It's Dog or Nothing

All Things Great Pyrenees

The Change for Animals: Collaboration

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Passion is a wonderful thing when working with animals.

I’m an extremely passionate person and have very strong beliefs, especially when it comes to animals. I know I’m not the only one.

The problem occurs when our passions don’t line up.

I am a rescue advocate and hope for a future where puppy mills, backyard breeders, and hobby breeders don’t exist. However, I also support the reputable breeders who are working so hard to remove genetic defaults and improve a breed’s health and temperament. In my opinion, both categories are necessary.

Not everyone feels this way, and that’s okay.

While I completely respect an individual’s ability to make his/her own decisions, are we really able to be the change for animals when such controversy exists among ourselves?

Constantly berating the group that doesn’t agree with our viewpoint takes away from our ability to focus on what is truly important; the animals. I often wonder if our success in improving the world for animals would be dramatically increased if we worked on accepting differing viewpoints and improving collaboration.

We are all entitled to our own opinions, but at the end of the day let’s remember we all agree on one thing…

The animal’s health and well-being is our top priority.

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Comments

  2. I don’t think it has to be an either/or situation and agree with you that collaboration is necessary. Until shelters are not over-run and Craigslist isn’t flooded with puppy ads, though, I’m always going to advocate for adoption. (And as someone who has adopted extremely challenging dogs, I’m also the first to admit that it isn’t for everyone.) I hope for a time when animal shelters aren’t needed and all dogs are wanted from the moment they are born into loving homes.

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    • I completely understand where you’re coming from. I just have a hard time with the either/or extremist viewpoint. A few months ago, a rescue transport opportunity came up that I was excited to help with. Pretty much all of the details were figured out, but the individual coordinating the rescue wanted me to fill out a volunteer application as a formality. When she saw that both of my dogs are from a breeder, she no longer wanted to work with me. These are the instances where accepting another’s viewpoint and collaborating are important.

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      • I think full-time rescue people get really mired in the black and white of things, and they see so many awful things on a daily basis that I try to have compassion for them as well. Adopting Ruby and Boca from truly deplorable pasts and working closely with their rescue organization gave me the perspective to see why rescues can seem so prickly. You’re absolutely right, though, that it should go both ways and that in most cases a middle ground can be found.

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  4. Having both rescued and purchased responsibly bred pets throughout my lifetime, I appreciate your call out for a truce between extremists. I often feel admonished by the “adopt, don’t shop” message but I appreciate the “opt to adopt” phrase. Of course I looked into adoption first and I automatically think, “doesn’t everyone?!?” But everyone does not. Just like how everyone does not think through the next 10+ years when bringing a dog home or the repercussions of not spaying and neutering. So I remember that the extremists messages are not directed at me. They are a way of getting through the thick skulls of people who really don’t get “it.” One of those “its” being that millions of dogs are euthanized every year. And you are correct that no matter which side of the breeding and adopting issue a person is on, at the end of the day all that matters is saving those animals.

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    • Perfectly stated, Bethany. My post is not meant to guilt people who’ve chose to go to a breeder – heck, I have considered it myself – but to reach people who may be on the fence or who simply don’t know. I think people should have a good reason to choose a dog from a breeder over a shelter animal, and consider the adoption option.

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      • I never got the sense from your post that you were trying to guilt people who chose a breeder. Although Mauja and Atka are both from a breeder, when someone asks me about a pyr, I give them several rescue resources. Hopefully this can steer them toward adoption and away from backyard breeders. Not everyone understands the difference between a byb and a reputable breeder so I hope to prevent them from supporting the problem.

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        • If only more education effort went into teaching consumers how to buy from a reputable breeder! *sigh* This point leads back to my not necessarily minding the “adopt don’t shop” slogan because when you get put on the usual one year or more waiting list for a dog or puppy from a reputable breeder, you’re not doing the same thing as perusing Craigslist or a pet shop for an impulse buy!

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  6. “Opt to adopt!” I haven’t heard that before. I like it.

    I agree that berating people rarely leads to change. I had a very bad experience with a prong collar, for example, so when I see them on dogs, or puppies, especially, I want to say, “No no! What are you doing?” But instead I say, if given the chance or asked, “My experience was … What worked for me was …”

    And hope that rational minds will prevail.

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    • I much prefer the “opt to adopt” slogan because it’s not threatening. Giving personal anecdotes can also allow a person to actually listen to advice rather than feel attacked by it.

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  7. Fantastic post, I couldn’t agree more. It drives me crazy when people bash a shelter, responsible breeder, or animal welfare organization because they don’t like their process or bureaucracy, or because they have a different opinion on how best to eliminate bad breeding and irresponsible ownership. I value RESPONSIBLE breeders, I’d hate to see purebred dogs that have been part of our history, society and culture for thousands of years be obliterated. Puppy mills and backyard breeders are bad, they are the ones contributing to overcrowded shelters and pet euthanasia. Everyone deserves to RESPONSIBLY acquire the dog of their dreams.

