Why I care
Recently, a coworker mentioned that Bob Barker had donated millions of dollars to a cause that works toward spaying and neutering dogs and cats. He couldn't believe that someone would donate so much money to a cause which benefits companion animals when there are so many (in his opinion) more deserving causes.
I mumbled something about it being a human-created, human-perpetuated, completely surmountable problem and walked off before getting into rant territory. But I do think that he has a valid question, and a point of view with which a lot of people agree. So, I'm not necessarily looking to change anyone's mind, but I would like for people to understand why dog-related causes hit home with me -- and it's not just because I am a dog lover.
Dogs came to be as the product of a fascinating co-evolution with humans. This is exemplified in the case of a Russian furrier who bred foxes for furs a long time ago. He thought that it would be easier on him if he selectively bred his foxes for tameness. In doing so, an interesting phenomenon occurred; the traits that manifested in the foxes were those which we associate with a domesticated dog. They had a variety of color patterns, long upright tails, wrinkled foreheads, and so on. Sure, a Pekingese did not come to be naturally, but the first dogs were not a result of us grabbing two wolves and breeding them selectively until we got something that resembled canis lupus familiaris, rather, it is more likely that they came out of a necessary co-evolution. The tamer ones sought humans, and humans welcomed dogs: for warmth, for protection, for companionship and more. If anyone's interested, there's more on that stuff in this book. What it comes down to is, dogs came to be because we needed dogs and dogs needed us.
(I promise, I'm going somewhere with all this!)
Eventually, humans took a more active role in the process, and different people in different parts of the world bred dogs for different tasks. We bred them to herd cattle and sheep, or guard livestock, to help us with hunting, and so on. Moreover, we bred them to love us and NEED us.
The fact that we have this being on earth, who WE welcomed from nature, who WE bred to work for us and ask for nothing in return, who WE bred to love us and completely depend on us...and then, treat it as disposable? It sickens me. It stirs up a visceral, palpable feeling of disgust. To me, it exemplifies the ugliest of the ugly that humans can reach. It's almost worse than acts of intentional cruelty because something is hurt not because someone at least WANTS it to hurt, but because they don't care. And it's not simply the nonchalance toward regarding dogs as disposable. It's that we have an industry devoted to CREATING LIFE which we, in turn, thoughtlessly throw away.
A while back, two stray pit bulls wandered on to my property, and I started calling local shelters to see if they might take them. I called and called and called and not a single one would take them in. Why? Because they ONLY TAKE OWNER SURRENDERS. That is, they are so saturated with owner surrenders that they can't take random strays. What this means is, all of these organizations which exist because of compassionate people who wanted to help dogs in need, are COMPLETELY full just from people deciding that they don't feel like having their dog anymore. Many of whom subsidized the creation of these new lives, only to decide that they weren't worth the trouble. The same co-worker who thought that Bob Barker was frivolous had previously surrendered an Australian Shepherd because it was "too hyper" (way to research the breed!) and they "HAD to". Sure, it's easy to say that helping dogs is silly, but YOU were able to rehome your Aussie because there are people who give a shit.
This problem does not have to exist. If people got their dogs fixed, we wouldn't have this problem. If people who end up surrendering their dogs thought twice before subsidizing a breeder, pet store, or puppy mill and perpetuating the creation of MORE dogs to be surrendered, we wouldn't have this problem. If people didn't backyard breed their dogs "to make money" or "because it's fun" or "so the kids can learn about the birds and bees", WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM! Yet people will stare in the face of overcrowded shelters and the 6-8 million dogs who are euthanized every year and think it would be fun to be a backyard breeder or that THEIR reason for giving up their dog is special and somehow couldn't have been foreseen.
I care because I believe that we're indebted to dogs. I care because they give, give, give, when all we do is take, take, take, and then throw them away before moving on to the next novelty item. I care because despite all of that, they still love us intensely. I care because my dog Patience, who was found at 2 days old in a feedbag on the side of the highway, risked her own life to jump in front of me when I was about to step on a Cottonmouth snake. I care because I know she would do anything to protect me no matter how much danger it means putting herself in. I care because my dog Dharma spent the first year of her life in a feces-filled cage because someone cared more about churning out dozens of salable Aussies than making sure her existing pups were cared for. I care because NONE OF THIS HAS TO HAPPEN. I care because we CAN fix this. All it would take is compassion and education. And I want to be a part of the solution.
