On Dog Breeding and Ethics
There’s been a lot of talk lately about feminist blogger Jessica Valenti, and her decision to purchase a puppy from a breeder. It strikes me as curious, that because she’s a feminist she must also innately support an entire cadre of views associated with your “typical lefty.” I don’t really have a comment on Jessica’s choice, except that it was just that; her choice, (choice- isn’t that a familiar word?) and she’s provided a loving home to a charming puppy.
I can, however, tell you about my own experiences, as Alana and I have two purebred dogs. Though I hate PETA as an organization (another discussion) I’m staunchly anti-animal cruelty. Every cat I’ve ever owned has been adopted, the last two I purposefully chose for their un-adoptable traits. With a little love they both blossomed into wonderful pets. While adoption is the ideal choice, it’s not always suited to every situation.
Our first dog, Rowan, was bought sort of on impulse (I say sort of because we’d been thinking about getting a dog for some time). On our days off together we’d visit the local family-owned pet store just to play with the dogs. Alana’s family dog had been bought here when she was 11 years old, and on that day we happened to spot a puppy that was his spitting image. We’d been talking about getting a dog for a year, and decided we were ready for the commitment and brought her home with us. The pet store dealt with only non-puppy mill breeders, and Rowan seemed well cared for.
It wasn’t until later I thought our decision was perhaps a bit naive and ill-informed. The first night when we made dinner Rowan immediately started begging. It seemed strange to us a small puppy could already have a craving for people food she’d supposedly never had. Were the teenage boys at the store secretly sneaking her french fries on their breaks? The store given us a brand of food we’d never heard of, and we were slowly weaning her off of it, for fear of making her sick with too quick a change. She had a constant hacking, and we were terrified she had kennel cough. As it turns out a common trait in Cairn Terriers is an allergy to corn, (causing hacking) a popular ingredient in lower-quality dog foods, and the number one ingredient in the food she came with. I couldn’t understand why a place specializing in pets wouldn’t understand each breed’s individual needs. Isn’t that their obligation? We switched to a food with all natural ingredients and no filler. Rowan grew up to be a healthy, wonderful dog. We agreed if we got another dog it wouldn’t be from a pet store again. If anything I felt glad to have removed Rowan from that environment.
About a year later we decided it would be nice for Rowan to have a companion, and since Cairns are small in size and don’t shed much we thought what’s one more? Alana has terrible allergies, so unfortunately this made us unable to just adopt any needy dog, which we otherwise would’ve gladly done. I checked with the local shelters and there weren’t any terriers available. My next step was to approach a breed rescue. After I initially contacted them I was given a lengthy application to fill out, and told me there was a 6 -12 month wait. I didn’t mind waiting a while, but a year? Not to mention they practically wanted our first born child as insurance we’d be good pet owners. Adopting a dog is surprisingly a lot like adopting a child, they come visit your home first to make sure you have enough space, a decent back yard, dog proof enclosures, etc. It just wasn’t practical for us to jump through all those hoops.
I then began checking the paper to see if anyone had Cairn puppies. I found one woman selling them, and sure enough she had a single Cairn puppy left. We found out she brokered puppies from local breeders. More specifically, purebred dogs that didn’t quite meet the breed standard, not “show-quality.” With the purchase of a dog you were required to sign a document pledging to have the dog neutered as soon as it reached the appropriate age. We saw Harper and fell in love. We returned with Rowan’s old tiny collar and leash. When we arrived home with the pint-sized puppy, Rowan started repeatedly leaping straight into the air. She was so excited, she thought we’d brought her a new toy. We set wobbly Harper down on the floor, and Rowan began sprinting back and forth across the room with glee. She almost bulldozed Harper over a few times. Now we’re unable to separate them, even for a trip to the vet. (Thankfully our awesome vet is just around the corner and we can walk them both there.)
We felt much more confident in this woman than the pet store, she had dogs of her own and the puppies were free to romp together in her back yard. She was feeding them Eukaneuba, a seemingly good quality food, and was able to recommend a good spay/neuter clinic. As soon as we brought Harper home though, all of her food started going straight through her. Alana took her to the vet over and over, having Harper’s stool samples spun something like 5 times. The vet gave us a prescription low residue wet food, once we weaned her off of that and onto the Nutro Natural Choice Sensitive Stomach that Rowan was eating she was fine, and hasn’t had a problem since. (Unless of course she’s eaten something she wasn’t supposed to.) After a bad experience with the spay/neuter clinic we questioned the wisdom in dealing with this woman, but Harper ended up a happy and healthy dog. And the puppies the woman kept were all clean, well fed, and exercised.
If we ever got another dog we would probably choose to adopt another terrier through a service like PuppyFinder, or any local shelter that had a terrier available. But when we got Rowan and Harper that just wasn’t an option. We’ve given them a happy doggie life, and I can’t believe anyone would be offended by how we acquired them. Don’t these dogs need good homes also? I wasn’t looking to purchase a dog for showing or for investment, I was looking for a companion, for a member of our family. While I think adopting is often the best option, it certainly isn’t the only option. Yes a lot of dogs in shelters need a home. But not all breeders are irresponsible puppy mill owners, and allergies prevent some of us from being able to have mixed breeds. I’m happy so long as people are loving, responsible owners- as opposed to say entering them in underground dog fighting rings.
