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Is it really that bad?

Is this commercial really that bad?

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tres borrachos said:
You may have seen my thread around Christmas time about adopting a senior shelter cat for my youngest son. We named him Specklebang (the cat, not my son). He had been at the shelter forever. Everyone wants the kittens and the puppies. Nobody wants the seniors - except you & me. I'm with you - I love to take in seniors.

I hate puppy mills. I hate puppy farmers. Passionately.

You have a big heart. I like that.
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Did they come check out your residence before letting you take the cat?

We rescue quite a few cats - from kitten to old and abandoned, the last one a very old cat that laid down on our driveway to die, completely starved. She had been declawed, meaning whoever put her out was a cruel death sentence. We rescued two abandoned kittens found in fire rubble. Another was a kitten we heard at night crying in the distance night after night, finally coxing it in. The vet estimated it was 6 weeks old and we had been hearing it for nearly 3 weeks. It's stomach so big from worms it was larger than his whole body. He survived. Looking for a missing cat at a shelter, we adopted a look-alike they had been putting off euthanizing because he was so vocal.

Dogs, though, are difference, because dogs behavior tends to be very exact to their breed and they tend to be engrained with certain behavior at a very young age. Thus, we want to know the breed of the dog and we want to raise it from a puppy for behavior reasons - this particularly so because of children. That does not necessarily mean a pure breed, because known mixed breeds can provide some fairly predictable balancing. We already have plenty of animals, plus feed hundreds of critters every day too, including a pair that are endangered.

But it is very unlikely we would adopt a dog from a shelter unless a puppy because we couldn't really know what we are getting in terms of potential problems. Because of children, one nip of a child from a dog would likely be a death sentence in effect as we wouldn't keep it after that. There was someone else's dog they left with us "for a couple weeks" and never returned. A beautiful, big dog. Very well behaved, until the day he took a very aggressive posture towards a child, basically cornering the child. We did find him a great home, but if we couldn't he was doomed and had been chained by us from that moment until we found him a home. The clock was ticking on doing so, but it worked out for him.
 
Hatuey said:
Nothing. What is wrong is the present state of dog breeding. Specifically, the kind that goes into pedigree animals. For one, the massive health problems that come hand in hand with these dogs because owners breed brothers and sisters over and over again. I've given up on buying dogs because of the terrible conditions of some breeds. I can't consciously support buying animals bred for their looks. Animals bred as substinance for human beings? Animals bred for work? Sure. Animals bred for dog shows and looking perfect? Nope.
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Since we keep a pet for life, its not like we pick a lot of dogs. The personality and nature of the breed most matters, but cuteness is a factor too and certainly size. If you are with a group of puppies they will each quickly demonstrate some personality traits. A wise person lets which of the puppies pick you, not the other way around.
 
Speaking of cats....

I live in a somewhat rural area, and there are about 4-8 mostly feral (or at least, certainly not tame - they run when I approach) cats that have seemingly taken up residence in the back yard/woods...

Perhaps I should stop feeding them but it feels kinda mean, especially since it's winter atm and all that...They stay outside though...

Of course they're not spayed/neutered, so far as I know, and are obviously going to breed further cats at some point...
 
joko104 said:
Did they come check out your residence before letting you take the cat?

We rescue quite a few cats - from kitten to old and abandoned, the last one a very old cat that laid down on our driveway to die, completely starved. She had been declawed, meaning whoever put her out was a cruel death sentence. We rescued two abandoned kittens found in fire rubble. Another was a kitten we heard at night crying in the distance night after night, finally coxing it in. The vet estimated it was 6 weeks old and we had been hearing it for nearly 3 weeks. It's stomach so big from worms it was larger than his whole body. He survived. Looking for a missing cat at a shelter, we adopted a look-alike they had been putting off euthanizing because he was so vocal.

Dogs, though, are difference, because dogs behavior tends to be very exact to their breed and they tend to be engrained with certain behavior at a very young age. Thus, we want to know the breed of the dog and we want to raise it from a puppy for behavior reasons - this particularly so because of children. That does not necessarily mean a pure breed, because known mixed breeds can provide some fairly predictable balancing. We already have plenty of animals, plus feed hundreds of critters every day too, including a pair that are endangered.

