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More problems for puppy-mill retail outlets, this time from Best Friends
By Gina Spadafori
December 10, 2008
When the HSUS linked Petland to puppy-mills, those horrific factory farms for the churning of puppies in miserable conditions for the retail and direct-to-consumer trade, the Petland chain immediately launched an attack on the HSUS. “They don’t have any shelters,” “They raise money” and so on.
In other words, blah blah blah.
As I wrote in an earlier comment, we have had a lot of issues here with the HSUS, especially with regards to what seems to be an interest in co-opt the “no kill” movement for the purposes of raising money without changing the shelter industry’s it so heavily influences to change its we-must-kill-them-to-save-them way of doing business. And of course, we have a continue problem with the vilification of reputable, ethical breeders, the lumping of those who work to protect our heritage breeds in to the puppy-mill scum as “greedy breeders” all. (As many readers know, after 30 years of planning I am finally getting ready to breed a litter this spring. So far, I figure I’m in the hole some tens of thousands of dollars for the care of three generations of dogs before the one I’m breeding. On this potential litter alone, I will make not one dime, and will lose several thousand dollars. If I’m a “greedy breeder,” I’m doing it wrong. There IS a difference, and it comes down to caring about the dogs and the people who’ll live with them. Puppy-mill scum and their retail and Website outlets care about profit.)
Is this HSUS changing? Or just appearing to? Time will tell.
When it comes to puppy mills, though, the HSUS has been on the side of the angels for more 50 years, with wave after wave of investigations that bring the puppy-mill issue right in front of the only people who can save animals from this sick, immoral industry: Puppy-buyers, or rather, non-buyers of pet-store dogs.
With the puppy-mill industry busy attacking the HSUS, it’s interesting to see what they’re going to say about what Best Friends is doing in L.A., working to make the silly celebrity zone a puppy-mill free zone. From Best Friends, which celebrated the pending closure yesterday in front of the Pet Love store:
American consumers are becoming more aware of puppy mills these days, which is causing some Los Angeles pet shops to go out of business.
The latest is Pet Love, a Beverly Hills pet retailer that for 15 years has been located in the upscale Beverly Center. This week, the Beverly Center said it will terminate Pet Love’s lease sometime in the next few months.
Pet Love’s eviction from the Beverly Center could become part of a national trend, according to Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal rescue organization that has been educating Los Angeles residents about puppy mills, mass commercial breeding operations that supply pet shops with inventory.
[...]
Best Friends’ chief executive officer Paul Berry said developments in Los Angeles send a strong message to pet shops across the country.
“Our work here in Los Angeles sends the strongest possible message everywhere that pet shops are supplied by puppy millers,” Berry said. “If a pet store can be closed down in the iconic Beverly Center, it can happen anywhere in the country – New York, Chicago, Boston and other large metro areas.”
“Puppy mills, sadly, are legal in the United States and because of this, the general population has not been aware of the conditions under which the puppy store animals are bred,” Berry said. “We have been involved in many puppy mill rescues where parents of puppies, along with their offspring, are forced to live in cramped cages without socialization and little or no medical care. It has to stop and our campaign, we believe, is making a difference across the country.”
Last summer, Best Friends met with owners of Pet Love to propose converting the shop to a business model that rescued animals and put them up for adoption. But Oreck said Best Friends was turned down—and threatened with litigation.
However, the residents of Los Angeles have spoken and the Beverly Center heard them.
“Our goal has never been to put Pet Love out of business,” Oreck said. “We just wanted them to stop selling animals that come from puppy mills and other irresponsible breeders. We would happily guide and support them in that endeavor.”
A-Puppy-Store-Free L.A. volunteers have also established a regular presence at in the Westside Pavilion to educate the public about Barkworks, another store that obtains their puppies from puppy mills, as well as the independent yet high-profile store, Pets of Bel Air. Best Friends will be expanding into other malls in the coming weeks and will continue to increase peaceful protests until consumer fraud, cruelty and shelter euthanasia associated with the irresponsible breeding and selling of pets in pet stores has ended.
Well now, Best Friends has a shelter. A sanctuary, in fact, and they’d proven more than willing to take in animals no one else will take a chance on. So, it’ll be interesting to see the spin the puppy-mill industry puts on this one.
