Article: is the Dog Fancy at a Tipping Point?

[Anubis_Star]

And to add - does EVERY rescue dog have problems? Of course not! And is every well bred dog the epitome of stability and good health? Of course not! Everyone needs to be realistic. My "amazing" 1500$ working line pup could very well have severe hip dysplasia by 2 years of age. I don't want to sound like I'm saying every rescue dog is horrible and there's no such thing as a good healthy one and every well bred dog is perfect... But I hope everyone just gets the point of what I'm trying to say. There isn't a problem with EITHER one, to each their own choice in life, and we all just need to support each other and work together.

BTW - I've volunteered in shelters for the past 14 years. First as fostering, and in the last 3-4 years volunteering in the medical aspect. Despite only wanting to purchase purebred dogs from breeders I trust, I feel like I do a lot more to help shelter animals than some, if that will stop anyone from judging lol.

[julie87]

Wrong post

[Yoschi's_Pet_Human]

I was a foster home for a very aggressive dog rescue group for years... I loved it. At the time I was a student and didn't have the stability to commit to the whole life span of a dog. It enabled me to have dogs in my life, even if it was only on a temporary basis.
Today I have two "pure bred" dogs and two "designer dogs"
I don't see anything wrong with a person having whatever dogs they wish, so long as they are committed to the whole life of the dog. If people would honestly weigh their ability and stability to be able to commit to 10-15 years of care to each dog they own, including all expenses, then rescues would only have run aways. The problem isn't byb's. The problem is people taking on a commitment they're not ready for. Regardless if the dog is pedigreed or designer or junkyard mutt,,, if you don't commit to the time to train and/or have the financial resources to care for the dog, the odds are stacked against the dog to have a "forever home"
I think the public as a whole needs to be educated as to what is truly expected of a dog owner to be successful. The culture of "disposable" temporary dogs amongst certain folks needs to be phased out through education. If a person can't reasonably predict where they'll be in five to ten years, and predict that they'll have the time, space and money for a dog, they need to maturely pass on that cute puppy.