Home > Pets & Animals > Animal Rescue & Adoption
Breeders or dog owners: Who is more responsible for the excess of abandoned or sheltered dogs?
Results so far:
| Dog Owners | 69% | 646 votes | Total: 935 votes | |
| Breeders | 31% | 289 votes |
Dog Owners
by Gabriella Samms
Created on: January 11, 2008 Last Updated: March 23, 2008
If you haven't visited your local Humane society lately, then it's time you do. It's time you see the excuses people give for disowning the animal they once chose to be part of their family. Be prepared though, because you're in for a surprise.
Dog owners are definitely responsible for the excess of abandoned or sheltered dogs. One reason could be this; the animal they welcomed into their home was free.
Typically, when you pay large sums of money for anything, you tend to regard it as important. When you purchase from breeders, you do just that. This is not to say that I don't believe that breeders aren't materialist people - they are. We don't need any extra animals in this world. Breeders love dogs because they make them money. Period. If that weren't true, they would be keeping them instead of selling them. Yet, this debate is about dog owners, so I'll stick with the topic at hand.
How often have you driven down a road and saw a sign that read, "free puppies"? Free anything is a bargain. People love bargains; they're cheap and you're getting something for almost nothing. However, dogs aren't just something; they're lovable, precious, kind animals that need to be treated with love and compassion. How much compassion do you think is put into something purchased as a bargain?
Don't like it? Throw it out. It didn't cost much anyway, did it? Unfortunately, that's exactly how people think about free animals. It didn't cost me anything, so what's the loss?
Rule of thumb: if you are giving away animals because you were too ignorant to have your pet spayed or neutered, then put a price on them. Make them as expensive as they are worth.
Priceless.
People don't discard priceless possessions.
When entering your neighborhood Humane society, pay close attention to the paperwork attached to the right or left of the cage or room the pet you are viewing is in. This paperwork describes the characteristics of the pet and most importantly, the reason the owner decided to get rid of it.
Before you do though, get out your Kleenex. Here is a recent list of what I read just the other day at the Humane society near my home.
Reasons for return:
* Dog barked too much
* Dog scratched too much
* Dog didn't like strangers
* Dog was too hyper
* Dog didn't match furniture (this one made me want to seek out the owner)
* Dog was too large
* Dog shed too much
.....and on, and on and on.
Are these not things comparable to the same annoyances a new baby brings us? Would we throw our own child away because they cried too much or didn't match our couch? No. We value human life. At least, most of the time.
Sometimes dog owners care so little about the pet they have, that they just release it into the wild to fend for themselves because they don't want it anymore. These animals, if they are lucky enough to be found by someone, end up dying anyway. You see, strays are one of the most frequently euthanized animals. There is no history with a stray; no way of knowing if they're good around children, no way of knowing if they are suitable for a family. Because of this, they must be put to sleep, because they are not good adoptable candidates. The Humane Society cannot take the chance of placing an animal with no history in a home where they may harm a human.
However, it is OK for humans to harm them.
A dog that may have one day been kind and gentle living with a family who threw them out, will die - only because no one knew how wonderful they were.
Thank God there are buildings called Humane societies because our world is not one. We are not a humane society, we are a society that wants something for nothing.
The next time you contemplate adopting a dog, think about it very carefully. If you wouldn't throw away your child, then don't plan that for your pet. They are, and should be part of your family.
If you can't handle it, don't even think about it. Leave the dogs for those who really love them.
Learn more about this author, Gabriella Samms.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Breeders
by Brenda Nelson
Created on: April 03, 2009
Every year shelters are forced to euthanize unwanted pets. Sometimes these are pups, who for whatever reason, did not find homes, sometimes these are mature dogs, abandoned by their owners because they became destructive. It is hard to say who is to blame for the number of excess animals, but ultimately more of the blame lies with irresponsible breeders who do not ensure their pups have permanent, knowledgeable homes, prior to producing them.
You see, a responsible breeder is one that not only takes their dogs to shows to prove their worthiness as breeding animals, but they also screen any potential buyers to prove their worthiness as owners. Only when they have enough responsible people lined up to purchase a pup do they even breed their dogs. They stand behind their dogs for their lifetime, and generally have contracts saying that if at any time the owner cannot care for the dog, it is to come back to them.
We can rule out responsible breeders from being part of the problem, however the majority of dog breeders are not responsible.
The majority of people who let their dogs have litters are either puppy mills, back-yard-breeders, ignorant owners (the types that want their children to experience the miracle of birth), or people who did not spay their dogs and found themselves with an "accidental" litter. One thing all these people have in common is that they do not thoroughly screen any buyers.
Screening a buyer means checking to see that the buyer knows what they are getting into by choosing to get a dog, and by choosing the right type/breed of dog for them. Screening means making sure the new owner is prepared financially and has the time to devote to the pup. It means checking to see if the person is allowed dogs where they live, and making sure that person is not going to allow a pet to reproduce irresponsibly.
If a breeder sells a high energy dog to a person who is looking for a lap dog, they are knowingly not only doing the buyer a disservice, but the dog as well. That dog is not going to get the mental attention it needs, and will very likely become destructive and will be handed over to the shelter at some point. As such the responsibility goes back to the breeder who simply wanted a sale, rather than to place the dog in a suitable environment.
True, the new owner should have done research, but for many, they trust that the information they are given on the pup they are about to buy, is genuine. There are numerous stories about clothing stores lying to get a sale, have we not been told how terrific we look in an outfit? Sellers of pets are sometimes no different. Yet since they are the ones selling, to the buyer it appears as though they would have knowledge. They seller is to blame for misleading the buyer in order to get a sale.
These breeders breed with no consideration as to what kind of home the pups get, as long as either they get rid of them (as with accidental litters) or get some cash for them (as will puppy mills and back-yard-breeders). Certainly they don't wish harm to the pups, but they generally do not do much to ensure they get a good "forever" home.
So, while the concluding fact is that most breeders are to blame for the excess of dogs, certainly dog owners would do well to gain some knowledge on their own prior to acquiring a pet. Not all dog breeders are reputable ones.
Learn more about this author, Brenda Nelson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Write and get published
Share with other writers
Polish your freelancing skills
Quality articles from proven freelancers
Exclusive rights, fast turnaround
Brand engagement, business blogging -- our writers do it all
INFORMATION
Copyright © 2002-2012 Helium, Inc. All rights reserved.
Helium.com: A Service of RR Donnelley