Letter to a Backyard Breeder
Dear Backyard Breeder --
I am writing this in
a state of anger, frustration, and sadness. I think you will understand why as
you read this letter.
About two years ago, you decided to breed a litter of Shelties. Your bitch
wasn't really breeding quality, and you certainly didn't know enough about the
breed, so perhaps it was greed, ignorance, or the desire to show the kids the
highly overrated miracle of birth. You managed to find a male of equally
undistinguished parentage, and the deal was consummated. Your bitch, who had
previously been confined to the backyard because she was not housebroken and had
absolutely no manners, must have felt like royalty when you allowed her to stay
in the garage while she tended her puppies. The puppies received very little
handling and only absolutely minimal vet care. After all, you had to make money
on the litter. You started to panic when the pups were 6 weeks old, and
prospective buyers were not exactly beating a path to your door. The price
dropped to $75, and the interview for prospective buyers consisted pretty much of
"Did you bring cash?"
One lively, playful male was sold to a young couple with a toddler and another
child on the way. Any responsible breeder would have known this was a bad
placement and would have counseled the couple to wait until the kids were 4 or
5. Maybe you didn't know any better, or maybe you just didn't care, so you sold
them the puppy. Things were okay for a very short time, but then the puppy, in
his youthful exuberance, was knocking the toddler down, and the kid was becoming
afraid of him. The parents, novice dog owners without a clue about training,
banished the pup to the backyard. Unfortunately he was lonely and started
barking and digging. They called you and offered to return him, but you said you
didn't want him back and that you were getting out of dogs. (Thank goodness!)
They ran an ad in the paper...free to good home, but they were pretty lenient on
the interpretation of good home.
A young man took the puppy. He saw this free, AKC registered dog as a way to
make extra money standing the dog at stud. I guess the income wasn't that great,
or the guy spent it too quickly. The dog was hit by a car. The owner neglected
to get veterinary care until 5 days later and only did so because the leg was
all swollen, and the dog was in severe pain. When the vet told him how much the
treatment would cost, the owner said to euthanize the dog. The vet thought the
dog was too sweet to kill, so she called someone in rescue. This person paid for
the treatment and took the dog home to heal. When the dog was healed and no
adopters were forthcoming, she called me and I took the dog to foster.
He really liked living here. I taught him some basic manners, and he got to
watch TV in the evenings. He liked playing with my dogs. When a good possibility
of a home came along, I adopted him out. Things were fine for the first 2 days,
but then he started to show unpredictable aggression, not to the adopters, but
to guests or people they encountered when walking him. They reluctantly
returned him to me. I did more socialization and then got another rescue person
to take him for a week and see what kind of results he got. Same story. The dog
was fine for a very short time and then began displaying unpredictable
aggression. I took him back knowing that the only alternative now was to put him
down. A dog with unpredictable aggression is just not a candidate for
placement. We have so many more dogs looking for homes than there are homes
available that resources cannot be spent on a dog with unsatisfactory
temperament.
So, Back Yard Breeder, you produced this dog and then abandoned all
responsibility for him. I took him to the vet yesterday. He knew something was
wrong...probably because I was crying and my hands were shaking. I knew I had to
do this, but I really liked this dog and hated that this was the way it would
end. I held him in my arms as he drifted off. There is no more confusion and
instability in his young life, and now he has playmates at the Rainbow Bridge. I
know that for at least the time he lived here he was happy and well-cared for. I
can't help thinking that if you had been more selective of buyers and if his
owners had been more responsible and provided him with care and training, he
wouldn't have had to die. Maybe it was genetic. Perhaps his parents had
aggression problems, and you never considered that when you bred the litter. I
don't know. I just know that I wish you could feel as bad as I do over this.
I suppose the irresponsible people who owned him along the way have to share the
blame too. The young couple bought on impulse without doing any research into
the breed. They didn't train him and then just gave him away when he became
inconvenient. The young man who let him suffer before seeking vet care should
never own another pet. But by and large, Back Yard Breeder, I blame you
because you made a conscious decision to create life and then refused to
take responsibility for what you had created.
Angrily yours,
A Rescue Worker
[Author Unknown]
HSS Addendum
If you have read this far, are you also one of the following? Do you want to see your dog have a litter for the "miracle of birth" to show your children, or so you can have a pup "just like Missy?" Or did you neglect to have your dogs spayed/neutered, and the obvious result was a litter of unwanted puppies? Or are you a backyard breeder or puppy miller, breeding purebred dogs for profit, with no regard for testing or placement of the pups, much less the care of their parents? Then you are directly responsible for contributing to the millions of dogs who are killed in overpopulated shelters every year. The ones who escape death owe their lives to rescue workers who must do their jobs because you did not. People considering buying puppies, please see the links that define the differences between professional breeders and backyard/puppy mill breeders--and stay away from these culprits. We have more information about buying a Sheltie puppy and a list of reputable breeders at our Purchasing a Sheltie Puppy site. Have your own dogs spayed or neutered. The only way to finally stop the wholesale slaughter of dogs and cats in this country is to stop the wholesale breeding of them by irresponsible owners and breeders.
Shelter Dog Rescue
Before You Take Your
Dog to a Shelter
No Puppy Mills
Voice for Dogs
You Need to Know
Puppy Millers
and Backyard Breeders
Backyard Breeders' and Puppy Millers' Big Book of Old Excuses
Traits of Responsible Breeders
Puppy Mills and Backyard Breeders
Defining and
Finding a Responsible Breeder
Breeders
