Sad is the circumstance when any dog (or other animal) is abandoned in an animal shelter.

The truth of the matter, however, is only a very small percent of shelter occupants are purebred dogs. Shelters are populated primarily with crossbreeds of uncertain origin. Shelter personnel can call the AKC breed club rescue organization when a purebred arrives. In most cases, a breed club member picks up the dog and provides a foster home until a proper placement can be found. The AKC lists breed rescue organizations at www.akc.org/ breeds/rescue.cfm.

Responsible breeding and responsible buying are key to preventing abandoned dogs. If the “purebred breeder” does not furnish a contract clearly stating return policies, a four-generation pedigree, health documentation for the puppy and its immediate parentage, then walk away. If the breeder does not invite you to see the home environment in which the puppy was whelped and socialized during its first weeks of life, run, don’t just walk away.

If the breeder does not grill you about your home environment, your plans to socialize the puppy, your willingness to make a lifetime commitment to the dog, again, walk away.

Dogs end up in shelters when breeders allow poor placements for their puppies and/or new owners make poor choices among the breeders they patronize. Enormous power is in the purchasers’ hands, for if no one bought puppies from the side of the road or pet shops, the puppy mills would not, could not exist.

Betty Chapman

Whispering Pines