But it is very unlikely we would adopt a dog from a shelter unless a puppy because we couldn't really know what we are getting in terms of potential problems. Because of children, one nip of a child from a dog would likely be a death sentence in effect as we wouldn't keep it after that. There was someone else's dog they left with us "for a couple weeks" and never returned. A beautiful, big dog. Very well behaved, until the day he took a very aggressive posture towards a child, basically cornering the child. We did find him a great home, but if we couldn't he was doomed and had been chained by us from that moment until we found him a home. The clock was ticking on doing so, but it worked out for him.
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They didn't have to come to my residence. They've already been here. We're fostered over 30 animals for them in the last 10 years.

Purebred dogs bite too. Poorly bred puppies bite. Inbred puppies bite more. Just FYI.
 
tres borrachos said:
And no respectable or legitimate breeder breeds dogs for profit or looks. All respectable breeders breed for the betterment of the breed.

You sound like a mutt man.
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Pretty much, I'm not really into the mutt vs. breed debate. I'm not into a specific kind of dog, I love all of them. I see the need for more scrutiny when it comes to some breeders. I think culling should be illegal and inbreeding should be heavily fined. Some dog breeds have been absolutely destroyed. Dog breeding for the most part is an industry of people who want to create the perfect look for the the perfectly gullible people. Here is an amazing link showing how some dog breeds have been "improved upon". The best part is that you can go to a dog show and you'll find idiots saying **** like "This is how the dog is supposed to look." - then around them, you have a dozen other assholes nodding their heads and agreeing that a pug shouldn't be able to breathe. Are you f'n kidding me?

https://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/100-years-of-breed-improvement/
 
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The Mark said:
Yes....but they're understaffed and underfunded for the duties they are tasked with.

Or at least probably.

And of course the puppy mills don't advertise their location and practices, for obvious reasons.

I've heard about puppy mills in my state - usually when the department tasked with enforcement finds one, or something....
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Greetings, The Mark. :2wave:

It's sickening, especially when you consider the love and loyalty they give in return to anyone that treats them kindly. What is wrong with people like that? :2mad:
 
The Mark said:
Speaking of cats....

I live in a somewhat rural area, and there are about 4-8 mostly feral (or at least, certainly not tame - they run when I approach) cats that have seemingly taken up residence in the back yard/woods...

Perhaps I should stop feeding them but it feels kinda mean, especially since it's winter atm and all that...They stay outside though...

Of course they're not spayed/neutered, so far as I know, and are obviously going to breed further cats at some point...
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A lot of people say you shouldn't feed feral cats. I don't subscribe to that. Most feral cats don't live long lives anyway (sadly). Shelters can't take them, and unless they become part of someone's TNR (trap-neuter-release) program, yup they will reproduce. TNR cats live longer. Did you ever hear of the Boardwalk Cats in Atlantic City? They're feral, but Alley Cat Allies feeds them and they have a TNR program for them.

I say feed them.
 
Hatuey said:
Pretty much, I'm not really into the mutt vs. breed debate. I'm not into a specific kind of dog, I love all of them. I see the need for more scrutiny when it comes to some breeders. I think culling should be illegal and inbreeding should be heavily fined. Some dog breeds have been absolutely destroyed. Dog breeding for the most part is an industry of people who want to create the perfect look for the the perfectly gullible people. Here is an amazing link showing how some dog breeds have been "improved upon". The best part is that you can go to a dog show and you'll find idiots saying **** like "This is how the dog is supposed to look." - then around them, you hav a dozen other assholes nodding their heads and agreeing that a pug shouldn't be able to breathe. Are you f'n kidding me?
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I was raised with Basset Hounds. My parents loved them and they were great family dogs. There are idiots out there now that breed "Blue Basset Hounds" and people pass over thousands of dollars (of course, on the internet) for one of these "rare" Basset Hounds. A ****ing blue Basset Hound is a mutation. It is a genetic problem, not something that's valuable. A kid with Downs has a genetic problem too, and thank goodness there aren't morons who want to pay thousands of dollars for a child with a genetic defect.

