nowadays, let's be honest- how many people are truly unaware of their local animal shelters? Hasn't just about everyone seen the ASPCA commercials featuring sorry-looking abandoned animals? Isn't the 'Humane Society' an organization that pretty much everyone has at least heard of? There are huge billboards up about pet rescue for God's sake.
And getting back to the title of this blog, "When someone you know and love buys from a breeder," we're talking specifically about people that are aware of shelter pets' plight... through me, through you, the animal activist people!
They know all too well about shelter pets, they see their pictures that you send out and everything, then they choose to buy from a breeder... ouch. That hurts. Really bad.
This is a wound that has recently been ripped open, by someone in my family.
Friends you can disassociate with if need be, if their breeder-buying-behavior perturbs you so, but when it's someone in your own family, it becomes stickier.
My aunt is a big-time dog lover. She loves all animals and is one of the sweetest people I know. She's gentle, kind, always eager to help anyone in need, a hard worker and active in her church.
She visited me years ago at Animal Services in Louisville when I worked there in the kennels. We took out dogs to play. She loved all of them so much. I made her promise me that, 'next time she would adopt.'
At the time she had a wonderful Golden Retriever named Duke that her and her husband had bought from a breeder. She said, "next time we will probably adopt, I know there are so many," or something along those lines.
Over the past couple of years as I worked as Adoption Counselor/Foster Care Coordinator for MDAS I would include her on email blasts about dogs in desperate need of rescue. She received emails about puppies, nursing litters, adults... you name it. I included her to keep rescue top of mind, even though she was in Kentucky and I was in Florida. She would even forward my emails to friends she has in the Fl area!
Some months ago her beloved Duke passed away after a long, good fight against cancer. My aunt arranged for weekly acupuncture treatments for Duke while he was alive, this helped prolong his life and the quality of it for a very long time; my aunt was and is a superb pet owner.
Some time passed and I began nudging her to consider adopting another dog; I knew they were going to get another dog.
When I was home during the summer I told my aunt's husband in a low tone, just between the two of us, "Don't you dare buy from a breeder. I mean it. There are too many at the shelter. It would tear me up if you all did that."
He seemed to feel a bit uneasy and moved off. For the record, my aunt's husband is a great guy and a huge dog lover too. But he had always bought his dogs from breeders.
And that's the thing here, old habits die hard.
About a week ago my dad asked me, over the phone, "Did you hear your aunt and _________ bought a new Golden puppy?"
My heart sunk. I quickly retorted, "I don't want to hear about it."
He said, "Oh that puppy needed a home too now," so, wow, even my own father doesn't 'get it.' -Scary and sad.
Analogy intermission: if your last 5 cars have been Hondas and you've had great luck with all of them... you love the way they drive, the way they handle, the way the engine sounds when you start it up (very 'honda'), the reliability of the car... and someone tries to convince you to get a Toyota, you're not going be very likely to go, "Oh OK, why not give Toyota a try sinceyou think they're just as good."
In essence me insisting on my aunt adopting a dog, likely a mixed breed, rather than her buying a Golden Retriever, a breed she had grown to trust and love dearly through her own life's experience, was a threat.
It does feel threatening and uneasy to go outside of one's comfort one. -You know what you love and are comfortable with by God.
My aunt knew what a great experience she had with Duke for all of those years. She wanted to have an equally gratifying experience with her new dog and apparently just didn't have faith enough to go out of her comfort one and adopt (perhaps a different breed or rescue an older Golden) rather than buy.
That's extremely sad to me. I know so many excellent shelter dogs waiting for loving homes.
There are great ones on any given day being put to sleep because of wonderful pet-owners like my aunt and her husband that can't make that jump from buying to adopting (I know this is only one aspect of why pets are put down), they must not have enough faith in the dog, the shelter dog, that it will be as faithful, well-mannered, good-tempered and as overall wonderful as their pure bred Golden or whatever the breed may be. If that sounds extreme, I'm sorry, but it's true. Remember, if one chooses to buy, one chooses not to save the life of a pet in desperate need. Period.
These spectators must feel there's something 'special about the breed,' they like and they're right, there's something special about every breed, about every pet, about every living being for that matter.
As a shepherd mix owner/lover I have a soft spot for any brown dog with some black on its face that I see.
It is just as easy to form a beautiful bond with a mixed breed as with a pure breed.
Our spectators need to choose to take that leap of faith and find this out for themselves. One day I hope they will.
Who knows, maybe my aunt will adopt a 2nd dog just for the heck of it... just to save a life. Would that be such an outrageous thing to do? -I don't think so.
I do know she'll neuter her new Golden puppy so that's one positive aspect of the entire situation.
-All the best.

