Breed insistence deadly

Two labradoodle breeders in our area have animals seized for neglect. In the last month, three of my customers get new dogs – labradoodles. I always ask if they adopted; sadly it’s always the same: They look down, kick the ground and stutter softly, “I bought them from a breeder,” never looking me in the eye, knowing in their heart buying animals is wrong.

They tell me they “HAD to have a labradoodle, HAD to buy from a breeder as purebreds are better.”

I always explain to them how many animals die in our nation just for lack of a home; 900-plus die every hour, 21,000 a day, 5 million to 8 million a year.

How do they respond? “Yeah, that’s too bad.” What is that? Denial?

Breed-specific buying drives breeders and puppy mills to thrive. The seized labradoodles are now at a shelter and may die there. Why don’t we get it? It’s not brain surgery. Everyone knows the statistics. Have we lost all common sense or are we that apathetic to these poor animals’ plight, because of our greed, that we just don’t care? Adopt, don’t buy.

Tia Rosetti-Mills

Newman Lake