A lot on my mind, many a post not written or shared... Busy is good, silence is golden, and all that.
I spent yesterday temperament testing dogs at a shelter. As a therapy dog team evaluator, this is something we do about once a month, attempting to identify shelter dogs as potential therapy dogs. Of 10-15 we examine per session, on average, 3 qualify as candidates.
The time in-between dogs is usually spent having interesting discussions about dogs, behavior, "the system" of shelters, breeders, puppies, on and on. Yesterday it was suggested that, oh if only, everyone could stop breeding until every shelter dog had a home, then overpopulation and kill rates would be resolved. I pointed out that the market for shelter animals is very different than the market for dogs from Responsible Ethical Breeders. I suggested that if somebody wants a well-bred puppy with health-tested parents and proven lines of breed XXXX, that somebody is not going to go to the shelter and pick up a dog that doesn't meet those criteria. That person won't get a dog at all, until one becomes available from a REB.
The problem, I suggest, is that there is a huge market for puppies in the country. Not a huge market for badly-behaved adolescent dogs or elderly, ill, and infirm dogs.
The truth is: Responsible Ethical Breeders don't produce enough puppies to satisfy the puppy market in this country.
The problem, I suggest, is that shelters are pressured to lower kill rates and increase placement numbers, which results in poor placements to begin with and untracked returns as well.
The problem, I suggest, is that REB's are portrayed as the enemy, when REB's don't contribute to the shelter population at all.
The problem, I suggest, is that most shelters do a poor job of breed identification, and many shelters refuse to work with breed-specific rescue groups.
The solution, I suggest, is that we stop pointing fingers at each other and focus on the people who buy dogs, regardless of source, and ensure they have good information for making informed decisions on acquisition AND information on how to be responsible owners. This means buyers understand how much food and vet bills cost, what good training is and where to find it.
And I say BUYER quite deliberately. Cute euphemisms like "adoption fee" don't change reality: money changes hands. It's a purchase, let's not deceive ourselves. No matter our feelings, dogs are, legally, property. That makes us owners.
Most of us are involved in rescue, on some level. Most of us are familiar with "foster failure" and have the dogs (and vet bills) to prove it. Most of us come to understand that the people who buy from shelters and irresponsible BYB's are the ones that create the shelter problem: if there is no market, there would be no supply.
Can one get a great dog from a shelter? Of course - but the odds are against it. Can one get a terrible dog from a REB? Of course - but not only are the odds against it, the REB will sell her soul to make it right.
Driving home, I saw a billboard that said "There's nothing wrong with shelter dogs." Having just spent 5 hours temperament testing shelter dogs, I vehemently disagree.
I spent yesterday temperament testing dogs at a shelter. As a therapy dog team evaluator, this is something we do about once a month, attempting to identify shelter dogs as potential therapy dogs. Of 10-15 we examine per session, on average, 3 qualify as candidates.
The time in-between dogs is usually spent having interesting discussions about dogs, behavior, "the system" of shelters, breeders, puppies, on and on. Yesterday it was suggested that, oh if only, everyone could stop breeding until every shelter dog had a home, then overpopulation and kill rates would be resolved. I pointed out that the market for shelter animals is very different than the market for dogs from Responsible Ethical Breeders. I suggested that if somebody wants a well-bred puppy with health-tested parents and proven lines of breed XXXX, that somebody is not going to go to the shelter and pick up a dog that doesn't meet those criteria. That person won't get a dog at all, until one becomes available from a REB.
The problem, I suggest, is that there is a huge market for puppies in the country. Not a huge market for badly-behaved adolescent dogs or elderly, ill, and infirm dogs.
The truth is: Responsible Ethical Breeders don't produce enough puppies to satisfy the puppy market in this country.
The problem, I suggest, is that shelters are pressured to lower kill rates and increase placement numbers, which results in poor placements to begin with and untracked returns as well.
The problem, I suggest, is that REB's are portrayed as the enemy, when REB's don't contribute to the shelter population at all.
The problem, I suggest, is that most shelters do a poor job of breed identification, and many shelters refuse to work with breed-specific rescue groups.
The solution, I suggest, is that we stop pointing fingers at each other and focus on the people who buy dogs, regardless of source, and ensure they have good information for making informed decisions on acquisition AND information on how to be responsible owners. This means buyers understand how much food and vet bills cost, what good training is and where to find it.
And I say BUYER quite deliberately. Cute euphemisms like "adoption fee" don't change reality: money changes hands. It's a purchase, let's not deceive ourselves. No matter our feelings, dogs are, legally, property. That makes us owners.
Most of us are involved in rescue, on some level. Most of us are familiar with "foster failure" and have the dogs (and vet bills) to prove it. Most of us come to understand that the people who buy from shelters and irresponsible BYB's are the ones that create the shelter problem: if there is no market, there would be no supply.
Can one get a great dog from a shelter? Of course - but the odds are against it. Can one get a terrible dog from a REB? Of course - but not only are the odds against it, the REB will sell her soul to make it right.
Driving home, I saw a billboard that said "There's nothing wrong with shelter dogs." Having just spent 5 hours temperament testing shelter dogs, I vehemently disagree.
Leonore,
ReplyDeleteYou have stated quite eloquently & succinctly precisely what i was trying to explain to a non-dog friend (Yes, i do have a few of those!) only this morning. May I borrow your wording? With attribution, of course!
absolutely! (I have some of those, too. But they don't appreciate dog-hair-decorating as much as I do LOL.)
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised that as many as 3 out of 10-15 shelter dogs qualifies to be considered as a Therapy dog. That says a lot for dogs in general, I guess. I wouldn't have thought that 3 out of 10 of my grooming customers would qualify! Only some of them being former shelter dogs.
ReplyDeletegood point Vickie, I should clarify. 1, this is a private shelter, not run by a government agency. they can refuse to accept a dog if they wish. 2, the dogs are pre-screened at least twice before our team looks at them; first a staff member has to recommend the dog for evaluation, second our volunteer coordinator pulls the dog's records and personally looks at the dog. then our team reviews the paperwork before the dog ever comes in the room. only then is the dog brought in for our testing procedure. so...
ReplyDeleteof the scores (hundreds? I don't have a clue what their intake numbers are, as I said, privately run) dogs at this facility, very very few ever cross our radar. of those, only about 15% pass the test.
hope that clarifies the situation a little!