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The Animal Welfare Cause
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Loading...Paris Hilton’s “Purse Dog Mania” Now Flooding Shelters
Animal rescue workers at the Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary used to say, if they found a little dog like a Chihuahua running around loose – it wasn’t a homeless dog, but someone’s lost dog. You could almost bet on the fact that if a toy breed was wandering on its own, there was an owner frantically searching for it.
Not long ago little dogs were rarely abandoned. Then the media gave lots of attention to celebrities, like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson who tote their small dogs with them as trendy accessories and the popularity of small breeds went wild. Hollywood also contributed by releasing movies such as Legally Blond and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
All of these factors led to a demand for tiny pups, which in turn sent backyard breeders and puppy mills into overtime. Even actor Mickey Rourke’s devotion to his late “rescued” Chihuahua (Loki) created a furry of new puppies.
But now with the bad economy, many owners are surrendering or abandoning these dogs at record rates and shelters like San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control are knee deep in relinquished tiny canines.
San Francisco is not the only city to experience the new crisis. Best Friends Animal Society recently rescued and moved a group of Chihuahuas from a shelter and transferred them to several animal welfare groups in Oregon.
And the Riverside Humane Society in California reported a glut of Chihuahuas and Pugs after several backyard breeders dropped them off. Because of the slow economy the breeders were left with puppies they could not sell.
Even Britain has seen a dramatic increase of “handbag dogs.” Sainsbury Finance which is a British bank that offers pet insurance reported an increase of 41.3% in the past couple of years for small dogs like Yorkies, West Highland Terriers and Chihuahuas.
Another problem shelters are noticing with homeless teacup dogs is that the majority are not spayed or neutered. This is even true in San Francisco where education about “fixing” animals is widely publicized. Apparently the groups of people that purchased toy breeds did not pay attention to the message. This is causing a further burden on shelters.
And now with all of the publicity of President Obama adding “Bo” the Portuguese water dog to the White House – will we soon see a new trend in popular canines? Next year will animal shelters be reporting an over abundance of orphaned Porties?
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+ add your ownI love to follow the fortunes of designer brands which I suppose is what the little critters have become. What really amuses me is the prosecution of car boot sale and other vendors for selling fake Cartier, Gucci, Prada et al when you think a lot of the so called fake gear comes off the same Chinese assembly line as the "Real deal" so what is fake. Someone cloned my bank card and tried to purchase Christian Dior "real" goodies after my bank stopped the card. So we live in moral black hole where designer gear is desirable even if stolen, copied or real. What hope is there for the unfortunate animal victim of this culture of must have now and toddler tantrums we live in. Fortunately there are many out there who do amazing animal welfare things and need your support so apart from supporting shelters with time and cash don't forget when it's time to get a dog, cat or any other pet check out your local shelter there are some deserving animals near you! Don't line the pockets of animal exploiters! Get a rescue pet they need your love and hopefully falling demand will put the animal exploiters out of business!!
I hate to be in the position were I can say those immortal word "I told you so", but here we go again the brainless glitterati followed by the brain dead public, fuelled by the ammoral media chucking the latest fashion accessory aside like a old doll. You cannot do that with a living being. Even little critters have feelings and brains, probably more than their so called owners! Someone said to me in another thread about Bo, that breeders are careing wonderful people, Let us not forget that if the genetic mutations that have caused the variety of not just dogs which after all emanate from the wild wolf but all other species as well, had not been exploited by breeders down the ages we would not have toy dogs or cats with no legs. Then of course there are the arrogant plonkers who cut off dogs tails becuase it says so in the breed manual! Clearly brain dead breeders also have complicity in the problem of both animal cruelty and over population as well as the welfare problems associated with particular breeds such as back deformity in long dogs. infections and respiratory disfunction in heavy jowled and hairy faced types with eye inflammations, the list is endless all in the name of trophies at "Crufts" etc or cash into what after all is business with all the ethics of greed associated with the persuit of the almighty dollar/pound. A dog is for life in sickness and health just like any marraige. Sorry I forgot few celebs believe in that either it's just a big bucks photo op!
some people lack self esteem so badly they follow what is popular so as to be noticed also. A person who is secure in themself will not follow the crowd & its foolish "fonie" lifestyles- but will add to their community what is good, moral & wholesome.
The main problem here is that everyone is all up in arms about Paris Hilton. Who gives a crap about Paris. It's bad enough that people are dumb enough to see her on T.V. and try to mimic her. But to use her as a role model for picking out another living creature to be part of your family, are you insane? This is why that dumb ass is on T.V. and in magazines to begin with. It's not like she's ever really done anything with her life, other than spend her daddy's money. It's almost as bad as someone seeing some of these hip hop stars or drug deadlers with Pit Bulls and thinking they're all cool and tough. Then within a year the poor dog is on a chain in the backyard being turned into a glorified lawn ornamint, or worse, on the news because the owner didn't teach it properly and it attacked someone. These are the kind of dumb asses that shouldn't be aloud to own dogs.
that is very true Meredith D, if there wasn't such fuss made out of matters like this then the fad/phase would expire, grow old, be yesterdays news, and there wouldn't be this type of cruelty.
a pet is usually a 10 to 15 year commitment. I'm so tired of idiot seeing a dollar sign when these animals hits popularity. Personally i'm a cat person and it has to do with my type of lifestyle. however it makes me angry to see all of these self centered, egotistical people thinking that a living creature is a fashion accessory. However how many of todays parents are doing the same with their children. look around you might be surprised.
I am a foster for a Pug Rescue in Houston, PugHearts; we saw a huge increase in Pugs being abandoned following the Men in Black movies. I think Pugs are a GREAT breed, but they are not for everyone. Every breed has its own characteristics and personalities and unfortunately its health issues. The media glorifies these dogs in their cute movies making them talk and take on human traits and people do not follow up with their own research. You also cannot tell what a dog is going to be like while watching it play with other puppies at six weeks old in a pet store. I love well-bred dogs; the problem is that there is not a demand for well-bred dogs, just cute and inexpensive. PLEASE research a breed before you buy or preferably rescue/adopt! Thanks.
Love, Kindness & Gratitude, SC
I have been saying this for years....! When 101 Dalmatians came out, everyone had to have one. 6 months later our shelter was overflowing with Dalmatians that had not been trained right. People don't do their research on the breed they have seen on t.v. Wake up America!! It is Hollywood!! They only show the side of the breed they want to show. Do your research on the breed before you buy. Don't buy pets from the people outside of Wal-Mart. Make an informed decision. Prepare the way for a new pet as you would an new child. Impulse buys is the worst thing you can do for a fur child. No wonder it is so hard to adopt a human child. People would just run out and buy one on the spur of the moment and then we would have human children running the streets like feral cats and dogs do now.
Maybe if the media broadcast actual NEWS instead of stories on celebrities, there wouldn't be so many harmful trends for idiots to follow. Who cares if Paris has a little dog? Why aren't people reporting on Iraq, Iran, the economy, bonuses after the bailout, etc? Why cover fake news like what kind of dog some brainless bimbo carries in her Prada bag when there is so much REAL news that nobody seems to be reporting?
I have a 12 year-old Dalmation from the SPCA that was there at the time when they had cage after cage packed with Dalmations. That was right after the movie, 101 Dalmations came out in the nineties! The media certainly does have an impact.
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