Pledge to Adopt

This video will definitely tug at your heartstrings. It’s part of The Humane Society of the United States' Adopt campaign, where you can pledge to save a life and adopt your next pet! So check out this short vid and then pledge to adopt your next pet, too. Shelter animals make amazing pets!

Get A Dog, By Ben Stein

A friend of mine just sent me this wonderful video which apparently originally aired on CBS Sunday Morning. Such true words for such difficult times!

Stop Petland Puppy Sales

For many years, the Humane Society of the United States has been waging a campaign to end dog abuse and neglect in puppy mills all over our country. An eight-month investigation by the HSUS has reveal that America's largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores, Petland Inc., is also the nation's largest retail supporter of puppy mills. Many Petland stores across the country are marketing puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers.

When I initially saw this news of the HSUS focus on Petland, I didn't really realize it was a battle being waged here in the Midwest. I didn't even know there were Petland stores here in our area, but there is actually one in Topeka and several in KC. I don't know if they still sell puppies at the Kansas and Missouri stores, but clearly stores all over the nation are still making money from the sale of puppy mill puppies. It sickens me that the staff people in those stores have the audacity to say their puppies come from the best breeders in the country. What responsible breeder would ever sell their puppies to a pet store where they have absolutely no control or say in that dog's future!?

It's hard to believe that there are still people in our country who don't know what a bad idea it is to buy puppies from pet stores and on the Internet. Unfortunately, those people still exist. You can help educate your friends, neighbors and relatives about the problem of puppy mills by signing the HSUS pledge and forwarding the link to others to have them do the same. There are many other things you can do to join this fight against puppy mills!

DogsInDanger

A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with a few of my fellow humane society volunteers. One of the issues we discussed was the major frustration we all have with the lack of honesty our shelter displays with regard to how many animals they euthanize each year. They claim to be a "no-kill" shelter, even though we all know they put down perfectly adoptable dogs almost every week. We all understand that there are not enough homes for all of the animals that come into the shelter doors and that some animals are ultimately going to have to be euthanized, and we don't blame the shelter for this. However, we all believe that the shelter staff should be honest and forthcoming about the dogs and cats that they are putting down. Each one of us has heard a staff member blatantly lie to an unsuspecting person visiting the shelter, and it is unbelievably infuriating.

We all understand why they won't be honest about their rate of euthanasia, even though it's actually better than most city shelters in our area of the country. They are afraid that if the public knew the truth they would quit coming. They think people will be so disgusted and saddened that they'll quit adopting the animals there and quit offering their support.

While their concerns might be valid, it doesn't excuse the lying and deception. I believe that it's completely unethical to run a humane society with anything less than absolutely honesty and transparency. We have a major pet overpopulation problem in this country, and most people have no idea what a huge problem it is because rescues and shelters like ours are not providing any honest education to the public! How will our society ever know they need to make responsible changes with regard to pet ownership if they don't know there is a problem!?

While my own local humane society might not share my passion for honesty, thankfully, there are several organizations that do. My friend Amy shared with me a website called DogsInDanger, whose primary goals are to find homes for dogs who are at risk of being euthanized and to educate the public about the plight of dogs in animal shelters. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement from their website:

"DogsInDanger.com believes in the power of compassion, and that Americans would do more to help and adopt shelter dogs, if only they knew how many dogs shelters were forced to euthanize."

I firmly believe that if every animal shelter or humane society would commit to openly and honestly educating the public about our country's pet overpopulation problem, we would be well on our way towards correcting that problem!

Unfortunately, the DogsInDanger website has been criticized for is mission. As they said in their recent newsletter,"The concept behind DogsInDanger remains singularly controversial; shelters are not in the business of transparency. To reward organizations that care more for their animals than their public relations is a step in the direction of truth."

I just couldn't agree more.

Responsible Breeders

I've had people ask me from time to time how to find a breeder, and while I always try to encourage people to check out rescue first, I do understand that there are a select few times when buying from a breeder is necessary. For example, my husband has lots of friends who hunt, and I certainly wouldn't expect any of them to go to a shelter when they're ready to raise and train a new hunting dog. Working dogs generally do need to come from good working stock. However, for most everyone else, I believe rescue should definitely be the first option.

