Tails: A Myriad of Thoughts

So, I am looking for a dog to adopt for a new friend. I love looking for dogs for people, I have even given thought to starting a little business doing this very thing.

Most of all, I love the idea of helping people to find their way to adoptable dogs instead of pet stores and backyard breeders. (I am all for good breeders, it just seems that they are few and far between these days).

Recently, on this new search – we decided that perhaps, a puppy was the way to go to. The breed that they were looking for is hard to find in a shelter and the rescue orgs for the breed are geographically challenging.

I was extremely skeptical of going towards a breeder. After all that I have witnessed in the puppy mill arena and all of the stories I have heard from colleagues – I doubt anyone who sells puppies for a living.

We thought we found a good breeder. She said all the right things when I asked her all of the hard questions. She sounded sincere and good hearted. So, with the feeling that we were on the right track, my friend went to go see the breeder – so excited and so sure that she even was prepared to put down a deposit.

Well, anything she had heard from me and others about what to look for – the filth and the mass amounts of dogs – all appeared in front of her. She said it was so horrible they walked right back out.

Now, on one hand – I guess it says something that the woman wasn’t even trying hard tp mask what was obviously a backyard breeding operation. And, I am grateful that she made it so visually noticeable. It was critical that my friend saw the breeder for what she was – not a good breeder.

It sounds like she might have all the right intentions but somewhere along the way lost sight of what she was doing and either got too involved in the money and/or became a hoarder.

Not only is my friend devastated, but I am left to mistrust all breeders again and left to forewarn everyone about who you come across on the internet. People sound good, puppies look adorable, but that does not come close to what might be going on behind the scenes of that professionally run website. The pictures are fake or completely a hoax and the dogs are literally living in squander.

I know for many it is hard to believe. I think it might have even been hard for my friend to believe - that people would really treat animals like that – but now she is left with an image she cannot get out of her mind.

It amazes me in some ways that people can do this – treat animals like they are nothing but dirt on the floor.

I know animals are a lot of work and now that I have added a frog to my ark – I feel like I am operating a zoo!

(By the way the frog made it through the weekend and I have fed him crickets twice! And meal worms. And even though it goes against my moral compass – I have to admit that watching him eat is pretty cool!)

But, last night I realized that I am practically a zoo keeper and that 8pm in our house is feeding time. The animals get crazy. The cats meowing up a storm, Penelope jumping up and down like a rabbit and the frog staring at me like he needs something.

I go downstairs and fill the cat bowls and dish out the wet cat food – the main treat of the day… the dogs knowing that this is their treat too because each of them will get a spoonful. Everyone following me around like I am the pied piper…

All I need is a sign that reads, “Feeing time: 8pm each night” and an audience to watch.

I finished the feedings and sprayed down the frog cage – turning off his daylight so he can pretend he lives in the tropical rain forest of Australia.

The house becomes silent and all of the animals are at rest for the evening.

It is what I do every night because my animals are my family. They count on me everyday to do these things for them because they cannot and when I took them in I agreed in some silent way that they would be taken care of. Their needs would be met and they would be loved.

When people, like this horrible breeder, fail to meet those needs, I have major issues. I am angry and irritated that they pawn themselves as caring breeders but do nothing that a good breeder would do and I am saddened that there aren’t enough laws prohibiting people from doing this.

See, my theory is this – if more people adopted animals these breeders would soon go out of business – their commodity, which is how they treat their animals, would no longer have the market and they would be forced out. We wouldn’t have to depend on legislators to do something about it.

And, along the way, millions of shelter animals would find homes. Sure, at some point the shelters would empty and we might need to breed dogs again – but I am happy just waiting for that day.