Unintended Consequences

Oprah's show on puppymills was heartwrenching to watch - animals we love to love confined for their lifetimes, never to know a gentle word, loving touch, grass under their feet, what it is to be clean or something as simple as a enjoying playing with a toy.

For many, judging from our message board response, this was the first time they had ever seen some of the realities of the production end of things and the call to stop this business went out.

Again.

As someone who's been in the field for decades, I know that this issue is resistant to change and I think I might know why - at least a piece of why.

When the big push to spay and neuter pets began exactly I do not know. Being raised in the 1960's when we - an educated middle class family - had two cats who produced litters of kittens in the linen closet twice a year like clockwork, I'm guessing it was after that. Since pet trends often come on the heels of human ones, I'd guess that it was after birth control became a reality for us humans -- that would put it in the 70's.

For decades, this drive to spay and neuter had built until now, spaying and neutering is an assumed part of responsible pet ownership in many parts of the country. Pet people who do not are seen as suspect and/or woefully uninformed. It has been a huge success. So huge, that now, here in the Northeast, many rescues routinely bring in dogs to offer for adoption from the South and the Midwest where pet overpopulation is still more of an ongoing battle.

The era of getting your next dog or cat from your neighbor whose pet had a litter is long gone, around here anyway, and thank goodness! I am ashamed, in retrospect, of how many kittens our family cats routinely produced and understand full well that is is a bad thing for the cat, the kittens, and the community. All our animal companions are now neutered - without reservation or regret.

But the law of unintended consequence is in full play and now, where do people go who simply want a pet? As one e-mailer said to me: I don't want anything fancy just a healthy, friendly dog. I laughed out loud commenting to myself - don't we all, don't we all. He has no idea how rare a thing he is seeking.

Anyway, pet people have three basic sources for companions: breeders, rescues, and - the subject at hand - pet stores.

Breeders

There is a huge range in breeders from the enthusiastic but clueless to the experienced and informed. BYB I tend to call "producers" since that's what they do - produce pups. But for now, let's just talk breeders. Breeders - esp. good ones - generally have few pups a year, long waiting lists and very clear demands as to what sort of home is right for their dogs. As well they should! They know their dogs better than anyone else and know what has worked - and not worked - for their dogs in the past.

But the unintended consequence of this is that many modern familes are turned down or told to wait to get a pup. Some will accept this, some will wait, others will do neither. In some rarer and smaller breeds (who generally have smaller litters) pups can simply not be available.

Now, rejected or frustrated, the pet seeker might want to do a good thing and try to rescue a dog....


Rescues

Here we often run into much the same issues. In the well publized case of Ellen (tv host), Ruby (12 girl), Iggy (the rescue dog) and Mutts and Moms (the rescue) - the rescue's rules stated no one could adopt with children under the age of 14. Age limits for adoption are standard though generally younger than this.

If you work, you'll be rejected for a puppy or young dog. And who doens't work? There are a few but they are a "few"... literally. Fenced in yard? Other pets? References? Rescues have learned, often by hard experience, to have high standards.

"We are very strict. We turn down many, many applications," said Lawyer Lee Wheeler, of Hearts United in Nebraska. "It causes many hurt feelings, but in our opinion it is most important to protect the dogs."

Now, I happen to agree with a lot of these rules but that is not the point here - we're talking unintended consequences. With most families quickly rejected by both rescues and breeders, that leaves only two obvious answers (since not getting a dog isn't an obvious answer to people who want one).

Pet Stores and Bad Breeders.... these sources always have puppies and will generally sell "their product" to anyone with cash (or plastic) in their pocket.

I have no immediate solution to this. We can keep saying education, but we've been doing that for a long time and I don't know if a significant dent has been made. We can get upset with the pet store puppy buyers but being angry at and alienating people you're trying to educate is a poor plan.

Maybe Oprah's show will help. But unless other options are available to the average family for getting a dog, I fear that the very high standards good breeders and rescues set are the best thing that ever happened to the pet store.

I would love to hear creative ideas on how to break this cycle... thoughts?