If you buy from a breeder you're choosing not to save my life!

you're ignoring that I'm here in danger of being put to sleep when you buy from a breeder!

You're telling yourself someone else will take me and my sister but they might not!

Buy from a breeder and I'm forgotten by one more person- you.

Get your dog from a breeder while I sit in a cage getting more depressed by the day.

Posted 21 hours ago by Jessica Pita

What UnAltered Dogs and Addicts w/o their Fix Share in Common

Miami is a city where many residents oppose spaying and neutering their dogs. Trust me, I know. I worked at the municipal shelter here for nearly a year and still volunteer there. During my tenure at the shelter I conducted Volunteer Orientation weekly. I had to get across to new volunteers (and customers) what an unaltered pet goes through. The best analogy I came up with was- what a drug addict goes though.
The intact male dog... let's make it a well-trained, loving, family pet for example's sake: This is a dog that plays fetch with the kids, sits and shakes on command, is docile, kind with everyone, even strangers. This is a great dog, that still has his balls. This dog, Fido, we'll say, stays in the yard while his family is at work, around 8 hrs/day. That's a normal scenario for many American dogs right?
Most days Fido sleeps, marks the fence, does typical dog stuff around the yard. However one day, a female dog in heat is a couple of blocks away (remember- dogs can smell up to miles away). Fido goes crazy- he has to get to that female dog! All is forgotten- his commands, tricks, loving family that has housed and adored him for years- out the window. NOTHING matters to Fido in this moment except for reaching the female. The 4 ft. fence that usually is a sufficient barrier becomes surmountable in an instant. Fido attempts to jump the fence- Scenario 1: His collar gets caught on the fence and he hangs himself there, dying slowly. Scenario 2: He clears the fence with no problem, runs down the road and is hit by a car, and hurt (or killed). Scenario 3: He's street smart, finds the female, along with 3 other male dogs who have picked up on the scent and proceeds to fight and engage in wild pack behavior. Scenario 4: He impregnates the female dog, finds his way home and no one ever knows it even happened. The female is alone, stray and will have a litter of unwanted pups. -And Fido's not paying child support. None of these are positive outcomes are they?
And this is very similar to what a drug addict goes through on a binge: A loving father, devoted husband and hard worker can transform in an instant- should he have a problem with a drug that suddenly becomes available to him. He may go missing for days, blow his entire pay check, lose his wallet, phone, end up in the ghetto... you name it, right?
If you're someone thinking my unaltered dog example is 'extreme,' please consider this one true story:
It was nearly closing time at Miami Dade Animal Services. I was behind the front counter taking care of the last customer or two when in walks a man in his early 40s, sobbing hysterically, holding a limp, wiry haired, 30- something pound, little gray dog in his arms. A woman was with him. He was screaming, "¡Este es mi hijo, mi único hijo, Dios!" (this is my son, my only son, my God!). It was horrendous. My stomach sank, as I quickly assessed by the dog's posture- it was gone. However the man could not accept that. He cried out for a vet. I ran to get the vet on duty; I was not going to deny him that. I explained as the Dr. and I walked that the dog was dead, but that the man was in a shocked state of denial. She hurried the man and woman into a small examining room, laid the dog on the metal table, searched for a heartbeat which could not be found and declared the dog was dead. The man sobbed loudly, almost ghostly, stating he had never had kids, that this dog was his baby, his only baby.
The woman with him explained: they had been out on his small deck, three stories up, cooking out, when his dog ran out, barking at a stray female dog passing by below. He jumped. He didn't fall, according to her, but jumped. He was suddenly frantic to get to the dog below. He was not neutered.
I could share other similar stories but won't, not now. It's too sad. If you have a dog, go hug it. And if it's not yet altered, please consider taking care ofthat. Peace.

Posted 5th February 2012 by Jessica Pita