Almost everyone I know is an animal lover and yet, so often we stand divided by something I call "The culture of confusion". "I believe in animal rights" says a friend of mine - (a fellow breeder) who ads, "all animals have the right to be cared for and fed and be treated well" she continues, as her latest litter of "hopefulls" chew on the livingroom sofa. As she stoopes down to pick up soggy newspaper, the puppies run to her, hoping for some affection and they are not dissapointed. One by one my friend picks up the puppies, kissing each one before putting it down for another.
Clearly she loves her breed and I know from experience that potential owners will be heavily screened before they'll ever be privledged to sign a buyer's contract and take home one of her babies. But for all the studying she has done on breeding and cultivating bloodlines, my friend has sequestered herself from the outside world - a world that threatens her very passion - "I don't listen to any of those news stories" says my friend. "I have enough to think about. "When someone sends me an e-mail about animal rights, I just hit the delete key." My stomach sinks when I hear these words because I don't have the luxary of isolation. I have lived in the broader scope of dogs for too long and I see so clearly that my dear friend hasn't a clue to what the expression "Animal Rights" really means. She is not alone. Another of my aquaintences is, like me, a professional photographer with a speciality in dogs. He works for all the major dog publications and is a reliable worker at the really big dog shows such as Westminster and the AKC Eukanuba Invitational. He makes his living off of dogs and yet, if you ask him, he will tell you "I believe in animal rights." When first he said this to me, I was thunder-struck. Surely I had misunderstood. I asked him to explain his position and he said, "Of course animals have the right to not be mistreated. They should have the right to be well fed and loved and have a good life. That's why I support animal rights groups. They will make sure that laws are changed in favor of the animals."
Now I would like to think that these two misguided animal lovers were isolated cases. Surely anyone who is involved in the world of dogs should know that animal rights activists want to outlaw breeding. Dog lovers should understand that animal rights activists are intentionally or unintentionally promoting the extinction of the species that we all know and love as dogs - but just like my misguided friends, they do not know this because they are the type of animal lover who acts and thinks purely on emotion rather than taking the time to read and research. Making matters worse, when these people hear voices like mine they think "Alarmists" - stirring up the energy in an otherwise "don't worry, be happy" kind of world. I have learned that to make my aquaintences understand the dire times in which we are living, an economy of words is needed.
Emotional reactives have a short attention span. And so, animal advocates who understand that the animal rights movement is subversive and omnipresent must come up with a simple and direct language to use with their fellow dog lovers. No one that I know actually wants to see dogs as a species extinguished from our society - but in my opinion, that is where we as a society are headed unless we can make all dog loving people aware of what is really going on. Simply put, if dog breeding is banned - there will be no more puppies. Without puppies, there will be no more dogs. Sure, if all breeders are banned from creating puppies, shelter dogs will suddenly be in demand. But what do we do once all the spayed and neutered shelter dogs are adopted? Where will one go to buy a dog? Where will your children's children find a dog?
In the History Museum.
Dog lovers who support Animal Rights groups are confused. Of course animals should be well cared for and humanely treated - we all believe in "Animal Welfare" which should not to be confused with the term "Animal Rights". The expression Animal Rights represents an anti-animal movement in our society that will end in the separation of humans and animals - with the eventual extinction of domestic animals.
"Will dogs become extinct? The question is best answered with another question. Do you believe in supporting animal rights? If you do, than the answer is yes, they probably will become extinct. Now, here's one more question for you; is that your intended outcome?
Ten years or more ago, I stumbled upon a book "The Hijacking of the Humane Movement" by Patti Strand and it opened my eyes. Before then, I was still the same old dog breeder - an advocate of beautiful, performance dogs bred to the standard but I was confused by those HSUS direct mail pieces, the pleas from emerging groups like PETA who begged for money on behalf of all the homeless dogs. Somehow those letters made my neck hair bristle but I didn't really know why. I had long volunteered at local animal shelters (my work with local shelters dates back to the seventies and I have been involved in rescue work for just as long - way before it became the trend) but it wasn't until I read Mrs. Strand's book that my eyes were opened wide. Since then, I have witnessed first-hand, the demise of my favorite animal welfare shelter which fell prey and was taken over by an aggresive animal rights board. I watched in horror as excellent and effective animal welfare employees - who had dedicated their lives for the sake of animal welfare - were professionally destroyed by a new regime which cared nothing for the individual human or animal. Mrs. Strand's book gave me the words to understand what was taking place before my very eyes.
Now I am writing for the group that Strand so dilligently created. If you are reading this and my words resonate with you, please consider becoming a member of the National Animal Interest Alliance. In doing so, you will be helping in no small way, to keep the rights of responsible dog breeders and owners intact. In the meantime, try coming up with a simplistic paragraph to help our fellow purebred dog enthusiasts understand modern culture and the choreographed confusion which befuddles their thinking. I say "orchestrated" because the animal rights groups have been planning this line-blurring for many years and our fellow breeders, fanciers and enthusiasts are falling victim to a soothing mind control that presents us in black hats while animal activists who carve away at our rights to own and breed dogs appear to be wearing white.