I hate people sometimes.

I love mutts and I love purebreds. I love all dogs, period.
 
The Mark said:
Speaking of cats....

I live in a somewhat rural area, and there are about 4-8 mostly feral (or at least, certainly not tame - they run when I approach) cats that have seemingly taken up residence in the back yard/woods...

Perhaps I should stop feeding them but it feels kinda mean, especially since it's winter atm and all that...They stay outside though...

Of course they're not spayed/neutered, so far as I know, and are obviously going to breed further cats at some point...
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I do that too. They usually thin and replace. If there are already other cats around, the females usually go off somewhere else to have their kittens and toms come and go. I have one sleeping on my deck now and has been ever since he showed up sick and I put a bed out there for him. As long as it is a him and not a her, I don't mind so much.

I have some acreage and have some on the opposite side from my house sleeping in an old building. They are not problems as far as I am concerned. They keep field mice away. They mostly sleep up there, I feed them, they prowl the hedge rows to pass the time. I have not seen the one I would let come inside the house in about a week, so I am fearing something has happened to him. He has been gone longer but it is unusual not to see him at least every 3-4 days. I have never known where he stays when not here because he doesn't stay at the old building. He just shows up, eats, gets petted, and leaves.
 
tres borrachos said:
You may have seen my thread around Christmas time about adopting a senior shelter cat for my youngest son. We named him Specklebang (the cat, not my son). He had been at the shelter forever. Everyone wants the kittens and the puppies. Nobody wants the seniors - except you & me. I'm with you - I love to take in seniors.

I hate puppy mills. I hate puppy farmers. Passionately.

You have a big heart. I like that.
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Aww, thanks, hon. My best friend turned me on to the idea of taking older animals. She's amazing. And yeah, it's one of the best things you can do, I think, to give an older dog a second chance.
 
tres borrachos said:
I was raised with Basset Hounds. My parents loved them and they were great family dogs. There are idiots out there now that breed "Blue Basset Hounds" and people pass over thousands of dollars (of course, on the internet) for one of these "rare" Basset Hounds. A ****ing blue Basset Hound is a mutation. It is a genetic problem, not something that's valuable. A kid with Downs has a genetic problem too, and thank goodness there aren't morons who want to pay thousands of dollars for a child with a genetic defect.

I hate people sometimes.

I love mutts and I love purebreds. I love all dogs, period.
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I have to admit, I've never heard of a blue basset hound... I tried looking it up but the most I could find was this:

Basset Bleu de Gascogne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't think that's what you're talking about but I think I have a rough idea of what they might look like. If you ever want to look at destruction of a dog breed, look out what breeders did to the German Shepherds. The last time human beings deformed a living being in such a manner, the year had BC written next to it.
 
tres borrachos said:
They didn't have to come to my residence. They've already been here. We're fostered over 30 animals for them in the last 10 years.

Purebred dogs bite too. Poorly bred puppies bite. Inbred puppies bite more. Just FYI.
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I belong to Tri-State Collie Rescue, but they've usually been given the dogs by someone who just couldn't take care of them anymore, so they stay with people like me until a new home can be found for them, which is never more than a month. They're well behaved since they've never been mistreated, so no problem there. The last one I had went to a farmer in another State - we never are told where they go - but they're just as strict about checking new homes as an child adoption agency is about their rules, and they do follow up calls, just in case it's not a good match, since some are young, and need training. They are spayed or neutered if needed before they go to a new home, too. It was a shame that they had to do that with the last one I had, since he was a rare tri-color registered with the AKC, but those are their rules. :sigh:
 
Your Star said:
Aww, thanks, hon. My best friend turned me on to the idea of taking older animals. She's amazing. And yeah, it's one of the best things you can do, I think, to give an older dog a second chance.
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I say I am doing that after the ones I have are gone--down to one beagle who is old as dirt--but I probably won't. I like dogs when they are older and less hyper, but I wouldn't take in one who was more than knee high if I did not raise them. I am fond of English Sheps but they can be a little peculiar with strangers so I will; probably go back to another puppy at some point once the beagle is gone. I would take in old beagles but the local shelter is so curious, they would never let me get one because I do not have a fenced back yard and a record of taking dogs to the pet as often as I get my oil changed whether they need it or not.
 
