How much is that moral superiority in the window?
Several years ago I noticed a trend. I’d be on the beach with my dog Betty when she’d meet another dog. They’d play and I’d get chatting with the dog’s owner. When I’d ask what kind of dog it was, the owner would tell me it was a “rescue dog.”
Did some doggie version of the Titanic sink off the Jersey Shore? Nope. It turned out this was a new term for what was known as “a mutt from the pound” when I was a kid.
[…]
The people running animal shelters found out some years ago that they had a problem, Reichman said.
“There was a very successful campaign to educate the public that if you are not intent on breeding, you should spay or neuter your pet,” she said. “That campaign has worked so well that the shelters in the Northeast generally don’t have any puppies anymore.”
The shelters could have declared victory and shut up shop. But in 2005 a new field opened up, said Reichman.
“It started innocently enough with Hurricane Katrina,” she said. “There were so many animals loose from the storm that people all over the country adopted them. After that died down, I think people realized there was a market. That’s when it started.”
The “it” in question is a massive and unregulated market in pets.
[…]
That points to the real problem with the attack on dog breeders and pet stores, which have been banned from selling dogs in many major cities. Under the guise of reducing the population of unwanted dogs, the traffickers are eliminating competition.
In many cities, you can’t purchase a puppy from nearby. But a pooch from Puerto Rico is yours for the asking — as long as you pony up.
Dr Arnold Goldman, a speaker at the most recent NAIA conference related to the 14,000 dogs (documented by the State of CT) that were imported into his State in 2012. (from an attendee’s personal notes from his speech:)
….They found that PetFinder was not necessarily honest about problems, and people who adopted these dogs imported were not ready to deal with the accompanying illnesses, i.e. respiratory illnesses, parasites, deformities. 14,000 dogs were imported into CT in 2012. How do these imports affect animals, dogs, already in the State? Diseased dogs were imported into CT from Katrina; again, PetFinder wasn’t honest, so the new owners have been dealing with issues. The modern outlaw is “The Dog Runner”.. someone with a laptop and letterhead would search PetFinder, broker a deal, then sell the animals at big ‘adoption’ events in CT – big dually trucks with long trailers pull into a parking lot at 7am with crowds waiting on a Sunday morning. One particular company, P.E.T.S, has 7 of these trucks. Laptop person never even sees the animals. 14,000 dogs in the rescue pipeline – and in comparison, CT only has 3,000 in pet stores. Another avenue is the adoption events, about two dozen a year on the East Coast alone, in cooperation with the big box stores of Petco, Pet Smart, and crowds show up for the events, put on by the SPCA/CT which is a one man operation. Lots of money in this.. $125 transport fee, $60 vet exam, and sell for $450 – $650. Use emotionally manipulative terminology – ‘adoption’, ‘pet parent’, ‘furbaby’, ‘guardian’. ….
The trade is so lucrative, commercial breeders are now breeding and selling dogs into the “rescue” supply chain.
perhaps the rights to life groups can adopt the same pattern for humans.
Im a stranger in a strange land
Was it not the movie “The Sandpiper’ with Steve McQueen where he was in a USA gunboat moving up the Yangsee River. In a scene McQueen innocently made a suggestion on how some process could be made more efficient. His Chinese helper said no you cannot do that as it will steal from an affected crewmember’s rice bowl. My memory could be weak but that thought never left me.
A standard for measurement in any function is to determine who benefits by the process and who loses by any suggested change. In many cases CEO’s take a lot of flak by making across the board ‘cuts’ in their companies. The reality that they might understand is that anything less often results in sabotage of the objective. This is the situation in government. It becomes obvious that the status quo wins in the majority of situations. Government employment grows as does their budgets. It usually makes no dif what the ideology provides direction. I caveat that assertion by mentioning the ‘Iron Lady’ who was such a strong force in conservative thought.
If there is no conviction for balancing books then there is no ‘guiding force’ to deter those who wish to secure their ‘rice bowl’ or in fact enlarge it. I suggest that the majority of those who run for MLA or MP have no outstanding credentials for that position. Most are not financially literate and are thusly subverted in their responsibilities. Their standard refrain is to contract a ‘study’ of the issue.
“Puppy mills” have been outsourced just like the environmental effects of oil & gas exploration.
Just as immoral as the puppy mills.
I have noticed that the rate at which well-intentioned Leftist policies crash and burn is accelerating. Its like they all put the pedal to the metal at the same time.
” the owner would tell me it was a “rescue dog.”
That is code for ” Ain’t I a caring person. Acknowledge that now.”
At $400 to $600 a head, you can buy low end purebred dogs. These are animals that won’t make it in the show ring, or trials field, but are perfectly suitable as pets. With a breeder, you have a chance to do your homework, look into the bloodlines, talk with other owners of that line, and have a chance at knowing what you are getting.
You can love any dog. Love a good one.
Back when we ran a dog discussion board, we refused to have a section for Rescues. Rescue attracted a lot of lunatics and drama. I didn’t want that on my board. Rescue Mills aren’t much better than puppy mills, and as the article points out, they will lie through their teeth to you.