New Year's Puppies

[Bruce Whitehead]

Brook, I know this is something you are passionate about, and I can respect that, but I really do not see Jason as some beast.

I say this not because I am sticking up for a friend, but rather I know him well... as a lover of his animals. I know Jason and his family have rehabbed many animals that i love (horses being one, and an animal that is NOT cheap to take on).

I have had animals that go in and out of heat with no chance of spaying in between, funny thing about animals, we cannot control that all the time, can we?

I once had a cat that was unspayable for close to two years... so blanket assumptions do not sit well with me (and yes, I have made MORE than my share over the years).

Conversely, I do not think that people need to address every assumption made about them. I think Jason has been very dignified in this thread, and I do commend him for that.

This is something I have seen so many times come up, that I can not even count. Everytime someone breeds a dog, the rescuers come out to voice their opinions. As someone that has invested undue time, money, and resources in rehabbing sick and dying snakes/reptiles I can relate.

But to draw a comparison between those that adopt a new pup and those that will adopt a rescue/shelter dog is not even close to being congruent. Even as someone that breeds reptiles I know that.

As people that breed animals we accept a very heavy price for what we can and cannot control. We safeguard as much as we can and we hope for the best, because we love this/these hobbies and our animals, but it is NOT failproof and we also accept a huge degree for what we cannot control.

Everytime I hold a burned and scarred snake I do not blame the breeder, I look to the person that had that animal and subjected it to such immense negligience. I focus my attention on educating new keepers, and teaching others how to buy, evaluate and invest responsibly. And yes... if you are going to be caring for an animal for 5-40 years, they are an investment.

Do we blame those that pass by an *inferior* animal. Never.

Yet we champion those that purchase purebred genetically weak progeny? It does not make sense to me. I am not saying that in any way to be difficult, I truly have never grasped that analogy. If you want genetically suscepticle (sp?) animals look no further than any purebred dog show for a never-ending list of animals with deep-rooted genetic inbred defects.

Fluctuating patella anyone? (to name just one). Shall we stop breeding the dogs entirely since it is such a high occurrence? (mark my vote as YES) Anyone breeding them is both negligent and grossly incompetent... i mean, regardless of how many stellar examples of the breed that are produced right?

Where do you think all those PUREBREDS are going when they are not fit for the ring? Yep, to your shelters and your inexperienced owners, who then saddle bills of THOUSANDS to fix the PURE breeding that is so cachet.

If a dog cannot even clean its own eyes without my help, then yeah...

I hope this response is as ambivalent as I feel. We all have an animal that inspires us to fight for them, and mine are snakes, yours is dogs.

Respectfully,
Bruce (AKA loftlizard)

P.S: I may not be around much (at all) but RZ AKA "the green screen" was where I learned to care for my beloved Ash, and I will always pay that forward.