Behold the latest marketing protest from the folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It doesn’t do a lot for me, but my dog jumped the fence and just tried to annex the Sudetenland. The ad, found on PETA’s web site, is another jab at Westminster Kennel Club-type dog shows; and some might consider it very creative. But what the Dog Fuhrer doesn’t seem to realize is that you can’t fight a war on three fronts: You’ve got Tiger Woods’ attorneys attacking from the west, the Canadians in the north, and now this … plus someone’s been in the garbage again. Bad Hitler! Bad!
PETA UK rolled out this ad just in time for the Crufts Dog Show — the biggest dog show in Britain — which, says PETA, encourages the belief that some breeds of dogs are superior to others. In other words, dog racism. From The PETA Files:
About one in four pedigree dogs is born with painful and life-threatening genetic defects–including hypothyroidism, demodectic mange, epilepsy, cataracts, allergies, chronic ear infections, and hip dysplasia–all of which have been handed down through generations of inbreeding and selective breeding. And pedigree dogs aren’t the only animals who suffer because of the breeding industry. Every time a dog is purchased from a breeder, another who has been awaiting adoption in an animal shelter, longing for a home, dies. It’s a fact: Breeding purebreds in a world in which millions of animals are homeless is pure heartlessness.
PETA made headlines last month when two members crashed the Westminster Dog Show in New York and brandished anti-breeders signs from the middle of the show area, which drew low marks from the judges and resulted in arrest. But that did little to stop its full-court press on the worldwide dog breeding culture, it seems.
One day, the dogs themselves will rise up, defeat humans and decide their own future. Lord only hopes they are merciful overlords.
Now if someone would put together one of those Hitler-in-the-bunker mashups for this subject, we’d have comedy gold.
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PETA U.K.’s ‘Dog’ged Fight Against Racism [The Peta Files]
PETA stories on Out of Bounds …
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- Leej - Mar 2, 2010 at 5:26 PM
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The argument about one breed being superior to others is nonsense. That depends on the owners personal tastes. But, it is true about buying a purebred from a breeder means there is a good chance a perfectly good pet will waste away in a shelter. I’m torn as I love German Shepherds. Until recently, I have had one or more in my family for about 28 years. My latest one passed and I decided to replace her with a couple of dogs from the Humane Society and county dog pound. They are good, good dogs. Nice pets but, I do miss having a Shepherd. When the time is right, I will buy another one without any guilt as I have decided I will always care for a rescued animal as well. It is a good compromise to doing what is right and doing what I want.
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- spursfan - Mar 2, 2010 at 5:54 PM
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with so many rescues for pure breds, why would anyone need to pay for a specific breed?
from no-kill shelters my husband and I have adopted 4 dogs over the past seven years -
- a pure bred AKC registered (no paperwork, but who cares?) German Shorthaired Pointer
- a more-likely-than-not Tennesee Tree Walking Coon Hound (Walker Hound) – at least according to every vet we have talked to as well as breeders
- a Malti-poo
- and what is most likely a Dutch Shepherd
of course our decisions were based on the dog, not the breed, but if you’re looking for something specific why not rescue a life, support a GREAT cause, and save some money to invest in care for the dog
ADOPT! @ your local shelter, @ petfinder, @ petango -
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- spursfan - Mar 2, 2010 at 6:01 PM
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LEEJ -
I understand how one can love a certain type of dog such as a German Shepherd, but before you decide to purchase one, PLEASE PLEASE take a few minutes (or hours, or days even!) to find out if a rescue might be a good fit -
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- Kay, Costa Mesa - Mar 2, 2010 at 7:47 PM
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You can always get another shepard from a german shepard rescue. You are still saving a life.
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- Tony Metler - Mar 2, 2010 at 8:02 PM
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Chandler, you’re an idiot. Dogs will never “rise up, defeat humans and decide their own future.” Not as long as door knobs exist. HA! Take that, you non-opposable thumbed furball! Now, if you’ll excuse me, my widdle Cha Cha needs to go for a walk. “Who’s a good puppy? WHO’S a good puppy?”
(For the record, every animal we have ever owned has been a rescue or from a shelter, including Buddy, The Best Damned Dog in the Whole Wide World!)
