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Okay, I am at work at the pet shop and when I go to the door, to let a client in, there is a navy blue pillowcase. I have no idea what it is. A snake? A possum? What could it be?

I bring it in and set it on the floor trying to HEAR a noise. I hear nothing. About an hour later I move the case and hear a hiss. Carefully, I cut a hole in it and increase its size gradually -- until a kitten head pops out!

Six of the best looking kitties ever! We found homes for them.

Today, we had message which was a girl crying begging us to take her kittens. She does not want them to be killed at the shelter.

HERE IS A REVELATION: RESPONSIBLE BREEDING

How can people in this day and age NOT get their animals spayed or neutered? Dear God, the shelters are full of unwanted pets and yet people refuse to get their pets "fixed".

That is just what the people at the shelters want to see -- more kittens and pups being euthanized! Unbelievable! Why won't people "fix" their pet? Do they want to just see the little fur balls -- "Oh, they are so cute!" But then they wind up sticking then in a bag and making it my/our responsibility to find them homes. Give me a break.

Have a heart, unless you are a responsible breeder; Spay or neuter your pets -- PLEASE. I hate to see another kitten or pup at the shelter with the sign "LAST DAY AVAILABLE -- TODAY"

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Oh God Dots, that's heartbreaking.

Dogs are periodically dumped at the dog park I go to too. Thank God there are good hearted people like you out there who have so far been able to find homes for them.

If I could, I would take more animals in. But I just afford another pet. There are times I have to scrape just to get Nico the things she needs.

When I decided to buy a pedigreed dog, it was because I decided that for once I wanted to get a dog that I wanted, instead of always taking in someone elses mistake. That's a slam against us people, btw, NOT the dogs.

I was brought up with my dads honorable mentality, that there were too many dogs in the world that needed a home to justify going out and buying one.

That's true, but the reason for that is us people.

I was totally clueless in what to look for in a breeder. There is no shortage of substandard rottweiler breeders available either. Believe me. I was actually checking out the ads in the Suntimes, you know, "Rottweiler puppies!: 200$!" (if people are selling "purebreds" for that cheap there is no way they are putting much money into the dogs)

I was fortunate to find an excellent breeder thorugh the interent, who educated me a bit on what to look for in a responsible breeder. I really think that it was divine guidence cause I had no clue as to what to look for.

Anyway, this is from a website I was checking out long ago when I was learning about what to look for in a good breeder.....

Responsible Breeder: A person who breeds for the betterment of the breed, who tests for genetic disorder and disease and strives to reduce it's occurence through careful selective breeding producing puppies of a higher quality than the breeding pair for the purpose of improving the breed.

Back Yard Breeder: Any person(s) perpetuating the poor quality pure bred "pet" producing puppies  for the purpose of fun or profit, that are not of a higher quality than the breeding pair,  that does not test for genetic disease or disorder or pursue a general improvement of the breed  

Many people go into breeding for reasons that are not well-educated or realistic. With the alarming number of both pure bred and mixed breed dogs being euthanized every year because they had no homes it is absolutely crucial that a person go into breeding for serious, rational reasons and for none of the following:

1. My dog is so cute and wonderful, my neighbors love him and alot of people have said they would like to have a dogs just like him(her)

2. A dog makes a better pet after it has had a litter (False. Dogs actually become more territorial, and their chances of cancer and other deadly diseases increase by over 90% when they are bred)

3. I want my children to see the miracle of birth (A better plan would be to take your children to the animal shelter and let them see the consequences of irresponsible breeding)

4. My dog is purebred and has papers

5. I want another dog just like mine

6. I can make a little extra money  (Good breeders rarely make anything. A responsible breeder breeds only with the good of the breed in mind!)

7. I want to create a new breed (animals are not meant to be lab experiments for human curiousity)

8. My neighbor really wants my dog to breed with theirs

9. It would be fun

10. I like puppies and want alot of them    

If you really aren't sure, and think you really want to breed your dog, do as a very wise breeder once told a group of young would-be breeders.