Regardless, if someone was choosing to buy rather than rescue, my hope would be that they would at least find a responsible breeder. Their question to me would hopefully be "how can I find a responsible breeder" and not just "how can I find a breeder." There is a HUGE difference, and if people don't take the time to find out the differences they will most certainly be supporting a breeder who is making the dog overpopulation problem in our country worse.

There are so many places on the Internet where you can find guidelines about responsible breeding. One of the most comprehensive pages I found was here, at Dogplay.com. The guidelines are pretty exhaustive and extensive, so I'll summarize a little and list just a handful that I think are incredibly important:

1. A responsible breeder makes sure that they have homes for their puppies before the puppies have actually been conceived. Only when there is enough interest do they breed another litter.

2. A responsible breeder interviews the future owners of their puppy to make sure they are a good match for the breed. Puppies do not usually make good gifts.

3. A responsible breeder takes back or helps place any puppy from one of their litters, at any stage in the dog's life. They would never allow one of their own dogs end up in a shelter.

4. A responsible breeder knows the health history of both the parents of the litter they are breeding, as well has the history of their parents. They do not pass along health or genetic problems.

5. A responsible breeder only breeds dogs who meet the breed standard and have excelled at some type of activity, such as agility, obedience, hunting, tracking, etc. Their goal is to make the breed better by only breeding the smartest and most talented dogs.

6. A responsible breeder will have no more than one litter at a time at their home or facility. Multiple litters cannot be well socialized by just one person.

7. A responsible breeder does not sell a puppy without making the new owners sign a contract. They go over the most important provisions, such as spaying/neutering their dog, relinquishing their dog, etc.

I am always amazed at the number of "backyard breeders" who don't take ANY of these things into consideration before purposefully breeding their "purebred" lab to their neighbors. People often only consider that puppies are an easy way to make money or a cute thing for their kids to play with. They breed without feeling any sense of responsibility for the life they've created, and then years or even months later those dogs end up landing at a shelter. Where in the world are the breeders of those 25% of shelter dogs who are purebred???

There are so many other wonderful resources on the Internet about responsible breeding. There are great articles from veterinarians, great lists of questions to ask a breeder, and good articles from responsible breeders. Make sure you do the research before buying a puppy from a breeder!!

Designer Hybrids

You might think this post is about some sort of fancy new car, but the title is actually a reference to the latest trend in dog breeding. Designer dogs are purposeful cross-breeds of two purebred dogs, often also called hybrid dogs. These types of dogs have exploded in popularity, often because many of them are low-shed, low-dander dogs (all of the Bichon and Poodle mixes), and sometimes because people believe them to be healthier than purebreds. Unfortunately one of the biggest reasons they've become so popular is because they're trendy and cute.

I know several people who have purchased designer puppies recently, and I have to say it saddens me for a number of reasons. First, it saddens me because whoever they are paying to "breed" what is essentially a mutt with a silly name (like Cavachon or Yorkipoo or Puggle) clearly is breeding just for the money. Responsible breeders do not breed mutts--they breed purebred dogs for the love of the breed and with the intention of keeping the bloodlines pure.

It also saddens me that most people are picking out these designer dogs based on one trait only: their appearance. Since there is no breed standard for hybrid dogs, that means that there's no consistently known temperament or common behaviors. One can guess what these dogs will be like based on the traits of their parental breeds, but they aren't picked because of their tried-and-true temperaments. They're purchased because they make adorable looking dogs and not because of the love of their character.

I'm obviously also saddened because people are paying hundreds of dollars for designer dogs when there are thousands of dogs of similar heritage living and dying in shelters all over the country. They might not have the fancy, funny names, but they're there. They might not have the pedigreed parents, but they're there. They might not still be in their earliest stages of puppyhood, but they're there. They are there, but only those people who truly care about the welfare of animals are trying to rescue them!

Dangerous Dog Toys

Today's post is about saving a dog in a different kind of way. A friend sent me link to a blog this morning called The Chai Story. It's a story about a dog who was horribly injured from a poorly designed dog toy made by a company called Four Paws. The story is so terribly sad, but it needs to be publicized so that every dog owner knows NOT to let their dog play with the "pimple ball with bell" toy. It is extremely dangerous.

In addition, the company apparently had been contacted about the design problem several years ago when another dog was actually put down because his injuries from this ball were so severe. The company claimed they would recall and redesign the product and yet failed to do so until recently. They need to be held accountable for their negligence. You can email them at hbirk@fourpaws.com to voice your concern and displeasure. The email works--I just used it!