Paws for a Cause
A couple of weekends ago my mom, sister, and I went to an event to raise money for our local animal shelter. To say that I come from a family full of extreme animal lovers is an understatement. My mom and her sisters have been known to pick up every stray animal from here to Timbuktu - this includes my cousin once darting out into traffic to save a chicken who had fallen off a truck on the interstate! We all have way too many animals and have taken in more than our share in hopes of finding them a home (which usually just ends up being one of our own). We just can't turn down a pair of sad eyes and hungry little belly.
If you know me at all, then it's no secret how I feel about breeding or buying animals. I do not agree with either and make no bones about it. I know I'm in the minority with this, but I will stand by my convictions and would be glad to have a conversation with anyone about it any day! Seeing as we have a husky, I generally have no problem with the different breeds (other than certain ones that have been bred to a painful existence). My problem with breeding animals is that there are so so many homeless animals that are put to death in our country and around the world. Contrary to popular belief, this includes tons of purebred animals who were dumped. There is a broad spectrum of breeders, from good to bad. I know that those who breed one or two litters in a lifetime are not on the same level as a puppy mill, but I still can't bring myself to buy an animal when there are so many dying every single day. I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
In a perfect world everyone would take good care of their pets and have them all spayed and neutered. I would love to see stricter legislation that mandated this and definitely more punishments for animal abuse. I hope this will become a reality in my lifetime, but until then I try to help and educate anyway that I can. I firmly believe that if given the facts, less people would support breeders by buying animals. If you are looking for a specific breed of dog, please talk to me! I promise I can find any breed you want from a rescue group or even a local animal shelter! That's how we got our beautiful boy.
I recently took an opportunity to share my feelings with a young couple at Paws for a Cause. They were there with a young husky and I knew immediately that they were not my kind of people. It's funny how sometimes you can tell a difference between a "breeder" (I use that term loosely) and a rescuer by the way they treat their animals. After we had told them about rescuing Jasper from the animal shelter they still had the audacity to say they were hoping he wasn't neutered because they were looking for a male husky to breed with their female. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. I let them know in no uncertain terms that I didn't condone breeding and they were done talking to me at that point. Too bad, so sad!
There is no greater joy than rescuing an animal that may not have had a home or a life otherwise. It's something I am so passionate about and want other people to be passionate about too. I encourage you to do the research and see for yourself. Check out your local animal shelter, google rescue groups, and look online at sites like Petfinder. If you still feel like it's okay to buy from a breeder, check them out extensively first. And never, ever, buy a puppy from a pet store! EVER.
"Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die!"
In a perfect world everyone would take good care of their pets and have them all spayed and neutered. I would love to see stricter legislation that mandated this and definitely more punishments for animal abuse. I hope this will become a reality in my lifetime, but until then I try to help and educate anyway that I can. I firmly believe that if given the facts, less people would support breeders by buying animals. If you are looking for a specific breed of dog, please talk to me! I promise I can find any breed you want from a rescue group or even a local animal shelter! That's how we got our beautiful boy.
I recently took an opportunity to share my feelings with a young couple at Paws for a Cause. They were there with a young husky and I knew immediately that they were not my kind of people. It's funny how sometimes you can tell a difference between a "breeder" (I use that term loosely) and a rescuer by the way they treat their animals. After we had told them about rescuing Jasper from the animal shelter they still had the audacity to say they were hoping he wasn't neutered because they were looking for a male husky to breed with their female. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. I let them know in no uncertain terms that I didn't condone breeding and they were done talking to me at that point. Too bad, so sad!
There is no greater joy than rescuing an animal that may not have had a home or a life otherwise. It's something I am so passionate about and want other people to be passionate about too. I encourage you to do the research and see for yourself. Check out your local animal shelter, google rescue groups, and look online at sites like Petfinder. If you still feel like it's okay to buy from a breeder, check them out extensively first. And never, ever, buy a puppy from a pet store! EVER.
"Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die!"
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