In the meantime, if you’re considering a puppy this holiday season, don’t support puppy-mill retail outlets or direct-to-the-public-puppy-mill sites. Adopt from a shelter, or buy from a reputable breeder.
Shunning the puppy-mill industry is the only thing that will stop the cruelty once and for all.
Image: Elizabeth Oreck of Best Friends. Now, could we get these groups to accept that there ARE reputable, ethical breeders? The choices aren’t simply “Don’t shop — adopt!” We absolutely support shelter and rescue adoptions, but we also support people who want a particular kind of dog or cat, purchased from a reputable, ethical breeder. (NOT a commercial breeding operation, even a “model” clean one.)
One thing at a time, I guess.
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All good news. There’s a “puppy farm” nearby that I was curious about so I went one day. Huge barn, sectioned off into cages, litters of different breeds. The *showroom* seemed quite clean, but just…ugh…you instantly got the impression that they were little dollar signs in the cages and nothing more. No mothers to be seen, of course.
Re: your last point there. I was just saying to a friend last night that although I love my little mutt I can see wanting a pure bred. Sometimes I get a little jealous of the stories of hunt trials and coursing and the talk of watching a dog “do what he was bred to do” that goes with owning a particular breed. Granted I know I can “play at” about anything with my border collie/lab/whatever, but he can’t be a part of a lot of the sanctioned clubby stuff, which is kind of a bummer…to me, he doesn’t much care, I guess.
Comment by Lori — December 10, 2008 @ 9:13 am
I think breeders have a few problems, including:
1. Everyone who breeds considers themselves a responsible, ethical breeder. I am put in mind of the IL Gov. standing with the factory workers in protest on Monday, saying ‘go ahead, tap my phones’ and being arrested on Tues, hearing that his tapped phones had yielded evidence of a “crime spree”. Obviously HE thinks he’s ethical but MANY people are going to sneer, “Politicians - hmph!” as if they are all the same.
2. We have no rhyming catchphrase like “Don’t buy while shelter pets die” or “Adopt, don’t shop”. Without the rhyming catchphrase, we’re just spinning our wheels.
Comment by slt — December 10, 2008 @ 9:23 am
You know you can run USDAA agility with a mixed breed, don’t you?
Titles don’t matter to me. I don’t like dog shows much — they’re a serious time suck, and boring to me — but I love the working events.
When McKenzie’s “championship” certificate came in the mail, it was one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life. (It’s just something you just have to have if you’re going to consider breeding, for the most part.)
Now, a successful field day with my dog… bliss! I see the same with my friends who run agility. It’s true accomplishment, fun for both human, dog and together as a team.
Yes, some of my best friends are those I train or otherwise connect with through dog events. But really, what I want is for people to not get bound up by the politics of “purebred bad, rescue good.” For some people, a miniature poodle puppy is just the ticket. For others, a terrier mix.
Blaming “greedy breeders” for shelter overpopulation is bullshit shorthand by animal-rights extremists who can’t wait to eliminate all domestic animals. By the same token, otherwise reputable breeders who side with puppy-millers because “we all must stand together against animal-rights extremists” have their heads screwed on backwards. And they make it easy for animal-rights extremists to lump all breeders together because some breeders do it themselves.
As we’ve said so often here, we don’t howl with anyone’s dogma here. We support reputable, ethical breeders and the protection of our heritage breeds. I personally support the opening the stud books, with planned outcrosses to fix the genetic problems in purebred dogs. I also support radical changes to some breeds (hello Peke, Pug, etc.) to allow them to live a normal healthy life. And of course, I do not now and never will support breed-specific legislation or breed bans, must less forced spay-neuter laws.
But not will I EVER side with puppy-mill scum, never support an industry that cranks puppies out as cheaply as possibly and sell them to anyone with a credit card. Hell isn’t hot enough for anyone in this industry.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 10, 2008 @ 9:31 am
I did vaguely know mixed breeds could compete in agility. I’ve been working on things here and there with Kasey but I read that you should really wait until they are done growing before getting too hard into anything like agility, and he’s only 16 months old. I have taught him “over it” with a small gate. :O) I’m excited about the prospect of doing agility.
