Today you bought a dog.
A puppy, a cutie, a little white ball.
You found him on the internet, in the online classifieds.
Today you bought a dog.
You asked for my help just a couple of weeks ago.
You gave me your criteria and I talked to rescue friends.
I checked the websites of good rescues and found some possibilities.
You didn’t go to meet them.
Instead you bought a puppy.
Today you bought a dog
From someone who contributes to the problem
Of pet overpopulation and animal homelessness.
A backyard breeder, maybe a puppy mill.
How do I know the breeder is irresponsible?
Because good breeders have waiting lists for their pups.
Good breeders don’t sell through Craigslist or Used Wherever.
Good breeders do reference checks and have long discussions with potential homes before deciding among all the applicants which lucky families will get their puppies, and which puppy is best suited for which home.
It is a process which takes weeks.
Good breeders, when you google their phone number, don’t have several different breeds advertised in several different cities. Nor do they keep changing the birthdate of their puppies as they lower the price. The wonderful people who sold you your puppy did this. Google the number.
Today you bought a dog.
From someone who bears part of the responsibility for the thousands of dogs in BC shelters tonight,
From someone who bears part of the responsibility for the thousands of homeless dogs who will be euthanized in Canada this month, for the tens of thousands who will die in North America.
But they don’t care.
They just keep pumping out the puppies and selling them for profit,
While others die alone.
Did you know that there are well over 150 rescue groups in BC?
Did you know that there are thousands of homeless dogs, big, small, young, old, even puppies, looking for homes in BC today?
Do you care that dogs are dying because you couldn’t wait, so you bought a puppy from someone who is part of the problem instead of part of the solution?
Do you care that YOU are now part of the problem?
No. If you did, you wouldn’t have done it.
You know who you are.
Don’t bother to call me to share your ‘good’ news. I won’t be celebrating with you.
4 comments:
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And let me add to this...
Does your puppy's breeder stand behind his/her dog for the life of the dog? Are they adamant about your dog being returned to them "no questions asked", irregardless of it's age, if things don't work out at any time throughout the life of your dog?
Does he/she insist on being informed about any serious health issues that may arise?
Will they work with you if these issues are hereditary? Did you do your homework on necessary and breed specific health testing on the parents of your particular chosen puppy?
Will the "breeder" be available to you to answer questions as needed, when your pup is 2, 4, 8, 12-yrs old?
There is so much more I could add, but if you answered NO to any ONE of these questions... you have NOT done your homework and have bought into the appalling industry of backyard breeding and millers. You may get lucky with your pup and be issue free, but you have made yourself a huge part of a gigantic problem!
With today's readily available info right in front of our eyes, and with friends so involved in animal rescue, you should know better!
Shame on you!!!!!
Ellen
Thanks, Ellen, those are excellent points you raise.
I investigated the person who advertised the pups (after obtaining a second phone number for them and getting some info from them via email) and found they have no fewer than six different breeds of puppies for sale, plus two 'designer breeds' (cross breeds of two of their so-called 'purebreads'[sic]), carefully advertised on different sites with no more than two ads per site - a sure sign that they are trying to hide the fact they are a PUPPY MILL!
And, of course, they belong to no breed club or kennel club, yet claim the puppies are 'from Champion lines'.
I feel sick.
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