“Tell me something about yourself”.. after panicking and forgetting all of the things I spend my time doing, I tend to begin with “I am an animal lover!”.
I think that this self proclaimed title carries with it numerous meanings, ranging from people who think animals are cute, fluffy and lovely (which they are) to those who take a stand against animal cruelty in all of its guises. The latter category is hard to delineate as many issues relating to animal cruelty are contentious and problematic to define, take consumption of animal produce or testing on animals as two examples of this.
While I don’t intend to delve too deeply into the plethora of animal rights issues which exist, I do fall more comfortably into the group of people who feel strongly about them, and for today’s blog I would like to rant about commercially bred dogs.
Dogs have been bred over the years to extenuate and replicate features that we, the human and consumer, find desirable at that time. Obvious example of this are the length of sausage dogs or the squashed noses and bulging eyes of pugs. Although it is perhaps problematic in itself to view an animal in such a way as we might view a fashion accessory, choosing to pay more for the prettiest or fluffiest, this is only the beginning of the problem.
These animals suffer horrendously. Firstly that of the dog bred to a state of dysfunctionality, and secondly that of the mother dogs forced into a continuous cycle of pregnancy and birth in order to line the pockets of the breeder.
Building upon the first point I would like to draw on some photo evidence, a classic ‘before’ and ‘after’: BEFORE AND AFTER BREEDS. Pugs, (which seem to be the fashion dog of the moment,) suffer from breathing problems (due to overly bred squashed nose), eye problems (due to overly bred bulging eyes), skin problems and more. I don’t wish to dwell on the problems that all overly bred dogs have but I hope that you might feel interested to do your own research if you too label yourself as a dog lover.
THE POINT: So why am I moaning about it?
I want people to stop and think before they decide to get a dog. Adopting a dog from a rescue centre might seem less tempting as you often miss the adorable puppy-phase, but the pros outweigh the cons tenfold! I promise!
PROS OF ADOPTING:
CONS OF ADOPTING:
Sorry to write such a seemingly negative post, but I hope that it instead may promote hope that we can end the nightmare that is commercial dog breeding!
Rose xxx
