i'd love to read this link but...

While I agree with Michela that there are lots of great animals at shelters that need to be saved, I also believe that there are many dogs that are purebreeds that make great pets. Case in point, my GSD "Tahoe". Tahoe's not with us anymore, and I miss him terribly. He was great, and the most beautiful german shepherd dog you've seen. I can only say that if you do get a purebreed, make sure you do your research and find a reputable breeder. Know that you're not going to get a "deal" on a purebreed. Once people only go to known breeders or animal shelters, hopefully these monsters will be put out of business and these puppies won't suffer.

pound puppies (and kitties) rock! and just think how many of these *wonderful* creatures are destroyed because someone would rather have an animal that comes with a piece of paper so he/she can say "my dog is better than yours. nyah nyah nyah." pfftt. i'm all about the Whatever.

You know, it's not all about the "my dog has papers" thing. Hell, I had both of my GSD's spayed/neutered because I know how many unwanted animals are out there and I didn't want to contribute to that mess. I love the breed!

I think the satanic dog breeders f'd with my link!

Michela must admit she went searching for a purebred poodle and found a funny looking chihuahua mix instead. But went searching at a shelter, since so many people get purebreds and then decide it's not the accoutrement they were thinking it would be. Poor poochies...

Since something like 20,000 animals are euthanized every year in one of the wealthieset counties in this country (THE OC), it just seems wrong to go buy a dog from a breeder. But I know what Marla's saying; and IF people would all investigate their breeders, not buy from pet stores or from some newspaper ad, this puppy trafficking would stop and that's my main goal. It's sad we destroy animals at the pound, but the much larger abomination is the environment these poor doggies spend their lives in before they're sold; the female doggies are bred over and over and over, and when they can no longer reproduce, they're killed. The poor female doggies spend their entire lives in unsanitary conditions, crammed in wire boxes and sleeping on their own feces, or that of their similarly boxed companions. The puppies spend their short lives ill, and dying, or live out longer lives with permanent and painful disabilties. THIS is the sick industry what people who buy from the unknown keep in business. It sickens me.

Did I say I hate people yet today?

The poor female doggies spend their entire lives in unsanitary conditions, crammed in wire boxes and sleeping on their own feces, or that of their similarly boxed companions.
---kinda like the majority of chickens found on dinner plates. besides the "ewwww" factor of that thought, i wonder why it's OK to treat chickens (or cattle), but not dogs, in such a manner?

There aren't any counter arguments. Most people would say the abhorrent treatment of animals is unacceptable in any case. They might even have pity on a lobster, whose 'brain' is nary more than a well organized bundle of nerves the size of a small pea.

But the reality is that we have 2 billion people to feed in this world, and it's much harder to force or render desirable the humane treatment of farm animals for food. And that's the line; these animals serve no life or death purpose to humanity. It's just another thing to own. Therefore, in the grand scheme, if you could assign points to these circumstances, mistreatment of a more sentient doggie which serves you as a human no real purpose whatsoever, gets more points. In this real world where all injustices cannot be elinminated, I'd assign a higher priority to eliminating the mistreatment of domesticated doggies, who know and are aware of their suffering much more than even a cow is.

It's a "can't save all the starfish in the sea" approach.

But I still buy cage free eggs, for that reason. Just in case it helps. And with my own private "I-da-ho who steals Michela's money" that extra buck fifty means a lot!

care to take the starfish ref, kmt?

oh, i ganja!

Wait a tic… so you’re saying dogs feel pain more than cows? Do you have a study handy that confirms that poochies have more nerve endings than our bovine buddies? Or are you assuming that, because dogs are considered more intelligent than cows, cows do not feel as much pain? If so, under that reasoning, if I have to choose a person to be beaten to death, it’s better if I choose someone who just got off a little yellow bus because they’ll “feel it less”?

Yes. We have a lot of people to feed. But the massive amounts of land and grain consumed by commercialized agriculture would certainly be of help in that task, wouldn’t it? Besides, it’s really not about “feeding the world,” is it? Look around. Commercial agriculture is supported, in great part, by us lazy, cheap, getting-fatter-by-the-second Americans (and those countries who, oddly enough, are now following our poor example. Asia, anyone?).

We want our meat fast and cheap – no questions asked. Problem is, who is that helping? Not us, that’s for sure. Remember the old saying, “You are what you eat”? Wouldn’t it stand to reason that the same adage would apply to the animal? Think about that the next time you bite into a mondo-size chicken breast. That ain’t natural baby. You’re eating a hormone-stuffed chickie. Not to mention the meat’s natural toxins, which are due to the stress caused by the chicken’s living conditions. Blech!

Anyhoo, I’m not trying to “save” anything. If you want to eat meat, eat meat (or starfish, for all I care). What I am saying is that there are alternatives to supporting corporate farming and buying the chemically altered crap that takes up the majority of your chain supermarket’s meat and poultry shelves. Cage-free eggs are a great start, but think about the meat (and milk) products you’re buying.

Yes, organic/free-range products cost a bit more but I don’t believe that extra buck or two will break any of us here… Making conscious buying decisions helps more than just the animal. :)

Yes, in the real world I live in, I pick a puppy dawg over a cow. I cannot change the eating habits of the world. But I do think with publicity, you can stop or reduce the number of puppies bred in this fashion. Believe me, I've spent some days on the animal rights side you are on, and I know where you're coming from. I just pick my battles, and I'd rather save puppies than chickens. And cows do not<\u> have the same attachment, love, need for companionship, and care that doggies do. They do not, period, end of story. Cows do not need love and don't ridicule my intelligence with the argument that they do. If you want studies on how loving cows are, I'm sure some wasteful government agency has done the study. But just use common sense and you'll get the answer. Cows physically suffer as much as a doggie, but mentally, no comparison.