People want so badly for things to be black and white. But they just aren’t. Kinda reminds me of the cartoons where the good superhero would have to work with the bad guy to get at the worse guy. Then he went back another day to tackle the bad guy.
Comment by Lori — December 10, 2008 @ 9:46 am
I think what they’re doing sounds great- but I have to admit, I quit sending any money to best friends the month their magazine ran an “adopt a mutt, purebreds are all unhealthy, unnaturally exaggerated, and inbred!” with a picture of a perfectly lovely sound little corgi.
Comment by Cait — December 10, 2008 @ 10:01 am
“Blaming “greedy breeders” for shelter overpopulation is bullshit shorthand by animal-rights extremists who can’t wait to eliminate all domestic animals…”
Thank you, Gina, spared me the trouble.
I’m on the fence about Best Friends, since their conference in 2006 where they agreed that there are ‘dangerous breeds’. I’ve met and chatted with a couple of the higher-ups and their operation sounds very impressive and interesting. I’d like to visit some time to see how it all works.
What really needs to happen isn’t the closing down of pet shops, imo. The public needs to know that reputable breeders of purebred dogs will absolutely NOT place their pups this way.
How about:
“You wouldn’t get hitched without meeting the folks, so why would you do it with a dog?”
or
“Fools rush in - don’t buy a purebred from a pet shop. True love is worth the wait.”
Too long but you word wizards might fix ‘em.
Comment by Selma — December 10, 2008 @ 10:33 am
“When McKenzie’s “championship” certificate came in the mail, it was one of the most anticlimactic moments of my life. (It’s just something you just have to have if you’re going to consider breeding, for the most part.)”
Why? Can someone explain this to me? I have never understood the logic of only breeding “champion” dogs. What, exactly, do such titles signify about what really matters (at least to me): health and longevity? If one is a conscious, ethical individual, knowledgeable about one’s chosen breed, isn’t this enough by way of qualification? I know of quite a few “sanctioned” show breeders who seem never to have read their respective breed club’s codes of ethics and/or lack even the most rudimentary knowledge of canine genetics.
Comment by Lisa — December 10, 2008 @ 12:06 pm
When breeders show their dogs, their dogs get judged as excellent examples of the breed (or not) by people other than the people who already love them. Just like even the best writers need editors to tell them what needs to be cut, even the best breeders benefit from having (relatively!) objective third parties tell them, “That’s a nice dog, but it’s not breeding quality.”
Being part of a community, also, helps keep you on track. And if you don’t participate in the community, given that any given breeder is not all that likely to have the best stud for a given bitch, or vice versa, where to do you find that ideal mate for your dog, if you aren’t out there, participating, getting to know people, letting other people judge your dogs, and judging theirs, so that you can find and make those matches?
For the sporting, herding, and working breeds, there are performance events that serve many of the same functions. For companion breeds, though, there’s nothing except conformation that lets the dogs be judge against other dogs as members of a particular breed.
And, I’ve never forgotten a local case, it involved a cat breeder. She had been breeding carefully, and showing, actively participating—and then she started to fade away. When she hadn’t been to shows for several months, the other breeders that knew her started making phone calls. They finally got local authorities to go pay a visit. The woman had slipped into serious depression, and her cats had been breeding indiscriminately. Without saying what breed, I’ll only say that it was a breed where that’s a seriously bad idea. Both she and the cats needed help.
That’s an extreme case, but honestly, I don’t know of anyone who has bred without participating with their animals in SOME kind of regular competition, who hasn’t sled gradually downhill as a breeder. Or, not so gradually.
Comment by Lis — December 10, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
How much a “Ch.” counts in breeding decisions varies by breed, as Lis notes, and in any case, it’s important for SOMEONE ELSE to look at your dogs, for the reasons she also noted.
In this case, mine is a sporting breed whose breeders almost uniformly fight to keep from splitting into show/field lines. Our dogs can hunt. So, we’re not talking about breeding “only champion dogs.” In fact, the championship is about the least of what’s going on here.
