Humans may be ruining man’s best friend
By Sara Boboltz, Huffington Post
Our friendly domestic dogs have come a long way from their wolf ancestors, and it’s all thanks to us.
“Somehow there’s this misconception that dog breeds actually exist — like dachshunds are a natural thing in the world,” Louise Murray, vice president of the ASPCA Animal Hospital, told Huffington Post. “We think, there are frogs, and there are chickens, and there are dachshunds. But of course you don’t realize until later that they’re just human constructs.”
We love having dogs around — in fact, between 37 and 47 percent of U.S. households own at least one dog, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. That’s about 70 or 80 million dogs overall. And while estimates differ, between one-third and one-half of those dogs are believed to be purebred, born of incestuous pairings. As a result, many purebred dogs are now facing an abundance of health problems, and many of their human companions have begun to question the ethics of it all.
Dr. Louise Murray actually thinks people are that stupid? I’m surprised she isn’t running the government, along with all the other people who think they’re so much smarter than regular people. A condescending attitude doesn’t encourage people to support your cause.
That said, people SHOULD think twice about purchasing a pedigreed dog. There are certain breeds that I just love, but now my pets come from the shelters. I just can’t support (even indirectly) the proliferation of puppy mills and indiscriminate backyard breeders who are only in it for the money.
Grow your heart; let a mutt in.
Rescued animals make the best pets and friends for life. My working dog mutt becomes an instant idiot the second food comes out in the backcountry. She has great natural instincts and helps me by alerting me about what’s in the woods but is useless when the treats come out and it continues for the rest of the outing. How quickly they forget- it is amazing. We need dogs to help us with our loss of intuition. Kennel clubs are ruining man’s best friend. Be a friend – Adopt a Mutt!
The article should have a photo inset of me sitting at my desk explaining how we all came from apes and we are slowly killing off the human race. With arrows pointing to my sore back from sitting too long, my bad eyes with readers from looking at the screen for too many years. My hearing loss from exposure to music and airplanes, etc. I feel so guilty. Sorry humans race.