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Friday 2 September 2011

My Pedigree Shame

You'll notice that I'm the proud pooch mummy to a matching pair of squish faces. You'd be right if you guessed that I bought them from breeders. At the time we got Lord Wallace (the bigger chap) I was a meat eater (blergh!) and he was to be my first canine companion. I hadn't given any consideration to adopting a rescue dog that really needed us, or to the fact that by contributing to the world of breeding I was practically ensuring that some pooch, somewhere, was going to be euthanized because he had no chance of a loving home.

I really am mortified at myself for being so ignorant. The part I most kick myself for, is buying Cecil, the most miniature of my squish faces, from a breeder about 9 months ago. When I was vegetarian and I did 'care' about animal welfare.

I had literally never came across anything that had pointed out the perils of choosing a bred buddy over a shelter one. Obviously that's my own fault, it's my job to make myself aware. But my point is that it's no wonder shelters are full to bursting and the amount of wonderful creatures being euthanized is increasing each year, if even people like me, who are besotted with animals, are ignorant to these facts.

Luckily though, I just so happened to purchase the most wonderful doggies on the planet (what? Biased? Never!) who, I can safely say inspired me to become vegetarian and now to become vegan. Without this pair of monkeys I wouldn't have been convinced that non humans are magnificent, intelligent, loving, awe inspiring scamps who need to be given a voice.

I also take some solace in the fact that Cecil was intended to be a show dog or a stud. At least by him living with me I've put an end to that nonsense. I can't say the same for Lord Wallace, he was from the reject bin of show doggies - too chubby and ' imperfect' to be entered, too mischievous to be trusted with performing. They were wrong by the way. He's the biggest show off, a  natural performer and he's cute as a button. Perfect.

8 comments:

  1. Hi..thanks for visiting my blog! :o) Your fur babis are precious! Don't be so hard on yourself though. I bought my pug from a breeder too. I didn't know then what I know now. I can tell you this though...she is the best dog ever, and I wouldn't take anything for her. I've had her for 13 years. With that being said, my next dog will be a rescue from a local kill shelter though. I wish I could save everyone of those dogs! It breaks my heart to know that dogs are put to sleep everyday because they aren't found a new home. At least we are aware now and can do everythig we can to try to save as many of them as we can. :o)

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  2. I bought Bruno (RIP) from a breeder before I knew better. That's why educating others about things like this is so important. Like Michelle said, at least you're aware now. I've changed quite a few people's minds about buying from breeders and I'm sure that you can, too. After all, people tend to listen more to those who have "been there, done that". :)

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  3. I'm not sure I can visit your blog. Cecil is literally making my heart explode. What kind of dog is he???

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  5. I'll reply to these comments on your blogs - is that right? :-/ I'm really not sure of the blogging etiquette with regards to comments...anyone, please feel free to enlighten me! :-)

    X

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  6. I am so glad you visited my blog today so I could learn you exist! :-) I could really relate to this post. In our long-ago newly married and pre-veg days, we'd already rescued several dogs but for some reason decided we wanted a German Shepherd. We lived in a rural area of Texas near the Interstate and a truck stop, and after some strange occurrences I guess we thought a German Shepherd would deter such nefariousness. Anyway, we bought a beautiful puppy from a breeder, the last one of the litter because she was a runt. She was such a love (no guard dog material, that's for sure!), but Shadow died when she was only 2 years old of a fatal, congenital autoimmune disease of the automatic nervous system called Dysautonomia. That tragedy woke us up and we vowed to only ever rescue homeless animals in need. I'd like to think these dogs - Michelles's pug, Molly's Bruno, our Shadow and your adorable "squish faces," served us as valuable teachers, whose lessons will help us save others from making the same error in judgement or ignorant mistake. And as you say, you saved Cecil from being exploited as a stud, and Lord Wallace and Cecil are lucky to have such a loving home with you. And if they're your inspiration for becoming vegetarian and now vegan, that's huge!!! Thanks for sharing your story with us, it's not an easy one to tell.

    As for blogging comment netiquette, I'm no expert but I'll weigh in by saying that I reply to comments left on my blog, on my blog, but I have several people who reply to the comments I've left on their blogs on my blog, and sometimes we just basically end up in comment conversations on both our blogs, which I'm sure baffle the hell out of anyone else who reads them. LOL I don't care, I just enjoy comments! Though at the moment I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed, so it may be a bit before I'm able to answer your comment on my blog! :-)

    Thanks again for stopping by, it's nice to "meet" you and your darling furbabies!

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  7. Ahh Laloofah thank you SO much for your message, it warmed my cockles :-)

    I think the disconnect that most people have to the real plight of animals can most easily be broken by a personal experience. The guilt I felt at having realised what I'd done certainly did serve as a wake up call, so I also like to think that it's not in vain, and if I manage to pass the message on, then even more so.

    Nice to meet you too!

    x

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  8. p.s. thanks for the netiquette lesson! I'll do bits of both then

    x

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Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, I look forward to reading them :-)

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