CH. is like a basic requirement in flatcoats, I guess, like a high-school diploma. Would you breed without one? Yes, in some cases and for some reasons. But having one does shows that a few people who should know something think she looks like a flatcoat. We already knew that, of course, because we have had people we really respect tell us so as well. But the more the merrier.
But McK wouldn’t even be considered for breeding were it not for a TON of other things, including the fact that her healthy, long-lived father was one of the top field trial dogs in Europe, her mother is a top-placing field dog (and champion), and several of her sibs are top field dogs. Another’s the fastest agility dog in the world.
Every dog in her extended family is smart, hard-working, biddable and full of drive. They’re also sound and healthy, for the most part, although there are exceptions. Many have lived to good old ages, again with exceptions.
In limited field work and competition (my fault, not hers), McK has shown she has the natural abilities — good marker, good nose, lots of drive — to be a at least a decent hunting dog herself. She might have been a top competitive hunting dog in other hands, but we’ll never know.
She has also been evaluated by other respected breeders, passed all her many health clearances with flying colors, and comes from a line of healthy, long-lived dogs in a breed not known for such things. (Her great-aunt Heather, sitting right next to me, is one of three dogs from a litter of seven to see their 12th birthday in good health. Five of the seven made it to 11. Two full sibs from a different litter made it to 14.)
Depending on the breed, there’s a long list of things that go into the decision on whether a dog should be bred. “Ch.” is just a check box on that list of things that we’re looking at.
No one marches in lockstep, even ethical breeders, and different folks put different emphasis and different weights on what gets them to “yes, breed.”
For the person I co-own with (who makes the call on these things), it’s all about working ability and health. If you have those, you’ll likely have correct conformation as well, and you don’t need a Ch. to prove it. That we have that Ch. is just a nice extra.
The best dog on the place here is Heather, not a champion, birdy, biddable, utterly sound, border-collie smart and completely healthy at 12. She should have been bred, and we have been kicking ourselves for nine years that she wasn’t.
Why wasn’t she? She had sisters and brothers, and we figured spaying her was no loss. As it turned out looking back from a decade later, it was a loss indeed.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 10, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
The trouble with the conformation shows, aside from focusing solely on looks and the fact that standards are very vague and open to interpretation, is that the judges are often not at all objective.
I stood at the ring with an acquaintance who has been ‘in the game’ for decades (he is in a Toy breed).
He asked me to pick the best Pug, best Peke, best Westie, etc. Overall, he agreed with my choices.
Then he told me those dogs wouldn’t win and accurately picked the top 4 in 5 different breeds.
The judges were awarding wins to the handler who brought in the most dogs, the owner who had the right connections, etc.
Corruption is everywhere.
Comment by Selma — December 10, 2008 @ 1:18 pm
Heh. How do you think I’m able to pick the Westminster winners almost every year? I pick based on who’s the hot handler coming in to the show. :)
But that’s at the high level. Things are a lot harder to predict in the classes, and the best dogs often DO win their classes.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 10, 2008 @ 2:36 pm
I have *gasp* 2 intact males. Both are working on their LGRA GRCs. One is a retired CH and has his AKC JC. The other has not set paw in the breed ring, because I won’t do the sport, and won’t send him off with a pro. There are too many political variables involved in judging breed dogs that I can’t stomach, starting with what Selma just posted, and including the ‘pros’ that will push into your dog’s space in order to break the free stack and concentration, run up on your heels, toss bait willy nilly etc.
Why is he intact? Why not? I don’t throw him out the door in the morning to pursue his own agenda! What if something happened to his father and only intact littermate brother? Heather’s spay story is far too common in the less popular breeds. Like Heather’s, this is a good line for producing show and performance dogs. The sire has his DC from AKC, his FCH, his SC, his UKC CH, AKC & UKC obed titles, and AKC and APDT rally Chs. The dam has her CH, and her CD.
I will work with my boy to get his GRC and SGRC, rally, obed and possibly AG titles, but I have no intention of castrating him unless there is a medical problem. Bad Me. Get out the flame thrower.
Comment by Anne T — December 10, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Another option to avoid most (not all!) corruption in dog shows are breed specialties. You are more likely to get a judge who has owned or bred the breed they are judging and will judge the dogs not the handler.