"Walk through an animal shelter, if you can look into the eyes of every dog that is cowering alone and afraid in those cages and be absolutely certain so help you God that no dog you ever bring into this world, or any of it's potential offspring, will ever be among them for any reason, EVER, for as long as you live, then you can be a dog breeder"

rottieangelanimated.gif

Cat spelled backwards does NOT spell God!

[This message was edited by RottieGrrrl on December 08, 2003 at 13:33.]

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Amen and amen to both of ya'll!! All our furry family were once strays. We can't seem to stand to see them running in the street.

Sometimes we can find the owner but most times not. But anybody who comes to our house to stay has to get fixed. Oh that is if you have 4 legs and are covered in fur. icon_biggrin.gif:D-->

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Plus, I can't imagine my neutered male cat would be so mellow if he had not been "fixed" before he came home with me from the pound.

I have no interest in a cat urinating in the house to mark territory (except in the litter box) nor am I interested in having the cat going nuts to get out of the house and propagate.

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Tcat, Rottie and Rocky

So, how do we get the word out? I mean Bob Barker and Betty White have been saying ot for years, how do we get their attention? Have a show on what happens to your unwanted pet?

Show the little pups and kittens being euthanized? What will get through?

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There already is a world of education out there Dots. I know it's frustrating.It's sort of like me smoking cigarettes. I know it's bad for me. Do I listen if someone tells me it's bad? No.

Let me give you a couple of examples of incidents I've been through myself.

I'm at PetSmart with Nico. A nice young girl who works there comes up to us and pets Nico. She said she has a rottweiler and then she proudly tells me that her family bred it with a German shepherd, and they bred her with a pitt bull and they are going to breed her with another dog.

I'm sitting there smiling like an idiot saying "Oh! how nice!" or some such $hit. I mean, what could I say? This girl works at PETSMART for crying out loud where rescues are there ALL the freaking TIME!

It's hard enough to find homes for purebreds out there without breeding mutts.

Another instance. When I used to go to fellowship at the local offshoot. This pastors wife, who is an intelligent lady, told me they wanted to breed their Golden Retriever because she wanted her children to see the "miracle of birth"

I gently explained to her that is considered to be one of the worse reasons to breed a dog. She asked why, and I told her. Her kids would probaby miss the event anyway. Pregnancy is complicated and painful.

I explained that the Humane Society's alternative suggestion is that if you want to teach your kids about sex then a better idea is to rent a video on birth, and to take them to the animal shelter and let them see the animals being put to death because of irresponsibility.

To give this woman credit, she listened to what I said and didn't breed her dog. God bless her, she listened.

When I was searching for a rottweiler breeder people knew I was looking for a dog, and they were like, OH, I have a freind who's dog just had a litter, or My dog just had puppies! Why don't you take one of them?

One guy tried to put a guilt trip on me. "Hey, I thought you liked animals." What nerve.

I got very defensive. I told him not to make his problem my problem. I told him that my family and myself have taken in strays all our lives. I said if I wanted a dog like that I could go to the shelter, because dozens of good dogs are dumped there every day. I told him if that had been my dog she never would have been bred.

When I found a good breeder, I had to have my deposit in after the first week the litter was born. And that's lenient. Some breeders require deposits before they even breed a dog.

Thank God we at least have good animal control in the US. It's almost too good. They're practically invisible. We don't see too many strays because there usually picked up right away.

My parents were in Puerto Rico once and they said the dogs were starving in the streets. (a lot of shar-pei's and other dogs)People thought my dad was nuts because he bought a dog a hamburger.

But ya know, maybe if people saw first hand, just what the consequenses are, that would wake them up a little bit.

Other than education, all you can do is try to catch the bad guys in the act when they dump a dog. Try to get a license number, call the cops. At least they'll get a ticket and maybe feel some shame.

