The truth about show breeders, puppy mills and rescuers

Alright, don’t get on your soapbox because you see some kind of comparison between the three. The only common link is that it involves human beings, with all their upsides and dark sides. Some do good while others, well, not so much, even if they started in what seemed like a good deed in the first place. Sadly in this world, nothing’s black or white. Here comes my take on it.

Show breeders are supposedly lovers of the breed they try to perfect, according to the standard, selecting their best specimen to show and breed. Well, that’s in theroy. While many I guess really love and respect their dogs (that are more producers than pets truthfully, since once they have had enough litters, they need to make space for the new generation and are rehomed), others just use them for fame and greed, without much consideration. What about those who push the experiment to the extreme, leaving dogs with disabilities, like breathing problems with that non-existent nose, mobility issues because of distorted legs, serious congenital defects like hydrocephalus, syringomyelia, heart failure, etc.? Those who have a champion who carries a debilitating gene that still sires many litters because, well, he has a title and they might as well take full advantage of it? Or those who mate a female with her direct brother or even own father (inbreeding), to allegedly highlight a desired trait, leaving a future generation of retards? Those who poison their rival’s dog to topple competition? Those who cull newborns because they don’t have a specific characteristic of the breed (like the ridge on a Rhodesian Ridgeback for instance)? Or those who shine in the ring but hide a sordid reality, their numerous dogs living in filthy kennels, being deprived of food and good care, even mistreated, bred one heat cycle after the other until they die? Nooo, not show breeders! Yes, some have been convicted of animal cruelty and were even back in the ring shortly after, surfing on slacking rules and using politics to their advantage. Upsetting when you scratch the glittery surface a little, right? Well, keep reading, you won’t be disappointed.

So what about puppy mills? Can we even call these creatures “breeders” when they actually run a factory that manufactures living products in large quantites? There is nothing humane in this process, dogs are just random goods they use until they don’t function well anymore, for pure profit. Even if some commercial breeders pride themselves of having clean pens, green runs, enough staff to take care of dozens of inmates, who they assure are happy and well taken-care of, most of these facilities are hell for the poor innocent beings stuck in there. They are stacked in filthy cages with wired bottoms that hurt and deform their paws, without enough space to roam, very often either kept outdoors all year long (not sheltered from the heat or cold) or in a squalid barn, without any light or enough fresh air. The adults never leave their prison, sentenced to breed for life, driven mad by the lack of exercise and positive interaction, and of course, good care. The puppies are transported to puppy stores, very often in inadequate trucks where some of them die before reaching the window displays, many without proper vaccination, which leaves them with parvo or any other life-threatening illness once they are in the arms of their delighted new owners (when they are not kept in the backroom because they are indeed too sick to be shown, which would get the store quite a bad reputation, damn it). Other puppies are sold online, showcased in an ad saying they come from a loving family-owned farmhouse, with a picture where they’re sitting on a sofa or blanket, oh so cute! This is actually a lame staging and was the first and sole moment of that pup out of his/her cage. But if you look closely, you can tell by his/her stance that something is wrong. Wrong is an understatement. The environment is so toxic that the less resistant ones get attacked, get sick or just shut down, waiting for the end that will be their only relief. Too many die without ever having had the chance of feeling love and comfort. Those who are luckily rescued are so damaged physically and psychologically they will most likely drag the trauma of their years of incarceration forever. This is what the “adopt don’t shop” motto means. When you decide to add a new member to your family, do your research, don’t be a part of the problem and give these crooked breeders a reason to surf the wave. If you really prefer a breeder (by the way, there are plenty of cute puppies and balanced adults for adoption also), go see the environement the dogs live in, the parents and make sure it is a respectable person who cares about the dogs. Don’t buy online and have the pup shipped to you, you’ll most definitely be supporting a puppy mill or backyard breeder’s despicable scheming. If you want to adopt, you’ll not only change a life, but save another one also, because one dog out of a shelter or off the list of a rescue organization makes space for another one in need. With patience, love and consitent training, any dog can turn around. And well, rescued dogs are not all necessarily damaged, so if you’re not up for such a challenge, you can for sure find one that will be a better fit for you, there are so many to choose from, unfortunately. But if you wanna avoid any bad surprise, you better screen shelters and rescue organizations as well because they’re not all as legit as they pretend to be.

