Shop OR Adopt!
Our position is that all dogs should be treated with compassion and respect. We advocate for responsible dog ownership and the right of people to be able to choose where they get their next dog.
Whether you choose to shop for a dog or adopt, you should always keep your eyes open and obtain your next pet from people who look out for the best interest of the dog. If you don’t, you are potentially either feeding into either a breeder that churns out potentially ill tempered and sickly puppies OR you are feeding into the growing problem of retail “rescues” that obtain mostly mixed breed dogs to sell. We don't like to use the word “adopt” because once money changes hands, it is a SALE.
The Animal Rights movement would have you believe that buying a dog from a breeder is a terrible thing. They will tell you that buying a puppy keeps another puppy in a shelter where it will be euthanized after suffering horribly. That is a FLAT OUT LIE. While we do agree that all shelter pets deserve a chance at adoption, we disagree that a responsible breeder has anything to do with the problems currently faced by shelter dogs. Studies have actually proven that purebred dogs make up a very very small minority of dogs in shelters.
The people who paint dog breeders with a broad brush and paint them as people who are personally responsible for the death of innocent pets tout the problem which they claim is pet overpopulation. We are here to say THAT is a myth. There is no such thing as dog overpopulation. That term is simply a way to rationalize the euthanizing of homeless companion animals. After all, pet overpopulation means that we have too many dogs and cats and not enough people who want them, right?
Here are the facts however. Out of the 5 million animals who enter shelters each year, roughly 3.5 million are euthanized, i.e. killed. During the same period, about 23 million families add dogs and cats to their homes. I'll say it again. Only 5 million animals in shelters but 23 million families obtain a new animal. Of the 23 million families that get a new pet, 17 million of them have no set ideas about where to acquire these animals.
So, what happens to the 3.5 million animals that get euthanized? Why do they deserve to die? There are several reasons that these animals are euthanized, and the reasons are not your fault. The first reason is that some shelters do not place a big emphasis on placing these animals. Unfortunately, it is simpler and cheaper to euthanize these animals after waiting the set amount of time the law requires for lost animals to be reclaimed. A second reason is elderly and sick animals are extremely difficult to place. After all, a senior dog usually has failing health, it could be blind, they probably require a special diet and maybe even medicine. A senior dog may have bad habits that make them unattractive to a new pet owner. They may have incontinence issues or other problems that require a higher level of care. A third reason is that many of these dogs may have a bite history that makes them a liability to a shelter to place. If a dog with a known history of biting hurts someone, that shelter could be responsible for pain, suffering, and medical bills incurred. A fourth reason is that shelters are full of mixed breeds (mutts) that, due to aesthetic reasons, can often be very hard to place. It is estimated that upwards of 40% of shelter dogs are pit bull mixes. It could be an unfair generalization, or it could be a justifiable stigma, but most people just don't want to adopt a pit bull. We are sure that there are other factors, but from just these 4, you can see that it is a multifactored issue.
The No Kill Advocacy Center website says it like this: "The data shows that every year there are six times more people looking to acquire an animal than there are animals being killed in shelters." Even if those numbers are not 100% accurate, the trend shows that there are more people getting dogs than there are dogs in shelters.
About 20 percent (according to a study) of people wanting a pet, go to breeders or pet stores. These are buyers who have very specific age, breed, temperament, and/or appearance requirements for the animal they’ll bring home. Some people want to take away your right to choose for yourself what kind of dog you can have and were you can buy it from. I know in my case, if I were told that I could not have a sighthound I probably wouldn't have gotten a dog in the first place. Some people could be just as happy with a shelter dog, and that is fine. It's all about choice. The freedom to choose.
Whether you want a dog with a specific looks or behaviors or you want a puppy with a clean slate, you still have the freedom to choose what you want. Animal Right activists and others are constantly trying to remove that freedom of choice, but at this point we can still (thankfully) search for and acquire a much-loved puppy from a responsible breeder that has strived to bring forth the very best in the breed that they love. Don't let these fanatics guilt you into getting a dog that isn't right for you. After all, studies have shown that people that go through the search process and wait, to purchase a purebred dog, are less likely to surrender those dogs.
Demonizing breeders and puppy buyers is becoming all the rage as those that virtue signal their superiority insist that everyone should only get a rescue dog from a shelter. Just know that you're buying a puppy is NOT causing a dog to be euthanized. That isn't accurate or fair. It's an apples to oranges comparison.
Purebred dogs comprise a very small minority of dogs in shelters. It's a fact that most shelter dogs are not bred by responsible breeders. They are bred by regular people that fail to spay and neuter their pets or perhaps they want their children to witness the miracle of birth, or maybe they just want to see their beloved pet live on. Whatever the reason, THOSE are the animals that end up in shelters.
On Rescues
Though there are rescues that do great work finding homes for unwanted pets and do wonderful things, a great many rescues are poorly run. Some obtain their (already spayed and neutered) inventory from shelters that are funded by tax dollars and then turn around and sell these animals. Some rescues are even playing on people's sympathy, fund raising by using pictures and stories of severely sick and injured animals that need thousands of dollars in medical care. Some charge purebred dog prices, operating a revolving door of dogs that are returned over and over due to behavior issues.
Even more shocking is that the CDC estimates A MILLION dogs are imported from overseas and brought into the USA to satisfy the US demand for dogs. Getting a dog that was destined to be a meat dog only means you are getting a dog that was bred with absolutely NO regard for its temperment or health.
sources
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180823140949.htm
http://blog.smartanimaltraining.com/2014/08/11/shelter-dogs-studies-highlight-why-some-are-adopted-others-arent/
https://www.akc.org/clubs-delegates/government-relations/government-relations-blogs/survey-reveals-misconceptions-purebred-dogs-animal-shelters/
http://www.naiaonline.org/
https://akcgr.org/akc/app/document/32684734?0&fbclid=IwAR0ordzhV-kPCHwkutFHTz24N67vRqBrG4s63zN4JordLv-M3kJI1ATNmj4/
https://americanpolicy.org/2016/01/25/animal-rights-and-you-using-americans-love-for-animals-to-steal-your-rights/?fbclid=IwAR1HpJ1O2SZmhelfLwMSpYB_fvgwR3hLc6_Vkzo3EF6zilGhtm0mYdghLC4/
http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/article/disparage-regulate-prohibit-monopolize?fbclid=IwAR26XdYq0co2FIDp1KKopV2OO2q-Z21CLm30gCnWiXxzbsT2LTu9UGowvt8#sthash.ffHaSpyy.XVf8ye0Z.dpbs/
https://protecttheharvest.com/
https://protecttheharvest.com/news/aspca-vice-president-reveals-discussions-about-shelters-breeding-puppies/
