Its late in Ohio. One O'clock in the morning and I should be sleeping but there's a fire inside my head and sleep just won't come. I can't stop thinking about the farm dogs in California - the ones that herd sheep, head cattle and make short work of long days for the rancher.
No offense (as my 10 year old niece would say) but who's idiotic idea was AB 1634 and have they ever stepped out of their tidy little neighborhoods and breathed in fresh country air? If they did, maybe their thinking caps would be working. Thinking is weak on this bill and it is obvious that the authors know nada about the nature of dogs.
For a true animal advocate, there's a lot of things to hate about AB 1634 but the bottom line is this: it will eliminate breeding stock for all dogs that do not compete in an official capacity through a registry.
Here's a good example of what I'm "talking" about - some dog breeders don't have time or the desire to show off their dogs. They breed dogs in the most traditional sense of all - because they need willing, capable working partners to help them run the farm or ranch. A good dog that is busy actually earning a living, by pushing stock, bringing home the cows, making sure the chickens don't escape, keeping predators away from young lambs, etc., is exactly the kind of dog that should reproduce because they are useful and willing workers - Darwin's dream dog. But now here's the rub - stock dogs/farm dogs, they are working dogs - not always registered and hardly ever used in any form of competition - so under the guidelines of AB 1634 - they are not worthy to reproduce. The bill is idiocy personified.
While I am an advocate of showing dogs in performance events and the conformation arena, it is pretty obvious to me, as it should be to anyone who has open eyes to see, that dogs that actually perform in real condtions - rather than the made up conditions of the performance "arena", need to keep their reproductive "equipment" intact so that their special talents and qualities can be passed on for generations to come.
All AB 1634 will do is raise up the price for young dogs and cause a blackmarket for them before the bottom falls out and dogs become extinct. If this bill pases, watch for cost increases and the rise of pet theft in California as theives take advantage of a weak supply in a strong demand market.
Can you imagine the extinction of the species we know as dogs? I can. That's why I am up so late typing on this keyboard. Authors, while you might think you're helping to eliminate the unruly dogs of South or East LA with this bill, all you are really going to do is cause the average dog (or cat) lover to spend more for a pet - because it will be harder to find youngsters to buy. Meanwhile, ranchers will have to invest in more men and fourwheelers to do the job of one good stock dog.
...and do you think gang members won't find a way to breed their dogs? Sure they will. They're criminals - here's a newslfash - criminals break laws all the time.
Only a very small percent of the population show their dogs in any kind of competition enough to quantify keeping their dogs' overies and testicals intact under AB 1634. The rest will have to be sexually altered. If this happens - if the lawmakers decide against the dog tomorrow morning - then the begining of the end will be in place - the clock will begin ticking down towards the extinction of the species we know as dogs.
Wanna know why? Because good dog breeders need more than a pair of dogs to create a family tree and sometimes the best mating partner is not a competition dog. When you hear an "instant dog expert" negaitvely describing "inbred" purebred dogs - he or she is talking about a very narrow family tree. If AB 1634 is passed, the canine family tree will be pruned severely and will begin to resemble a telephone pole. Shelter dogs are always spayed and neutered so there will be no viable breeding pairs coming from shelters.
One neutered shelter dog male + one spayed shelter dog female = 0 puppies.
One neutered stock dog male + one spayed stock dog female = 0 puppies.
If this scenario begins to spread, how long do you think it will be until there are no dogs at all?
About 10 to 15 years - the life span of the average dog.
Remember what "they" say.
Extinction is forever.
Please God, let the nice men and women voting tomorrow morning be dog lovers. I pray they Vote No on AB 1634. Amen.