A field trip for kids to an animal shelter isn't a bad idea either.

I just wonder if even after these people dumped there bag of cats at your door, or the little girl called up in hysterics, if the people learned even then.

But you know, I don't mean to come off high and mighty. I used to do stupid things myself with my old dog (leave him outside a store while I went in, etc.) I would NEVER do that now. Now that I've learned a couple things.

rottieangelanimated.gif

Cat spelled backwards does NOT spell God!

[This message was edited by RottieGrrrl on December 09, 2003 at 11:07.]

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Good post!

I posted this before but think it is worth repeating:

Over 90,000 dogs and cats are killed every year in Atlanta area shelters. It is a problem of epidemic proportions. More pets are killed in Atlanta area shelters than in the entire country of Great Britain, New York City or the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Oregon or Washington. Most of the pets that enter Atlanta shelters are family pets that have become lost or have strayed from home, but without an ID tag the shelters have no way of identifying them. Please help us help the homeless pets and prevent more from becoming homeless by spaying and neutering all of your pets, by keeping an ID tag on your pets 24/7, by adopting rather than buying a pet and by making a commitment to keep your pet for its entire lifetime.

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The medical procedure is not cheap. Maybe if Vets and shelters could do it less expensively, then more people might get it done to their pets. I know it is not something that you can do without expensive education, but the difference in a Vet's income could be made up in volume.

Anyway enough of that. We had our female cat fixed while still a kitten. We have not regreted it. She was a bit older when we got her, and did not expect her first heat so soon. Once was enough for us!

We just brought home a second female that was advertised in the paper. This couple rescues cats and has them fixed and tested, then offers them free to good homes. They would not even take any money as a gift to help out. I do not know how they can afford it. At the time, they had a whole mess of 6 week old kittens, and their mother, plus another male cat. They would not let the kittens go yet till they were 8 weeks old.

Y3K -- Start Early

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Sheesh, I don't know what it takes to get through to people. Bonk them on the head or something.

And something that I have noticed is that sometimes people treat other people just as badly as they treat animals. Like they just don't care.

And now I've opened another can of worms. But sometimes just a little bit of kindness can do a lot.

Huumm, must be the season....love tcat

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That's true about the operation. I think it cost 200 bucks for Nico. But ya know, if your going to get an animal, you have to figure in those expenses. There is no such thing as a free puppy or kitten.

Nico was 650.00 for pet quality, wich is a great price for a well bred rott, (although she was show quality, if I bought her as such it would have been a few hundred more) And although she had been dewormed, dewclawed, weened,innoculated and microchipped she still needed 2 more shots from the vet I remember. Plus new toys, food, puppy class right away, (oh yeah, they require a kennel cough shot for that) She had cost probably 1100 to 1200 dollars right off the bat.

I was saving for it though and knew what to expect. That's why screening is important to breeders. Some people will take a free puppy and then realize what an expense and work it is and bam! They wind up in a shelter or a pound.

And it's probably better that they get euthanized than some person with ill intentions getting ahold of them. (bait for dog fights, lab experiements etc.)

From what I remember it wasn't in the contract that I HAD to have her spayed (some breeders do have that in a contract) but it was verbally understood I would NOT breed her. And this lady screened her buyers pretty good. She turned away more people than she allowed to buy her pups.

But yeah, I know what you mean about a female in heat. Geez. I wouldn't want to think about a 110 lbs horny female rott trying to break through the window to get to a male during her "time"

And God bless that couple who takes in the homeless critters. I don't know how they can afford it either.

rottieangelanimated.gif

Cat spelled backwards does NOT spell God!

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I too find it amazing that people aren't responsible enough to spay and neuter their pets. Someone who throws a pet out on the streets is heartless.

Anyone watch Animal Cops or Animal Precinct on the Animal Planet channel? Great shows. Hopefully, the public is getting more and more aware.

