Old approaches don’t work, but old thinking continues to push them
By Gina Spadafori
June 4, 2009
Sometimes there are comments that are just too good to stay there. From regular JenniferJ, here’s one of them:
There are certain attitudes, biases, assumptions and cliches that just won’t shift, no matter what real world, documented evidence or reasoned argument is put before them.
—Pets are a luxury, if you ever can’t afford something for your pet, you’re bad and unworthy and don’t deserve a pet.
—S/N is the MOST important measure of pet owner responsibility. Whether you could not afford the procedure or have a health screened titled dog you’ve chosen not to alter, you are bad and irresponsible
—Being intact is cruel. Sorry, being intact, with normal healthy organs is cruel? Nope. But intact pets do need a bit different management and those organs are inconvienent for many owners and after a certain age, the pet will be fine without them. so long as the decision is between a vet and owner I sure as hell have no issue with spay/neuter. Most of my pets are or will be altered, but a male dog in possession of his testicles does not equal suffering
—If you breed a litter you have automatically killed the same number of pets in the shelter. Does not matter that there are more than enough homes and if shelter were able to gain just a small amount more market share, 5-10% depending on regional circumstances, we could get all placeable pets into homes.
—there is no such thing as a responsible breeder, they’re all the same
—All the opposition to MSN is from the wicked breeders
—Breeders ALL make a lot of money (HaH! Ha hahahha We could have bought another HOUSE on what has gone into the dogs over 20 years. I am NOT exaggerating )
—Feral cats are all the fault of bad owners, they are all only one generation out of homes and if we make the bad owners spay and neuter them then the feral problem will magically disappear. And if you click your heels together and wish really hard…
—Those kittens flooding the shelters every spring all come from bad owners cats, because feral cats don’t have kittens where you can find them and remember, the moms weren’t really feral.
—TNR does not work. And even if it works, it’s cruel because the cats would be better of dead than be at risk outdoors. And even if being outside is not cruel, they kill wildlife.
Side note here: Yes, they do kill wildlife. Not to the extent that they are blamed probably. Feral colonies do not belong near endangered species breeding grounds etc.. But in most urban and suburban settings the real killer is development. I’m rural and help manage a colony and because the wildlife has natural habitat, it is thriving in spite of the cats. plus as ferals age, they tend to eshew the birds for the kibble, word.
And even if cats are responsible for every crime they are accused of A century of catch and kill has utterly failed to eliminate ferals. TNR has documented success in reducing numbers and numbers of kittens. Go with what works folks!
—If you ever go into a shelter and see the animals there, you would never breed, oppose MSN blah blah… Sorry, I’ve been in a lot of shelters. Like MANY dedicated breeders I pull dogs from shelters and rescue other breeds and mixes and species when they cross my path.
—Pets are all interchangeble. If the person who wants a small lap dog can’t find one they will be happy to come adopt an 85 lb lag mix or a cat instead.
—People who buy a pet are evil or ignorant. people who adopt acquire automatic virtue. Does not matter what kind of home they actually are.
There are more but you get the idea. And it does not matter what arguments are brought forth or how much hard evidence you present.
Being that rock solid sure of a conviction must be nice for them, but it’s not constructive. We need real-world solutions and strategies that actually work. If something has failed for decades, it’s failed, time to move on and evolve.
Amen, Jen!


As I’ve said about a million times to at least that many people, I’m pretty clear where PETA stands: Better dead than fed. You can fool a lot of Hollywood ninnies and con a lot of nice people who believe PETA’s direct-mail and Web nonsense, but PETA wants nothing more than for every domesticated animal to disappear. And they’re quite happy to help the cause 