I recently had a very interesting conversation thread with an individual who was using our Pet Adoption Portal service.
This individual is involved in rescuing dogs (or at least caring for homeless dogs that find their way to her). However, at the same time, this person is breeding a large number of dogs in their home.
Although all of my pets have been adopted, I have friends who have purchased dogs from reputable breeders. I know they are reputable because of the care that went into finding homes for them -- from the initial screening process my friends went through, to the follow-up and concern for the health and wellbeing of the pets after they went home. In addition, the breeder was knowledgeable concerning the breed itself, and was careful and very limited with the litters they raised.
I couldn't find any proof that this particular breeder was reputable. There was little or no screening process. The dogs were from all kinds of breeds. The seller seemed to be willing to send (via cargo container) the dogs sight-unseen to anywhere within a few days of them being 8 weeks old.
But the thing that really upset me on a personal level was the blatant disregard for the hard working people that were trying to save the real homeless pets. So many of us put our personal time and money into trying to save these pets... to have someone who is breeding dogs en masse actually SELLING the dogs through the tools provided to the non-profit community for the homeless animals is absolutely disgusting.
My personal opinion is that breeding and adoptions don't (and shouldn't) mix. There's a definite conflict of interest, and it takes a tremendous amount of effort to be transparent concerning the two activities when performed under the same roof. But, I think in some cases it can be very beneficial to the breed.
At the end of the conversation when I informed the breeder that we would be closing their account, they told me that by doing that, I'm "rufusing to help the animals." I think they meant that I'm refusing to sell their dogs because we have helped millions of animals that have truly been in need.
Any rescue work they might be doing is certainly overshadowed by the irresponsible breeding they are doing. It saddens me to think that pets are dying because unethical people are using our services to sell their dogs for personal profit.
I'd like to hear your opinion!
- Richard