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  9. I totally agree with you Kelsie! All of my current pets are from the shelter, however, I am not against responsible breeders. We are looking into a breeder for our next dog. For one, I need to make perfectly sure that the next dog we bring home will work with the dogs I have. The breed we are looking at is whippets. Sight hounds were bred to hunt and work together so they rarely have dog/dog issues. I never want to have to crate and rotate my dogs out. For two, I am wanting some very specific things. For three, I am very much over Phoenix being dog reactive/selective and the two puppies I raised previously (our family dogs) never had any issues. You just never know what kind of issues the shelter dog you get is coming with. Also, Phoenix and Zoe both get along better with puppies and I think I will be more successful introducing the next one if she/he is young.

    I would still consider another shelter dog at another time but I’m pretty sure my next dog will be from a responsible breeder.

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    • I didn’t know that about Whippets! That makes me want one too! I hear you about wanting a better guarantee of a more stable dog. Dog/dog issues are so hard – I had them with my last two dogs and it’s probably one of the few reasons I’d ever consider re-homing a dog. I’m so grateful for the wonderful dynamic between Ruby and Boca and it’s what swayed me to keep Boca. I refuse to crate and rotate and think it causes undue stress for the dogs and humans involved.

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      • Dog/dog issues are super hard. Kaeto was very unpredictable around dogs. He usually could only tolerate puppies, which is why we went the breeder route for Mauja.

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  12. Great post. It is nice to recognize that with an open mind disagreement can bring opportunity to learn more and hopefully move a cause forward for the betterment of all.

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  13. When I first started blogging about Honey who I adopted from a top-notch, hobby breeder I expected some angry comments. But they never came. I’m glad that I live in a corner of the internet where people understand the importance of collaboration.

    And because of the excellent start Honey’s breeder gave her, we’ve been able to foster many dogs who needed a calm, patient, and friendly dog to help them.

    So yes, we may disagree. But as long as we keep working toward the same goals we will do a lot for animals.

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  14. Perfect. I think your post ties in with what I wrote today…that we need to quit being angry at everyone and pointing the blame, and focus on the positive and doing things to help instead.
    I’m honestly torn on the breeder issue. We got two of our current dogs from breeders…one regular and one back yard. The latest came from a rescue. There’s honestly pros and cons to all of it I think. But if everyone was breeding for good and healthy dogs, that might be the answer. The problem is that there are bad people in every one of those categories.

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  15. What is wrong with hobby breeders? They are among the best I know and very responsible. Hobby breeders are the ones who maintain the integrity of the breeds. Most also support their breed’s rescue.

    I think issues arise because many shelters are big businesses now. They compete for money against other shelters. In some ways they compete with breeders. They now place dogs out of most pet stores. There is bound to be some friction.

    But I agree. It is better to work together than to point fingers.

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    • I think we have a misalign in our definition of hobby breeders. What you are describing is how I would categorize a reputable breeder. They focus on removing genetic faults and improving temperament.

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  17. Oooops, I have been using the Adopt, Don’t Shop slogan for a while now – I guess I was just under the impression that the “shop” was referring to purchasing from a pet store. :/

    Obviously, I am all about rescue/adoption, but I definitely see a need for reputable breeders. Riley is from a shelter, but we bought our first puppy from a breeder. I was not involved with rescue at the time and didn’t know I should look for signs of a good breeder…though in retrospect, he was very good at his job and super trustworthy – thank goodness!

    When we get a new pet, it will probably be a rescue, but that’s only because I really love senior/special needs animals. If I had a specific breed in mind that was high-maintenance or known for being poorly bred with disastrous results (if that makes any sense at all), I would for sure seek out a reputable breeder so I’d know I was getting a healthy dog.

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  21. That’s a nice post about all of us trying to work together. I very much admire pet advocates whether it’s to support responsible breeding or adopting rescues. Thanks for the insight Kelsie!

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  22. I manage a rescue and have seen judgement passed for so many reasons (prong/shock collars, breed myths, etc.) within our rescue, between rescues, and with adopters. No matter the situation, I try so hard to keep my own assumptions in check. Thankfully, further communication has turned me around in some cases merely because I kept an open mind. Other times my suspicions have been confirmed, but talking it out merely ensures that a door should remain closed.

    One example of a closed door opening involved a woman who was perfect on paper but for one thing. She checked the box saying that she hadn’t licensed her current dog. When I called to ask her the reason, she said she didn’t think she had to. Rather than reject her, I explained that it was town law, thinking a simple education might make a difference. Funny thing… further questioning revealed she had licensed the dog after all. In her haste to get the adoption rolling, she confused the word license with certificate when she read our questionnaire – thinking we were asking if the dog was a certified therapy dog.

    Right now, the woman, her husband and sons are enjoying this beautiful dog as much as the dog enjoys her new family.

    An open mind and communication is key in all rescue related situations. Connection via these means is the only way to make a real difference without alienating somebody who can add value to rescuing these animals despite our differences, perceived or not.

    Thank you for stating this so poignantly.
    Thank you for blogging the change.

    Kim C.
    BTC4animals.com

    Reply

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