pet connection

Yeah, I’m going to rip off that credit card ad. Why not? Everyone else does.

Training fees, land-use fees, equipment and gas, one year’s worth: At least $2,000

For the weekend:

Three days away from home (and 14 hours of driving): How does one value laundry undone?

Gas: $100

Crappy road food: $50

Entry fees: $110

Add it all up:

Finishing your first field title: Priceless, plus you get a $2 ribbon!

My dog Woody is now a Junior Hunter. Which means now we get to spend more time, more gas money and lots and lots more training time working towards Senior Hunter (plus training younger dog McKenzie for Junior). Woody’s is my first field title ever, although I’ve competed in many other dog sports over the years. Field training is completely different from anything I’ve ever done, that’s for sure.

We crazy dedicated dog people do this all the time. It’s not so much about competition, but about testing your dog and improving (or at least preserving) the breed. Canine competitions are one reason why reputable breeders don’t make money selling dogs (top-quality care and expensive screening for congenital defects is another). But then, reputable breeders aren’t in for the money. You might want to think about that as you’re considering a Christmas puppy from all the clueless and careless breeders who are happy to sell in the weeks to come, no questions asked.

Pictured: Woody, left, and McKenzie, at the hunt test site in Southern California. They’re in this week’s test Dogmobile, a Toyota FJ Cruiser, which I’ll be reviewing later today.

Administrative note: The Black Dog guys say all the gliches are fixed and we’re completely OK on WordPress now. Let me know if you find any problems, can’t post a comment, etc.

The HSUS is asking people to ask pet stores where their puppies come from, in an effort to educate people about puppy mills and large-scale commercial breeding operations. Here’s a piece on one reporter who took the challenge, and found the pet-store manager less than fully cooperative. Big surprise, no?

Listen, they can say "reputable breeder" all they want, but the fact is no reputable breeder would sell a puppy to a pet store. That’s because they want to make sure themselves that the puppy is placed in a proper home. And because they want to be in touch with the puppy buyers for life.

People who breed for pet stores — even the "good" ones who run clean, humane operations — are breeding "livestock" for sale, no strings attached. That’s not the best way to breed a family pet. As for puppy-millers … hell isn’t hot enough. (Many of them now sell direct to the public through Craig’s List and other online outlets.)

Educate yourself, and go to a shelter, rescue group or reputable breeder for a dog.

And check out my "No Christmas Puppies" blog series from a couple years ago.

I feel sorry for the children who get sick and dying puppies. I feel sorry for the puppies. But I can no longer feel sorry for people who keep cruelty thriving by buying smuggled or puppy-mill dogs. From this morning’s L.A. Times:

Puppy smugglers continue flooding the market with animals from Mexico, many of which die or pose health hazards to unsuspecting buyers, according to a recent survey.

Animal welfare agency inspectors found 517 puppies, many concealed in vehicles and destined for swap meets across Southern California, during the two-week survey earlier this month at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry.

The puppy smuggling phenomenon, first noticed about two years ago, troubles animal welfare groups, because many of the puppies suffer from parvovirus, distemper, scabies and other hard-to-detect ailments.

The animals — often mixed-breed poodles and other toy breeds — are usually sold to bargain-seeking buyers at swap meets or through classified advertising.

Though they appear healthy, they often die within a week.

Here’s the piece (need a log-in?). If you buy from these people, you are an accomplice to cruelty.

Update: Here’s a longer, more comprehensive piece from the San Diego Union-Tribune. I guess we’re supposed to feel sorry for the woman who bought a puppy outside a Wal-Mart for her 12-year-old son, only to have the animal die soon after. She says her "heart melted," but in in fact, it was her brain that wasn’t functioning. Commenting on the sleazy and cruel puppy-smuggling trade, a humane officer notes that "At up to $1,000 a pup, "it’s better than selling drugs."

You know, the whole Christmas puppy scene may in fact be the reason why I do not like the season. The degree of shameless greed and cruelty (from the sellers) and thoughtless, immature idiocy (from the buyers) is just downright depressing, year after year.

EBay has seen the light. They asked their users to weigh in on a plan to sell pets. The users gave them an earful. The plan is deep-sixed.

Merry Christmas, eBay! You folks are my new hero.

Last year I posted a new reason every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas on why getting a Christmas puppy was a horrible idea. You can read them all by selecting the "No Christmas Puppies" category on the right. Really, I could have posted another reason every day for a year, but it’s just too depressing. The crowing of the puppy-millers on Craig’s List alone make you despair for the state of humanity. (I’m sure this horrible, homephobic, hate-filled  excuse for a "Christian" is already selling her puppies on the Internet, but I cannot stomach looking for her and the rest of her ilk.)

Bottom line: If you buy from one of these people, either through a retail pet store or direct from a puppy-miller, you perpetuate a system of immense cruelty. Laws will not fix this problem. Only falling sales will. If you care about animals, do not patronize these sellers.

Wait until after Christmas. Go to a shelter or rescue group, or a reputable breeder. It’s not just about you, your "wants" and your own little family. Be responsible from the start, and don’t do business with a dirtbag.

I ran across this Puppywatch blog today. Looks as if they’re just getting ready to roll  in their efforts to fight puppy-mills in the U.K. Go dog go. And then, this from the satirical publication The Onion:

HAMILTON, OH—Household sources reported Monday that Joshua Hunt, 10,
has lost interest in Raggles, the 4-month-old Cocker Spaniel he
received on Christmas Day. "For the first month, he played with it
every day," said Joshua’s mother Kathie Hunt. "Now he plays Nintendo as
soon as he gets home from school and tells Raggles to shut up when he
barks." Joshua has asked his mother if he can exchange the puppy for Mario Kart 64.

That, folks, is what my grandfather used to call, "kidding on the square," i.e., fictitious humor with more than a little bit of truth to it.