Hatuey said:
I don't know about offensive. However there is the potential that people see it as GoDaddy supporting dog breeding in its horrid and absolutely shameful state. If GoDaddy really did make this ad without looking at the way so many kennels operate and how these dogs are bred for their looks - with little disregard for their health - it was downright irresponsible of them. Still, not something I would call "offensive".
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What's wrong with dog breeding?
 
Peter Grimm said:
What's wrong with dog breeding?
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It's only been 6.5 pages... surely you can read through the posts and see this point has been clarified....
 
SmokeAndMirrors said:
It just strikes me as a really bad ad, personally. It would probably leave most viewers feeling suddenly saddened by the shallow turn it takes at the end. Those of us who have dealt with rescue animals, as you've already seen, might be downright angered. I don't really see how anyone would come away from it feeling anything positive. Whoever came up with that should be put in the dunce cap for a while down at GoDaddy HQ.

Offensive? No. Terrible advertising? Yes.
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Shallow. That's the best word I've heard so far to describe it.
 
tres borrachos said:
Adopt...don't shop. It's been my motto for years since I learned the truth. Amen, Star!

I haven't bought anything from the Amish either since I learned about their deeds. You have a lot of mills in your area. Luckily we don't have many here in New England.
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That's YOUR opinion, but other people might prefer to shop for purebreds. Which is their right, in a free country. There is nothing wrong with breeding animals.
 
Hatuey said:
What is dumb?
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The idea that breeding dogs is somehow wrong. People have been breeding dogs for thousands of years. Heck, dogs wouldn't exist if people hadn't bred them from wolves to begin with.

The whole idea is dumb, flavor of the month hippie nonsense.
 
It's clear that some here are so emotionally involved as to be blinded by the variety of scenarios... positive as well as negative... in the world around them. Because there most certainly are breeders who abuse dogs purely for profit, hence all breeders are tagged with the negative buzzword "puppy mill", hence no rational discussion is possible.
 
Peter Grimm said:
The idea that breeding dogs is somehow wrong.
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It's either reading comprehension problems or lack of reading. You're welcome to tell me which one you have and I can prescribe a suitable remedy. In either case, it involves reading the thread.
 
Your Star said:
If anything can be learned from this ad is please, don't buy puppies or dogs from a breeder, get them from a shelter, please adopt. That is the best thing to do to fight this problem. Make this business non-profitable and they will go away.
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Except I doubt you have a lot of people "learning" this. Just as I don't think you have a lot of people seeing the ad as any kind of inherent sponsorship or endorsement of selling puppies online. I think the main people who fall into either of those categories are the same people...those already rather predisposed to this issue in some time.

People pushing the same "learning" message about this, without the overly sensitive dramatic "offense" and call to pull it, would resonate with me far more than the current action where it just looks like stereotypical facebook activists and web2.0 social justice warriors caterwalling about the newest overreaction "offense" that we're all supposed to get up in arms about. Something that makes me, and many others I'd wager, FAR more likely to tune out and not care anywhere near as much to said message than if it hadnt been accompanied with the over reaction, "offense", and calls for removal.

That's not to say there isn't a problem; I recognize there is. But the reaction to this by many is something I think makes folks less likely to truly listen and recognize any kind of issue, as opposed to a different type if reaction and conversation in response.
 
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Hatuey said:
It's either reading comprehension problems or lack of reading. You're welcome to tell me which one you have and I can prescribe a suitable remedy. In either case, it involves reading the thread.
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How about you sum it up, in 500 words or fewer, why breeding animals, something human beings have been doing for at least 10,000 years, is wrong?

I'll hang up and listen.
 
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