TheDogPlace > Animal Rights Legislation >> Dog Breeders - Who Are We Helping?

DOG BREEDERS – WHO ARE WE HELPING?

Dog people tend to be their own worst enemy and sadly, they are doing a good job of it. You still have the freedom to choose to make a difference. I, and all the others that have been working to protect all dog owners in this country, hope you'll make the right decision.

Too many dog people are unable to work with others who share the same feelings, whether they are a hobby breeder, AKC show breeder, or a high volume breeder. It's an elitism attitude that keeps those who share a concern to "save our rights" from working together on issues that could preserve our rights – and save our dogs. It's the refusal to set aside issues of husbandry, breeding practices and selfishness that will cause the demise of the very sport we’re so passionate about.

We constantly use animal rights¹ phrases such as "puppy miller" and "back yard breeder", names that were coined by the animal rightists to use against us. We use those same animal rights names for fellow breeders! The animal rights crowd loves the fact that the dog owning, showing, breeding fancy can't seem to live in peace and harmony - it's one of their greatest weapons, created for just the purpose it seems to serve.

How many times have we seen a fellow breeder wind up with too many dogs and they need assistance (for a variety of reasons such as age, health, loss of job, confiscations, et al) yet people in the very same breed, don't bother to help - in fact, they gossip about it and refer to the person using animal rights terms, in fact, they have even created their own AR term of "show millers". We're supposed to support and help each other, not assist in running our fellow dog breeders down. You may not agree with something they do or the way they do it, but they are still our fellow breeders and if they need help, in order to preserve our OWN integrity and rights, we should help as much as we can (and keep quiet about it) - but people don't.

The story becomes compounded (to the delight of the animal rightists) by spreading it further. That only helps those who intend to take your dogs away, rather than helping the poor soul whose dogs need help. We may not agree with their practices, but that is something to be considered later, once we have managed to solidify our position to continue to do what we do. All else will cease to exist if we don't start working together and put aside feelings.

I have been passionate about this for way over a decade² and I have learned that there are those that simply choose to remain uninformed. It's not because the information is not available to them  - they just don't care  to become involved and don't believe it could happen to them. Others are concerned but don't know what to do or perhaps they really don't understand what every breeder is going to face, and soon!