Aaahhh, rescuers… They have a heart of gold and a head well screwed on despite all the harshness they witness… Well, that’s what I thought when I decided to create a legit non-profit dog rescue organization and partner with other advocates to join forces. Except once I mingled with many of them, my beliefs slowly fell apart. Never judge a book by its cover! Ok, again, don’t flame me because I’m giving you my point of view. Believe me, I’m not trying to tarnish the rescue world in general, what kind of hypocrite would I be?! It’s just that I did get a good taste of it that left me nauseous. Why? Because again, too many unhinged people take part in ruining good deeds. It is of course more than honorable to save animals and want to give them a better life, except some have a different idea of what that means. And are very often misleading, unscrupulous and even pernicious. While many who volunteer to save animals are more than honorable, sadly the ones who make this endeavour rhyme with nonsense are often the ones in plain sight and thus, tar all the others with the same brush. There are those who are just in rescue to be regarded as heroes and shine on social media, who show whatever makes them look amazing (often times twisting the facts in their favor, just a tad), omitting the details that may put them in the shade. Others are such smartasses who spread wrong guidance (unintentionally for the morons, on purpose for the psychos) and spit on others, just to look knowledgeable and secretly convince themselves they’re truly better than everyone. Some are dangerously uneducated and put the lives of those they rescue at risk. Others are just spiteful, world-weary and end up mistreating the innocent animals they once saved from a similar abusive environment. I’m not inventing, that’s the harsh reality behind many closed doors! Believe me, I’m the first appalled by it. There are so many stories of dogs found living in horrid conditions once they are rescued from their rescuer’s home (quite nonsensical), either amongst detritus (hoarding situations) or blatantly mistreated. I personnally got acquainted with the president of an orgaization, who had emotional issues and although she was well-known in the field, she was intentionnally neglecting the dogs she didn’t like, letting sick and senior dogs sleeping outside so that they would not soil the house, stopping a treatment so that they would cross the rainbow bridge earlier than foreseen, and even administering fatal drugs to get rid of them (she was also a vet nurse who had access to anything), did mother nature not do her job properly… She prided herself in caring for the most special needs, many saved from euthanasia, so she devilishly thought she had an almighty right on their fate. Monstrosity in all its glory. Others were just reckless (or stupid, or both), not screening families properly and as a result, dogs were found abandoned in the streets again, were lost and got run over by a car, severly attacked by the other dog of the household, or even giving birth to yet another litter because the organization didn’t find it appropriate to get them fixed before the adoption… And I’m not even mentioning those who were buying dogs (from breeders, auctions or other individuals) and then came up with tragic stories to make people weep and get more donations (to then be able to buy other ones, a scheming rotation). Those who did nothing else than slandering others on social media, ganging up against one another, disclosing (often misconstrued) details of the lives of those who once volunteered for them, trashing the doings of another organization (usually one they jealously envied) just to bring them down. Yep, welcome to the rescue world, where most people should rescue themselves before using animals as a therapeutic remedy for their troubles! This is mostly why I decided to quit the organization, to flee this toxic environment and continue in the shadow, not wanting to be assimilitated to such malfunctioning individuals. It was hard enough to deal with the emotional strain of caring for the most wrecked dogs, victims of maniacs, I didn’t have the courage to face more dismay. Maybe it was a weak move, but losing my sanity was not an option.

So, is there any hope you’ll ask? Don’t be disheartened, there are still sane and truthful people involved in rescue, you just have to find them. Be smart, read between the lines, and in the end, keep in my mind that animals didn’t choose to end up with the wrong people, being rescued by a dodgy organization or being thrown in a corrupted shelter. How they are presented to you may be biased, look beyond appearances. I personally think that getting any animal out of the claws of a shaky situation is worth a little hassle with unbalanced humans. But again, it’s just my opinion!