My Position on Pure Breeds

Remember my neighbor with the purebred Lab puppy who looked at me like I was nuts when I asked him if the dog was a rescue (if not, read the post here)? That was the first time I raised the pure breed issue.

Then yesterday, I received a couple of e-mails as a result of this post, where I refer to "pure breed people."

Let’s deconstruct the issue, beginning with the FACTS:

• FACT: Purebreds have more health problems, more behavioral problems, more genetic defects, and shorter life spans than your average mutt (because of the inbreeding).
• FACT: About 25% of dogs in shelters ARE PUREBRED (see FACT above for some reasons).
• FACT: 6-8 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year (go to this HSUS factsheet for other interesting tidbits).
• FACT: 3-4 million cats and dogs are killed by shelters each year.

THE ANIMAL PERSON POSITION:

• When you buy a purebred, you’re contributing to the cat and dog overpopulation crisis. Rather than saving a life, you’re paying to have a new one created, thereby adding to the population.
• When you buy a purebred rather than adopting (and remember, you can adopt a purebred) from a shelter, you therefore can be said to be responsible for the killing of an animal in a shelter.
• We (humans) are largely responsible for the cat and dog overpopulation crisis by not spaying and neutering. I therefore believe that we have an obligation to resolve this problem.

Think of it this way: It’s like fighting global warming–We’re going to have to alter the way we think about what we do, and change some of what we do. Some of that might suck, but in the scope of things, adopting an animal from a shelter for $50 rather than paying $1,000 to have one made really isn’t that much of a sacrifice.

After breakfast, I’ll write about my two purebred Greyhounds, and why rescuing them was a Gray Matter.