I sometimes write about the difficult messages I receive, but I’m trying to write more often about the interesting and thoughtful messages, I get a lot of them and want to be better about sharing them.
They are actually much more important to me than the nasty ones. I got one this morning from Brad in Minnesota:
“Jon, Thank you for sharing your perspective on breeders and no-kill shelters. You’ve changed how I think about both. I now have a more educated view on each.
I think better of “good” breeders and my view of no-kill shelters has come down a bit. I think both views are more honest and realistic now. We’ll probably still get our pets by word of mouth or the shelter (cause we’re cheap). but I no longer think all breeders are an evil lot and agree people should get the pet they want and will be committed to.
I’ve even found my shelf sharing these views a couple of times this past fall when the occasion arose. I always give you credit (not blame), regards, Brad.”
This is sweet music to any responsible writer’s eyes and ears.
I like a lot of things about Brad and his message.
First, he makes it clear that he will get a dog in the way that he wants, and I respect that. I think when all is said and done, Midwesterners are just a bit nicer than people who live elsewhere.
Brad is telling me that I got him to think, and that is what it is all about for me. I don’t tell other people what to do, and I don’t need to be agreed with all of the time’
Fortunately, this is not a problem.
Brad is open-minded, but also independent.
He isn’t changing his views because of my writing, he is just re-thinking them, perhaps softening them, a bit.
I am not against breeders, or rescue groups or shelters. I have a lot of misgivings about the idea that it is humane to lock dogs up in crates for years, or all of their lives, if necessary, and call it noble.
If I heard that a neighbor was doing that, I would call the police and turn them in for animal abuse.
There is a great gap between what dogs need and what people need for dogs to be and do. I try to be careful to do what’s best for my dogs and separate it from what’s good for me, or what makes me feel good.
But Brad took my ideas in just the way I intended them. I’m not trying to tell him how to get a dog. People who do that are not my friend or his.
There are good and bad breeders, good and bad rescue groups, good and bad shelters. The dog lover has to plunge into this crapshoot and morass all on his or her own.
It’s a tough process, complicated by morality and animal politics. When all is said and done, we are often left to fall back on nothing more than our own instincts and intuition.
One foolish woman wrote to me to suggest that my breeder, Lenore, was killing shelter dogs because she breeds them and sells them.
There is so much that is ignorant and false about this statement, it is a shock to even have to respond to it. It speaks to the lack of civility, commonality, and community that exists in the dog world, which is becoming more and more like the political world all the time.
Brad and I may see some things differently, but we are both on the same side, and he knows it. We love dogs and want to figure out how to do right by them.
Lenore Severni, our breeder, is doing just what every responsible dog lover does, she is creating healthy and sound and non-aggressive dogs and finding the best possible homes for them.
She is working hard to perpetuate the best qualities in dogs, breeding for health, temperament and bone structure. All of her puppies are healthy, uniform curious and active.
That is not easy to do. But it is worthwhile to do.
As is the work of animal rescue, noble and caring people saving lives and easing suffering. That isn’t easy to do either. Neither exists at the expense or the other, I resist being drawn into this false and irrational choice. There is plenty of room for both in the world of dogs.
The best rescue groups and shelters in effect, do they very same thing as Lenore. They find good homes for worthy dogs.
Brad will figure out for himself that adopting dogs from rescue groups and shelters is no longer cheap, and hasn’t been for some years.
I’m spending a lot of money for Zinnia – $2, 500 – but I’m asking a lot. I want a healthy, grounded dog who can be totally trusted to work with the sick, the dying, and the elderly.
I also want a family pet I can trust and take anywhere, into cities, on walks in the woods, and into a hospital intensive care unit or hospice wards. I want this dog to stay cool when and if my granddaughter tries to kiss her on the nose or pull her tail.
I don’t want her to ever behave in a way that frightens or harms anyone. I want her to go into schools and assisted care facilities, and ride in the car everywhere I go.
If I get a dog like that, it will be worth a lot more than $2,500. It will be cheap at the price.
Thanks for writing to me, Brad. If Congress were full of people like you, we would be a much happier and prouder nation.
You’re right Jon – cheap at the price – i know nothing of dog breeding but when i try to think of the expense of the good, responsible dog breeder BEFORE THE PUPPY leaves the premises – it is a lot. The dog breeder must have good food for the mom dog, shots, vet care and de-worming and food for the puppies before they get any $. I am trying to think what Dr. Phil says about anything cute – he says “cuter than a speckled pup”.