We Call A "Puppy Mill" By Any Other Name

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The problem with getting animals from the pound is you are adopting someone's problem in most cases. My second dog was a 6-8 month shepherd (& wolf?) mix from the pound, and he was awful- shredded aluminum cans, was not housebroken, vaulted over couches in pursuit of our housecats, and ran away constantly! I can't tell you how many times I was late for work because I had to find the dog. Good thing I had an understanding boss. This was before I had kids, and I was brainwashed enough by the AR's that I felt an animal was a lifetime commitment no matter what. It took a couple of years, but he was ultimately a good dog.

My second pound pup was a Pomeranian adopted after we lived here on the ranch. Funny thing, but living in the country changes your perspective toward critters. If they don't contribute, or at least "do no harm" they don't last long. This dog was adorable, but a sneakier animal you have never seen. She would kill chickens at the drop of a hat, but not if she was in your line of sight. Turn your back and walk 30 feet away, and she was on them in an instant. She would also steal food from the counters, but again, not if you were right there. Step out the door, and kiss that cube of butter goodbye! She quickly found herself back at the shelter.

Contrast that with the litter of stockdogs we just raised. They had the benefit of well trained parents, and they were not destructive (aside from tearing up part of a phone book that we use to start the fire in our firepit), were well adjusted and interacted well with a variety of animals, and I have gotten rave reviews from all of their owners about how easily trainable and loyal they are. :) We are actually keeping two from the litter, and the last pup is being picked up this Saturday- he will be a working dog used on cows. All of the others are in pet homes.

Many of the owners had to drive several hundred miles round trip to get their pups, and were more than happy to do so. With an asking price of $200 to $250 it was affordable for them to travel to get a quality dog (albeit a cross breed), raised in a healthy environment with an emphasis on proper socialization and good health.
 
I agree MSD I think a person has to be very carefull even when getting a dog from the pound, but try not to rule it out for pets. I don't think cross breeds are a bad thing with working dogs and hunting dogs, I think they should be bred for soundness and ability to do their job. I won't turn down a dog just because it's mixed breed.
 
akane":3c3soefx said:
Some people (all the major animal rights groups) have decided that eliminating pet ownership is the best way to stop pet ownership problems. Sadly the public is deceived by these groups and the celebrities have made it worse by supporting such groups and donating tons of money.
Click to expand...

And it's not just limited to pet ownership. The Missouri Proposition referenced in the article defines a pet as "any animal living in or near the home of its owner" (yes, define "in or near"--pretty big loophole, don't you agree?), and HSUS has long opposed the onwership of livestock under those same boundaries/confines. ANY domesticated animal, to include farm animals, is targeted by the group, and HSUS wants them eliminated within one generation.

That's the sad truth which is hidden behind all the weeping puppy ads we're now seeing on TV every day. While I despise the mistreatment of animals, I also recognize and accept that humans were given domain over them for a reason, and the teeth design structures of a human being proves it.
 
Then there are the 'rescue' groups that are transporting animals from one end of the country to another...because the second area has too Few animals in the shelters. I actually wonder just what health screenings are done Before the animals are relocated... or will it be a huge (and expensive ) surprise to the new owner ???
 
There is nothing wrong with breeding for profit - but profit over the animal's health and well being is not something I, personally, want to support. Supporting puppy mills is not acceptable to me. I am entitled to my views on this.

Shelter pets can be a problem - but plenty of expensive purebred (or not) puppies are also a problem. It sounds like you've done a great job with your puppies don't get me wrong!

Anecdote for anecdote there is probably as much evidence that shelter animals are wonderful companion animals as they are problems. I can find crappy personal essays that support both points of view but can find nothing substantive done to research this. I will keep looking but really do suspect that people's personal preference will make reading another point of view difficult.

It's not a black and white issue - in my experience most pets in shelters are there through no fault of their own .. but again i don't have current empirical evidence for this. At the shelter I worked at I did a small study and about 80 percent of the cats and dogs were surrendered for family issues about 20 percent were behavioral. With the small animals it was closer to 95 percent family issues.
 
My cat, Marilla, came from a Humane Society shelter. She had been surrendered (just the day before!) because a family member had allergies. She was one year old. It was clear that she had been well raised and trained. She has been a wonderful pet and I am grateful every day that we have her.
 
