Smooth Collies, Border Collies, Danish-Swedish Farmdog

Two Kinds of People…

Just a quick post… we are getting a foster collie tonight, pulling her out of the Utah Humane Society. Yeah, Collie Rescue is still around, though we have so many dogs of our own now that really we have a hard time taking in more.

I’ve managed to ignore the rescue problem for a while, not having the fosters.  However now it rears it’s uglly head again. And to me, buried in the dog world and enshrouded in the rescue sub-world, it seems like there are two kinds of people. Those who understand the problem of dog over population and are working to find homes for the dogs… and then there’s those other people who let their dogs breed willy nillly and ‘they’ are the reason we have such a problem.

Good breeders can be part of the solution. However, I’m sorry and I might piss some people off, but I think we need mandatory spay and neuter laws.  Get the dang dogs fixed, strike at the source, the dogs’ lives are in danger, dangit! This is serious!  After a law is passed, then we can work out the details.  Sorry breeders… but really, the problem is so bad it really is going to take something serious and extreme to fix it.

Ugh.  I hate rescue.

Cynthia
December 10, 2008
Rescue
12 Comments
, ,
  • http://gormetdogtreats.com Dog Accessories

    I couldn’t agree more with you about spay/neuter laws. I have three pets all were “fixed”.

    If you think the breeders are causing a problem now, just wait. With the down turn in the economy I am sure anyone who was on the fence about breeding will definitely commite to it now just for cash.

    Take a look at your classifieds or craigslist. Pet ads are everywhere.

    It is so sad :(

    good post!

    Emily

    • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

      Hi Emily… ugh, I sure hope people do not try to sell puppies to make money because the economy is bad! that’s an awful thought! Breeding takes a lot more money than a person makes… at least by decent responsible breeders that check genealogy and health and genetics etc.

      I’m actually not against breeding by responsible breeders… however, they are few and far between and the problem isn’t there, it’s with backyard breeders who do not take responsibility!

  • http://featherfurfin.com Flo

    I completely agree!!! Mandatory spay and neutering and then licensing of breeders. Enough with the accidental litters. It’s way past time to do this.

    Flos last blog post..Animal Update Time

    • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

      I agree Flo. It’s waaaay past time.

  • http://www.myspoiledmutts.com Christy

    I agree 100%. You wouldn’t beleive the number of “breeders” I meet at Petsmart! It’s insane! We don’t need that many people breeding! There aren’t homes for the dogs that are already alive…..so why are we allowing people to create even more?

    Christys last blog post..WW Ammon meets a conure!

    • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

      testing comments… hrm

      • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

        testing again!

  • http://carolesthoughtfulspot.blogspot.com Carole

    I know this isn’t practical and wouldn’t happen, but I almost wish there could be a moratorium put on all breeders and pet stores selling purebreds and not let it be lifted until there were no more pets in shelters. Our two cats and one dog are all shelter babies and they are THE BEST. So healthy and with wonderful temperaments. I really think most people buy purebreds for the wrong reasons, and most don’t even know anything about the breed other than, “It’s so cute!”.

    Caroles last blog post..Here’s My "Randomivity"

    • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

      Hi Carole, I wish there could be a moratorium too. No breeding aloud until all the dogs and cats have homes!

  • fugitiveartist

    Having done my share of rescue, I sympathize but absolutely do not agree with the mandatory spay/neuter of dogs or cats.

    I have done my homework on the matter and I would suggest that you read what is written on the No Kill Advocacy Center website as well as the information that has been documented by Nathan Winograd on the real reason for population control killing in shelters. I am not including links, but you can google either and find out all you need to know.

    If there were not enough homes for the dogs and cats in shelters why are so many mixed breed dogs being imported into the US? If there were not enough people looking to add cats and dogs to their homes why are there so many pet shops doing such a big business in selling puppies and kittens? The demand is clearly there for pet dogs and cats. Too many shelters do not want to put plans and programs into place that would put adoptable cats and dogs into responsible loving homes. Many prefer killing because it is just easier. Then they blame “breeders” for creating the problem. Most dogs in animal shelters are mixed breeds and the majority of those are pit bull mixes. There is money in the world of pit bulls and it is not money that is legally earned. If the dog fighting rings were shut down and if the children who live in the communities where dog fighting is accepted were to be educated about the responsible care of animals and the pain and suffering experienced by fighting animals, this would go a long way to reduce the numbers of pit bulls that wind up dead or in shelters.

    • http://www.myspoiledmutts.com Christy

      I must say that your theory about the demand for dogs seems unreasonable and uneducated. I have volunteered with both all breed and breed specific rescue groups for the past several years.

      The truth is; there is a high demand for puppies but little demand for adult dogs. There are so many pure bred dogs that were purchased at pet stores and from breeders who need homes. People want puppies but when they get them they quickly learn how much work a dog can be. Little do they realize that mature dogs are a bit easier to handle. So many dogs are dumped at the shelter between 6 months and two years because the owners are unable to control them. They buy a puppy with the plan that they can do it themselves and that training will be easy and simple. They don’t follow through with the work that needs to be done and all of a sudden this cute little puppy is a big uncontrollable puppy. Then the owner comes up with an excuse to dump them at a shelter.

      I don’t know what area you live in but I can’t believe this idea that shelters would rather euthanize than place dogs. I know there may be shelters who have this attitude but in my experience that is few and far between. I have worked closely with multiple shelters in my area. Each of them has been very proactive in working with third party rescue organizations to get dogs and cats placed whenever possible. I get daily emails pleading for foster homes and rescue groups for dogs in my local shelters. Our shelters here actually care about the lives that are being lost. In this state, we don’t want to see adoptable dogs and cats die. It’s simply an unfortunate reality that there aren’t enough people here who are responsible enough to take care of a dog for the entirety of it’s life.

      Mandatory Spay and Neuter is the only possibility of controlling this problem. Owning and breeding dogs should be a priviledge and unfortunately this country is a place where our animals are not respected or protected. Mandatory spay laws would make it so more breeding is intentional and less breeding is done on accident. IMHO, If it prevents even one dog from dying a needless death in a shelter – than it’s worth it. We shouldn’t treat the lives of our animals so carelessly. We shouldn’t let people beleive that it’s okay to treat animals as if they are disposable. We shouldn’t allow people to create more dogs and cats until we have homes for the ones that are already living.

      “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” Mahatma Gandhi

      Christys last blog post..Fun Day at Tanner Park

    • http://www.tiptail.com Cynthia

      You must live in different area of the country than me. Although we may have a dog fighting problem that I don’t know of, I don’t think we do. We do have a great deal of Pits and pit mixes in rescue, but it seems to me we have more labs and border collies.

      I think it’s completely incorrect that shelters would rather euthanize than find homes for dogs. I know shelter workers and they are all dedicated people and work hard for the animals. We also have a No More Homeless Pets in Utah program that helps to dissuade people from breeding and encourages responsible animal guardianship.

      This overpopulation problem is extremely serious. Dogs and cats are dying every day, in the thousands… when humans die like this it’s all over the news and, hopefully here in the US, something is done about it. But not with our companion animals. The problem is pushed under the rug and no one wants to look at it. Mandatory spay/neuter is a drastic solution, but this problem needs a drastic solution because people are not being responsible. Dogs are DYING and it must stop, no matter what it takes. IMHO.