SHOULD I BREED MY DOG? pt.1 (from the perspective of a rescuer)

"Should I breed my dog?" I can't tell you how many times I've seen this question come across a Dog Email list, or even how many times it has been received through our rescue website. Usually it’s nice people asking, well meaning folks with a "nice dog" who just want others to experience the same joy as they get from their Pet. "Should I breed my dog?" I CAN tell you how the question makes me feel. My heart sinks a little more, tears begin to well up in my eyes, and that knot of grief takes hold of my stomach. It's not that I wish to see all breeding stopped. If there were no breeding at all a line or breed would die out, and that would mean the extinction of Companion Dogs.

What I do wish is that more people understood the plight of America's Companion Pets. I've been told it's an "American thing". Americans have rights, and where pets are concerned, these are our rights! We have the right to breed, indiscriminately. The right to allow a litter, so the "kids can see the miracle of birth". The right to leave an animal intact because "that is what God intended."

We have so many rights, that every single year, over 10 million homeless animals are put to death in shelters. So many rights, that on average, 64% of animals taken into shelters are euthanized.

I rescue Great Pyrenees, a Giant Breed of Dogs. In 1999, there were 1,436 LITTERS of Great Pyrenees registered to AKC. That is litters, not dogs, and this number does not reflect the numbers of dogs registered elsewhere, unregistered or bred by BYBs. There were more than 600 Pyrs in rescue, needing homes, in just a single year.

The figures of Homeless and unwanted animals are staggering. We only have to do the Math---there are just NOT enough homes for all these dogs.

Should you breed? From the viewpoint of a rescuer---no, a BIG NO. If you wish your children to witness the "miracle of birth", you can rent a film---or better yet, visit your local shelter.

"Should I breed my dog?" I do know what they are really asking, but I have a difficult time being objective. I tend to look at the world through the eyes of a rescuer, forever counting pennies and trying to figure out how to help the next dog. Still, I do try to answer the question. Educating the public is an important facet of Rescue.

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