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More local reaction to recent controversial dog breeding editorial

Dear Editor,

I’d like to thank several fellow Rimbey Review readers for their recent letters pertaining to your ‘dog breeding ban’ editorial. I hate to drag it out, but I figured at least one more wouldn’t hurt.

I am an avid dog lover, well animal lover in general. I have chosen a career working with mainly dogs, and hope to become a dog trainer in the near future. So just to be sure you understand, I love dogs.

My family has two dogs of our own, which we love more then anything (most days). Strangely enough, they are both purebreds. Perhaps that is why, upon reading your editorial, I felt rather annoyed by your accusation that, “many in any community who possess a genuine sense of care and compassion for homeless critters see those who breed pets for profit, and those who purchase puppies from them, as people who are compounding a problem that shouldn’t really even exist.”

Ouch! I find this statement to be completely unfounded and very unfair. Just because we preferred a certain breed and chose to buy the dog that we wanted based on health reasons, temperament, and several other factors, we are suddenly enabling this issue? We had previously bought a dog from the breeder that one of our current animals is from, and they have continuously been very supportive and genuinely invested in making sure that the right dog went to the right home. I cannot see how it is somehow their fault that people who run ‘puppy mills’ are creating animals that no one has a home for. It is a ridiculous statement.

I fully support animal rescue foundations, such as the Old MacDonald Kennels. I plan on adopting a dog from the ARF foundation in Calgary when the time comes. So when I read things like: “In fact, if you really want to do the right thing, and if you’re prepared to drop that kind of money”, it stirs up a lot of rather negative emotions. Apparently because I own animals that are purebred, parish the thought, I am now a coldhearted person who doesn’t do the right thing. Hmmm, that’s one I haven’t heard before.

I also found your so-called suggestions to help solve this issue rather paltry. I do appreciate your advice to have your pet spayed or neutered. All animals should have this done because there are a large amount of puppies and kittens being born that weren’t intended. This is a wonderful suggestion. However, your second idea to simply rip down advertisements for puppies/kittens for sale is somewhat hypocritical, seeing as a quick glance at your classifieds under Items to Buy and Sell and then Dogs shows that as of April 10, you have 14 separate ads for dogs to be sold. It must be nice to be able to dole out all of this advice and criticism and yet not worry about taking any of it to heart yourself.

I appreciate your attempt to bring the subject of animal neglect/abuse and the overpopulation of animals that results in their misfortune to light, but I don’t think you did the subject any justice by writing about it. Perhaps from now on you should stick to your more comfortable subjects, like writing home-sweet-home letters to your dear Saskatchewan pals.

Courtney Oke

Rimbey