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- John Harrison - Mar 3, 2010 at 4:04 AM
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Metler, I do not think that Chandler was serious about dogs taking over the world. This is what we call tongue-in-cheek commentary. But that aside, nobody can convince the rabid fanatics at PETA that eating meat, owning pets, wearing fur, etc. is just part of the natural cyle of life and death on the planet that billions of creatures participate in every day. It is only due to technological advancement that humans have placed themselves outside the food chain and now can get on the ‘moral high ground’. I guarantee you that the typical PETA activist is an older, ugly feminist who, if she succumbed to her biological instincts a bit more and forgot about her soapbox, would be much happier in this life. That is, if she could find someone who would be willing to help her remember her younger days.
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- Diana - Mar 3, 2010 at 8:55 AM
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I think Metler’s comment was tongue and cheek you moron
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- Bill Rands - Mar 3, 2010 at 9:18 AM
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In my experience, one strike against the pedigreed dog is that often the inbreeding leads to not only medical problems but to dogs that are dumb. I had a pedigreed cocker spaniel that was not house trainable because she could not control her bladder and could not be trained. Our current dog came from the humane society, is a mixed breed and is as smart as a whip. He is thirteen and will be sorely missed when he passes in the next couple of years. There is something to be said for PETA’s argument. The pedigreed dog is not getting anything out of being shown in a dog show. This is all about the owner’s ego. Dogs are great companions and should win awards for their loyalty and love.
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- Skids - Mar 3, 2010 at 10:22 AM
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PETA has always gone too far. I love animals as much as anyone, but most of their tactics border on terroristic. I think their top people really are concerned more about how much their salary is than animals, but the folks in the trenches really believe in their cause. I believe in their cause, just disagree with their tactics.
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- Jeff - Mar 3, 2010 at 12:19 PM
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I think there has to be a middle ground here. In a perfect PETA world, if there were no breeders, everyone adopted only, and everyone “fixed” there dogs, there would quickly be no more dogs! I know this won’t happen, but it would obviously be the result if it did. I think responsible breeders who breed the best of thier breeds definitely have a place….That being said, I own one purebred and two rescues.
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- Kelli - Mar 3, 2010 at 12:46 PM
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Before you decide to purchase a dog from a breeder, check out the rescue operation for that breed and see if they have a dog you can adopt! I got my dogs from rescue when they were puppies.
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- jim c - Mar 3, 2010 at 12:53 PM
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I have two purebreds; a viszla and a golden, and they are wonderful! It’s nice to know that there are nice people out there who adopt the shelter dogs too. Thanks folks! In my opinion PETA are american terrorists who are self serving freaks like pam anderson and we’d be much better off if they found something else to do with their time and our money.
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- Kirby Druitt - Mar 3, 2010 at 2:42 PM
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Show us the data on the incidence of genetic disease in mixed breed dogs, so there’s a realistic basis for comparison…oh, wait, only ethical dog breeders collect any data, do any genetic testing, or care about the lifelong well-being of every dog they produce!
Show us the data on the vast number of sick or aggressive dogs put down immediately at shelters as unadoptable, while only the healthiest, most engaging are put out on view…as opposed to ethical dog breeders, who find homes for every puppy they raise, and take those dogs back into their own care if something goes wrong with the home.
There are bad humans and good dogs on both sides of the picture. Doesn’t anyone else find it glaringly unintelligent of PETA to attack only the group that is making ANY effort to do right?
FYI: I’ve been involved in rescue, both mixed breed and pure breed, for over 15 years. Most dogs are great, most people are idiots, and yes, I’m an older, ugly feminist that doesn’t get laid enough. Is John Harrison volunteering?
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- Chris - Mar 3, 2010 at 3:27 PM
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PETA’s add has done exactly what it was intended to do. It has opened up a dialog about purebred dogs, unethical breeders, shelter dogs, and rescue organizations. If there was no “shock value” to their advertisements people would just say “yes, they’re right” (or wrong) and go about their business.
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- Ronald Stoessell - Mar 3, 2010 at 3:57 PM
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I spent a year working in a Shelter in Cherokee County, NC, that we turned into a “low kill” facility through adoptions and by finding “no kill” rescues in the NE to accept our dogs. Eventually, PETA stepped in and conducted a campaign against us because we weren’t putting down enough animals. PETA’s official attitude is that Shelters exist to do Animal Control and the only way to do Animal Control is to euthanize quickly. PETA won and now that Shelter has a 90% kill percentage. Before it had a 5% kill percentage. The same number of animals are being processed as before, it just is much easier to euthanize rather than take the effort find homes and rescues. PETA SUCKS.
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- Andrew Pelt - Mar 3, 2010 at 6:50 PM
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