On The Line BY BJ ANDREWS WHY DO WE RESCUE DOGS BUT ABANDON BREEDERS?
Why do so many dog fanciers not fancy the people who love dogs? There’s no glory or $$$ in saving breeders. Is that why we rescue the dogs and condemn the humans just when they need us the most? We feel good about answering the call, load-
ing “In her mind, she loved those dogs, and she thought she was doing right by them.” She went on to imply that the owner wasn’t thinking clearly in that she was “living and sleeping in a house covered by feces and urine…” Why didn’t she call family members or Great Dane breed- ers for help? We will probably never know why the owner didn’t reach out but TheDogPress.com will follow up on that aspect because it is not rare for dog owners to become physically or mentally ill just as any other segment of soci- ety. What doesn’t escape this reporter’s notice is that the news stations were immediately pleading for donations and the internet lit up with alerts such as this at NH1.com “Rescue of 84 Great Danes at NH puppy mill leaves humane society looking for donations.” Hopefully the thousands of dollars that poured in to HSUS will be applied to the proper feeding and care of those Great Dane dogs currently being held at an “undisclosed location.” One source who asked
ing up the van and driving 10 hours to rescue an abused dog. Did you know that many of the dogs we automatical- ly dub “puppy mill rescues” were once top winning cham- pions? Their owners were show breeders who’ve fallen on hard times, health, or emotional problems. You’ve heard about the more than 80 “Wolfeboro Great Danes” rescued in June of 2017. It was an especially juicy
story because the Danes were owned by very wealthy woman who lived in a man- sion on a spectacular estate. Was there some degree of envy hidden in the internet blasts and condemnation of that Dane fancier? My ears went up when the N.H. State Director for the Humane Society of the United States was quoted as saying
not to be identified ques- tioned the motive for the raid. She knows the owner, whose name we have withheld unless and until she is proven guilty of animal abuse. She said “the dogs were healthy and happy” pointing out that
“some of the pony-sized dogs could look her in the eye and some tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds.” Okay, it’s really not funny. She is the HSUS State Director… who obviously knows nothing about dogs. But she knows how to raise money and donations piled in, not to the local resources, but the HSUS. Makes you wonder who initiated the raid… Either the story was as vastly overblown as the size of the dogs and the “horrible cruelty” or the Wolfeboro, NH Police Department grossly under-charged the owner with only two misdemeanor counts of animal neglect. Think about that. Not abuse. Not cruelty. She neglected to keep them off the beds and possibly she didn’t put them out to potty often enough. But photos don’t lie. A photo was used to describe the “neglect” suffered by the giant dogs that were given free access to the mansion’s 9 bedrooms. All photos showed beautiful, spoiled Danes if anything, a little overweight. Oversized kennel runs with need non-slip surfaces were provided by their owners - until something happened. Marilyn Kelly worked at the estate and is quoted as stat-
the Great Danes may have been “spoiled and overindulged but were greatly loved.” She suggested that the owner needs “counseling not punishment.” And that is the point. Why would owners who love and spoil their dogs knowingly neglect them? And do the dogs feel neglected or mistreated? In this, as in many cases of “animal abuse” there is little if any interest in an animal owner who needs help. ■ Barbara J. Andrews published The Akita Handbooks and instituted the Register Of Merit system for top producing sires and dams in 1974. Bill and “BJ” set multiple breed records in Rottweilers, Akitas, and Miniature Bull Terriers. She now owns 7 Toy Fox Terriers. BJ served as columnist for The Dog newspaper, Dog World, Kennel Review Magazine, The AKC Gazette, and Canine Chronicle until 1993 when she became exclusive columnist for ShowSight Magazine. BJ has authored eight breed books published in eight languages, including World Of The Akita (Breed Book Of The Year Nominee), The Chihuahua , and The Miniature Bull Terrier .
72 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , O CTOBER 2017
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