Some breeds are more owner or breeder handled than others. Breeds in which there are few, if any, professional handlers in the ring tend to have much less suspect judging. Owner/breeder handlers, because they are at the show and in the ring, get to see families and generations of dogs. It helps put the pieces together in terms of the genetic proclivities of various sires or dams and it’s an opportunity to see some of the siblings of dogs who may only show a few times and won’t show up on any pedigree directly (if a dog I like has good knees, but his two brothers are straight stifled, I want to know). Plus owner handling is fun, the dogs love spending the ring time with mom or dad and for me, there is more satisfaction than if a pro walks in with my boy or girl.
Comment by JenniferJ — December 10, 2008 @ 2:59 pm
Why is he intact? Why not? I don’t throw him out the door in the morning to pursue his own agenda! […]
Comment by Anne T — December 10, 2008 @
Oh Anne, this really made me laugh. How do YOU know he’s not setting up hook-ups on the Internet while you’re at work?
:)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 10, 2008 @ 3:05 pm
“… even the best writers need editors to tell them what needs to be cut.”
You folks are so full of wisdom (or something) this afternoon. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 10, 2008 @ 3:47 pm
Gina, I have my email addies password protected just to prevent that very thing! lol.
Comment by Anne T — December 10, 2008 @ 4:12 pm
Don’t mean to change the subject, but I just got this news (I emailed article to you Gina.)
Has anyone heard this news about poisoning in Australian pets?
I can’t believe the ‘prominent pet food supplier’ has threatened the AVA if they release their company/product name!
Australian Veterinary Association warns poisoned meat causing kidney damage in dogs:
UNIVERSITY experts are urgently trying to track down the source of a deadly poison which has struck hundreds of small dogs, with pet food meat from China the suspected cause.
The Australian Veterinary Association has issued a national warning to all vets to report any serious kidney damage in small dogs in the past month.
“We have only become aware of this in the last three or four weeks, and we need to make people aware there are some clear indications there is a problem out there,” AVA national president Mark Lawrie told The Advertiser yesterday.
Mr Lawrie said the AVA had discussed the cases with a prominent pet-food supplier suspected to be the source of the poison, which the AVA would not name for legal reasons. Vets and small-dog owners have been told to look out for warning signs:
INCREASED thirst and urination.
REDUCED appetite and lethargy.
VOMITING and weakness.
University of Sydney researchers have issued a national alert over the kidney-destroying poison - but after a legal threat from the company, have been banned by the university from making any public comment.
The AVA had also warned vets - in a national alert to all members to be aware of the problem - against making comments to the media about the case.
One university researcher, who would not be named, said there was enough evidence to recall the product but the safety message had been hampered by threats from the company.
“We have not been able to call for cases and an open call to vets for cases has just been made and we are aware of dozens of cases and suspect there are hundreds,” he said. “What is important is that the meat is sourced in China and I think pet owners can trust the product if all the ingredients are sourced in Australia.”
The researcher said owners should be concerned about any breed but especially dogs the size of a small terrier.
Studies of dead dogs are also being carried out to identify the cause, with one brand of meat suspected of causing symptoms.
Vets have been urged to contact the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science via email A.Arteaga@usyd.edu.au if they have suspected cases of the poisoning.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaid.....11,00.html
Comment by Barb — December 10, 2008 @ 8:39 pm
Barb -
Just having a guess but perhaps the meat referred to is the recalled chicken strip treats. Petsit blogged about this recently:
http://petsitusa.com/blog/?p=1475
Comment by slt — December 11, 2008 @ 6:42 am
Speaking as someone who is not (and has NO plans to EVER become) a breeder. I have a GREAT deal of respect for those people who are out there doing it right. I love to compete and hunt with my dogs. It would be impossible to run a 2 day Master hunt test or chase pheasants around for 5-6 hours without a dog who has excellent conformation, health and the genetic will to do the job. God bless them for their efforts. It is a thankless job some days and it comes with a great deal of heart ache when all your best laid plans go astray.
I hope the Lord has a special place for all those “other” people who look at any creature and see $$$$.
Comment by Alyce S. — December 11, 2008 @ 1:09 pm