I mumbled something about it being a human-created, human-perpetuated, completely surmountable problem and walked off before getting into rant territory. But I do think that he has a valid question, and a point of view with which a lot of people agree. So, I'm not necessarily looking to change anyone's mind, but I would like for people to understand why dog-related causes hit home with me -- and it's not just because I am a dog lover.
Dogs came to be as the product of a fascinating co-evolution with humans. This is exemplified in the case of a Russian furrier who bred foxes for furs a long time ago. He thought that it would be easier on him if he selectively bred his foxes for tameness. In doing so, an interesting phenomenon occurred; the traits that manifested in the foxes were those which we associate with a domesticated dog. They had a variety of color patterns, long upright tails, wrinkled foreheads, and so on. Sure, a Pekingese did not come to be naturally, but the first dogs were not a result of us grabbing two wolves and breeding them selectively until we got something that resembled canis lupus familiaris, rather, it is more likely that they came out of a necessary co-evolution. The tamer ones sought humans, and humans welcomed dogs: for warmth, for protection, for companionship and more. If anyone's interested, there's more on that stuff in this book. What it comes down to is, dogs came to be because we needed dogs and dogs needed us.
(I promise, I'm going somewhere with all this!)
Eventually, humans took a more active role in the process, and different people in different parts of the world bred dogs for different tasks. We bred them to herd cattle and sheep, or guard livestock, to help us with hunting, and so on. Moreover, we bred them to love us and NEED us.
The fact that we have this being on earth, who WE welcomed from nature, who WE bred to work for us and ask for nothing in return, who WE bred to love us and completely depend on us...and then, treat it as disposable? It sickens me. It stirs up a visceral, palpable feeling of disgust. To me, it exemplifies the ugliest of the ugly that humans can reach. It's almost worse than acts of intentional cruelty because something is hurt not because someone at least WANTS it to hurt, but because they don't care. And it's not simply the nonchalance toward regarding dogs as disposable. It's that we have an industry devoted to CREATING LIFE which we, in turn, thoughtlessly throw away.
A while back, two stray pit bulls wandered on to my property, and I started calling local shelters to see if they might take them. I called and called and called and not a single one would take them in. Why? Because they ONLY TAKE OWNER SURRENDERS. That is, they are so saturated with owner surrenders that they can't take random strays. What this means is, all of these organizations which exist because of compassionate people who wanted to help dogs in need, are COMPLETELY full just from people deciding that they don't feel like having their dog anymore. Many of whom subsidized the creation of these new lives, only to decide that they weren't worth the trouble. The same co-worker who thought that Bob Barker was frivolous had previously surrendered an Australian Shepherd because it was "too hyper" (way to research the breed!) and they "HAD to". Sure, it's easy to say that helping dogs is silly, but YOU were able to rehome your Aussie because there are people who give a shit.
This problem does not have to exist. If people got their dogs fixed, we wouldn't have this problem. If people who end up surrendering their dogs thought twice before subsidizing a breeder, pet store, or puppy mill and perpetuating the creation of MORE dogs to be surrendered, we wouldn't have this problem. If people didn't backyard breed their dogs "to make money" or "because it's fun" or "so the kids can learn about the birds and bees", WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS PROBLEM! Yet people will stare in the face of overcrowded shelters and the 6-8 million dogs who are euthanized every year and think it would be fun to be a backyard breeder or that THEIR reason for giving up their dog is special and somehow couldn't have been foreseen.
I care because I believe that we're indebted to dogs. I care because they give, give, give, when all we do is take, take, take, and then throw them away before moving on to the next novelty item. I care because despite all of that, they still love us intensely. I care because my dog Patience, who was found at 2 days old in a feedbag on the side of the highway, risked her own life to jump in front of me when I was about to step on a Cottonmouth snake. I care because I know she would do anything to protect me no matter how much danger it means putting herself in. I care because my dog Dharma spent the first year of her life in a feces-filled cage because someone cared more about churning out dozens of salable Aussies than making sure her existing pups were cared for. I care because NONE OF THIS HAS TO HAPPEN. I care because we CAN fix this. All it would take is compassion and education. And I want to be a part of the solution.