Hide and Seek

I have a client that is looking for a puppy, their elderly dog having recently passed away. They are willing to pay good money to an ethical breeder for the "right" puppy, and I applaud their approach: health testing, temperament testing, contract.

But of course when asking the local dog community for referrals (I'm not an expert in their breed of choice) I got one person who insists a shelter dog or rescue is the only way to go. Many people responded with references to local breeders (in the time-zone and adjacent states being our definition of local around here), all of which I passed along. But the "only good dog is a rescue dog" mentality irritates me.

Found a great line today:

The majority of purebreds are produced by family pets and commercial breeders, their puppies as far removed from the show ring as a second-hand pickup from the Formula One track.

It's from this article, and while I don't agree with the author's position on cropping and docking, much of it is sensible.