Allergies and moving are the two most common reasons given ...


you and marilla were lucky to find each other .... plenty of examples like yours in my house too ;)
 
I don't think most people are truthful when they relinquish a pet to the shelter.

"Eats couches, dumps the trash, pees on the furniture, growls at the mailman, bites small children, kills the cats, excavates the yard... but otherwise, he's a really nice dog!"

Not very adoptable.

I think most people that have well trained, well adjusted animals go to the effort of finding them a home, and the shelter is a last resort.

That is not to say that there aren't any good animals there- just that I think the odds are stacked against you. But if you are willing to spend the time and effort to "rehabilitate" or retrain an animal, then by all means do so! :)
 
Personally I'm more interested in supporting responsible breeders who go through steps to make sure their animals never end up in shelters rather than perpetuating the problem that exists in shelters. My decision was made concrete when we agreed to foster shibas for a nearby rescue and the rescue went through hoops and $1000s to save a bunch of puppy mill shibas after getting a call the animals were being put down if not taken. They didn't shut down the puppy mill. They didn't slow down breeding. They took the animals that were too old to sell and made room for the people to breed more cage raised dogs with no social skills or training. Those dogs were not shibas either. I don't know what you want to call them but they'd lost all breed characteristics and were no better than mutts. If shelters only took in individual animals abandoned by owners who had a good reason then I would support shelters but all they do is keep the irresponsible breeders breeding by doing "rescues" like that. I may still foster but all my future permanent animals are coming from a good breeder. Trying to keep shelters empty is a dead end road unless you attack the problem from the beginning and stop them getting there in the first place by only encouraging breeders who put in the effort to make their animals are as likely as possible to get along in every home they go to and turn away buyers who aren't suitable.
 
Some of the states have done such a good job on spay / neuter programs (like Colorado) - that the shelters have to import dogs and have waiting lists for those that they do import. Part of the problem is horders, that feel as if they are the only ones that can care or that do care for the animals.
Edmonton rabbit hoarder fined for keeping 500 animals
'One of the most dramatic and horrific scenes,' says prosecutor
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ ... -fine.html
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The middle of this article has more links
Animal hoarding - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/201 ... g-faq.html
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From my blog
Animal Groups:
Many seem to guilt people into going to heroic efforts for animals, which may not help the animals quality of life or the caretakers of those animals. There are some of the animal groups that protest how animals are housed, but in their avocation of heroic efforts and some of the animal care / housing they advocate as being beneficial, they support the very chemical companies (and those standards) that they are protesting against.

Since at least 2003 animal groups / rescues have imported animals for pets. (US News link) Many have been animals too young to have their first immunizations and some have brought diseases and rabies to areas of the US that have not seen rabies for years. The groups have done write ups about commercial pet stores, while they become brokers of animals without the over-sight that commercial pet stores or commercial animal breeders have had. Instead of supporting local animal shelters adopting older dogs by helping people learn basic obedience training, they have become brokers, importing puppies from other states and other countries.<br /><br />__________ Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:45 pm __________<br /><br />http://prismnews.weebly.com/blog.html
 
MamaSheepdog":23utu9n8 said:
I don't think most people are truthful when they relinquish a pet to the shelter.

"Eats couches, dumps the trash, pees on the furniture, growls at the mailman, bites small children, kills the cats, excavates the yard... but otherwise, he's a really nice dog!"

Not very adoptable.

I think most people that have well trained, well adjusted animals go to the effort of finding them a home, and the shelter is a last resort.

That is not to say that there aren't any good animals there- just that I think the odds are stacked against you. But if you are willing to spend the time and effort to "rehabilitate" or retrain an animal, then by all means do so! :)
Click to expand...

or find a perfectly easy well trained animal it's a good place to look too ...
 
Love my Pound Dog Jake. He's a NJ purebred mutt. Who was abused and at 3 months thrown out of a car at 45 miles an hour on a drug bust. Thankfully the police found him and his sister in the bag and brought them to the shelter. We went through massive paperwork and eval on our behalf because at that young age he was deemed violent with 4 stab wounds.

12 years later, he's the Prime Tribe Member. So sometimes it works out. And it's not just someone dumping their dog because they got tired of it.

Karen
 

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