I almost think people should not be allowed to have an animal unless they've been screened and licensed. The horrors humans do to their animals is truly sickening.

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Well, we've now taken in SEVEN homeless cats:

Sunny,

Buster,

Gracie,

Duncan,

Angel,

Gabrielle, and

Teddy.

The first two and last two were vet rescues, the middle three from friends and relatives with unplanned litters. All have been fixed, save for little Teddy, who's only 3 months old, but his man-bits will be out for the chop before his first birthday. They do tend to get a bit expensive, but cats, thankfully, are low-maintenance pets. Of course, multiply one low-maintenance bit by seven... icon_smile.gif:)-->

Secret Signature of the Day==v

Atheists will not burn in Hell because of their disbelief, but rather because they're such insufferable a**holes about it.
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krys: That card is adorable. I LOVE interactive cards. I'm going to have to send that to a couple of people.

I can't watch animal cops. It's too hard. Volenteering at an animal shelter just cleaning kennels would be heartbreaking. Your heart would be broken every day. Petting a dog one day and the next day there dead.

rottieangelanimated.gif

Cat spelled backwards does NOT spell God!

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Depends on the size of the bag, but only theoretically. Sunny, Duncan, and Gabrielle would immediately try to claw their way out, while Gracie and Angel would crawl under Buster, who wouldn't give a crap, and Teddy would think the whole thing was some new form of playtime and pester the rest until someone paw-pinned him. icon_wink.gif;)-->

Secret Signature of the Day==v

Atheists will not burn in Hell because of their disbelief, but rather because they're such insufferable a**holes about it.
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  • 4 years later...

The people I bought Sophie from had not had her spayed and she was 6 years old. They told me if I bred her they wanted a puppy.

They didn't take very good care of her, but they thought I'd let them have a puppy?

I got her spayed. I got Maxx neutered.

We are getting Buckeye spayed next month. My husband thought it might be fun to breed her but after my dangfit he changed his mind.

He was thinking being a hobby breeder would be fun. Nope. No way. It would take years of research which I don't have time for. Can't go on vacation and leave your breeding stock on their own.

The breeders where we got Buckeye have already done the homework and the research, and I got the benefit of that. Ms. Prancey Pants is getting "fixed" so I don't have to worry about cancer or boydogs (or male coyotes) on the prowl.

She'll be much happier that way herself, I think.

WG

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Hi WG,

I just wanted to give you a big hug for being a responsible pet owner.

I'm going to brag because today after work I'm picking up our daughter's freshly spayed oh-so-cute rescued terrier mix. Ton-tett has wanted a cat (no...I'm allergic) or small dog for the longest time, but we had adopted/rescued a brother-sister lab/collie duo eight years ago and we just weren't ready for three dogs.

Sadly, we had to have the sister put to sleep earlier this month...a nasty sarcoma had been removed, but came back with a vengence. She was such a sweet dog, but she had a very good life.

Anyway, with only one dog left...a grieving dog...we started looking at the pound and at the weekly Pe+$mart rescue/adoptions, but didn't see a good match for our daughter. I happened to check craig$list (I never go on there...musta been revelation :rolleyes: ) and someone had just posted a picture of a wonderful little dog who was going to have to be taken to a shelter the next day...the woman had exceeded her dog-limit with her landlord. I called the number and drove through Dallas traffic (!) that evening to pick her up. My daughter (and T-Bone & I and our other doggie) are delighted to have her as part of the family.

Hugs to your Buckeye and all the other responsible pet owners and furry children out there!

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Thanks, Tonto. The Buxter went into heat this week. I suspected as much last week when a big old boy dog followed us home, about 5 times her size, but very persistent. I ended up flagging down a car to convey us safely away from the brute. I think the "heat" lasts three weeks altogether, so this is her second week. Poor baby!

She is on a leash even in the yard. End of this month, surgery!

Nope, I'll leave the breeding to the breeders.

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