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.

Charlotte

Charlotte is a Chocolate Lab who was written off as unadoptable by the staff at the Lawrence Humane Society. She would generally get very nervous when first meeting new canine friends, and that nervousness would often result in some barking with her hair standing on end. The staff insisted that she was dog aggressive, and they took her out of the adoption area of the shelter so she wouldn't have as much interaction with the other dogs. They would have euthanized her, but my friend and fellow volunteer JoAnna came to Charlotte's rescue.

JoAnna worked with Charlotte for months, going to the shelter every day to walk her and work on her doggy social skills. Every day she encouraged Charlotte's positive interaction with other dogs and corrected her negative behavior. Then finally last week, a family saw Charlotte on Petfinder and came to visit her. They had another dog, and with JoAnna's help the dogs were successfully introduced. Charlotte was nervous at first, but within just a few minutes Charlotte and her new friend were romping and playing in the yard together! Once her adoption was approved, Charlotte jumped right into the back of the car like she'd been friends with the other dog forever! Now she's a happy girl with a new loving family and a wonderful canine sister, and it's all thanks to JoAnna, who stepped in to save her life when she was merely misunderstood!

Charlotte in the backseat on her way home from the shelter.

Charlotte playing with her new sister at her new home.

Charlotte learning to retrieve from her sister.

Charlotte's new family said that after just a few days Charlotte was already way more relaxed and happy than when she first arrived at home. So many dogs of the dogs I've known and fostered have behaved like a completely different dogs after leaving the stressful environment of the shelter. The staff there usually looks for the worst in them and never really tries to see them for the wonderful dogs they will become if given the chance. Thankfully, there are volunteers like JoAnna who look for the best in every dog and go to the extra lengths to save them!

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!!

For the Love of the Breed

I've said before that finding the puppy you want through a rescue is possible, even if it's a purebred or designer dog you're wanting. Here's a wonderful story to prove my point.

A few years ago, a friend of mine called wanting input on how to find a good breeder. She had done lots of research on dog breeds and had decided that she wanted a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. While I'm certainly not an expert in the area of purchasing purebreds, I tried to share with her what I know about responsible breeders and some ways she might get in touch with one. However, since I generally don't encourage people to buy purebreds in the first place, I also made sure to remind her about how she could search for specific breeds on Petfinder. Although I knew the shelter where I volunteer wouldn't have what she wanted, I thought there was a chance that another Spaniel-ish puppy on Petfinder might catch her eye.

To make a long story short(er), my friend e-mailed me a few weeks later to share some exciting news: not only had she and her husband found their Cavalier puppy, but they'd found it through Petfinder at a rescue just a few miles away in Independence, Missouri! I couldn't have been more excited! They found this adorable little puppy, which was exactly what they wanted, and they saved a life as well!

Many people don't understand that even adopting a very adoptable dog from a no-kill shelter or rescue saves a life. While that puppy might not be in danger of euthanasia, when he or she is adopted, space is created at that shelter or rescue for a new dog--one who might very well have been in danger of being put down. When compared to purchasing from a breeder, adopting from a shelter saves lives!

My friend just couldn't love her Cavalier more, and she certainly wouldn't have loved her more had she come from a breeder! Once she fell in love with Lucy, she fell in love with the breed as well, and just recently she started fostering a homeless Cavalier for Cavalier Rescue USA! I was so thrilled that her love of one little rescued puppy grew into the love of a breed and an overall concern for that breed's welfare!