Another Loss

We lost another foster dog this week. Max had only been with AARF for less than 24 hours, but his loss was just as painful for his foster mom Amy. Max was a 5 year old pug who came to us when his owner could no longer care for him. He was neutered last Tuesday, and seemed to have a hard time coming out of his surgery. By Wednesday morning, he was at the emergency vet, and had gone into heart failure.

My first reaction (and many of you reading this might immediately think the same thing) was that something had happened during his surgery, or he had a reaction to the anesthesia. But, a post-mortem exam revealed that Max had advanced heart disease, and probably only had a few months to live. So, in a way, the surgery did hasten his passing, but it was inevitable, just like Joe's. I am so grateful that Max got to spend his last day in a loving home with a foster mom who showed him so much tenderness and compassion.

But, I am also very, very mad. Max's heart problem was almost positively a genetic defect, one that is passed from generation to generation. And Max was a pure pug. So, there is some pug breeder out there who is breeding a line of dogs with a congenital heart defect that causes premature heart disease and death. And I am confident that this breeder is not disclosing this information to the people who are buying his or her dogs.

I understand the practice of ethical breeders who really care about the dog standards and traits. These breeders are few and rarely need to advertise in the back of the newspaper. Any good, ethical breeder will tell you that you don't make money from breeding; in fact, you usually lose money, because you care so much about the health of the puppies and the parents. And good breeders will screen potential homes as strictly as AARF does, and will always take back a dog that doesn't work out in the new home.

Then, there are the other kinds of breeder, one of which is probably the kind that Max likely came from. First, are the "backyard breeders" who have a big pen in the back yard, and expect their dogs to pump out 2-3 litters per year. They'll sell their dogs to anyone that shows up with cash. They don't care about the breed standard, the health of the dogs, or the welfare of the puppies once they leave the property. They rely on the public's desire for designer dogs as accessories, and they don't care about the people or the puppies involved. If the new puppy doesn't work out, good luck to the new family. The backyard breeder won't help.

The second is the puppy mill breeder. You've seen the news stories about the large puppy mill busts, with hundreds of dogs crammed into tiny cages in big warehouses. Many of the female dogs in these mills are nothing more than breed sows, giving birth as often as physically possible, never touching the grass or breathing fresh air. If they are so lucky to ever get a chance to leave the puppy mill, they still have a long road to a good life, often facing chronic health issues and delayed or non-existent socialization. These puppy mills provide dogs to the fancy pet stores, such as Petland. The puppies may look healthy in the stores, but chances are, they aren't. And the misery experienced by the parents of the puppy can't be justified.

So, please, before you decide that the adoption process is too hard or too personal and decide to just buy a puppy from the flea market or a back yard, remember Max. And before you stop in at Petland or another pet store to get that shiny new purebred puppy instead of that rescued mixed-breed puppy, remember Max.

Max died because an unethical breeder relied on the public's desire for a purebred designer dog. Please help us stop unethical breeding, so no other dog has to go through what Max did.

Here are ways to get involved in the fight against puppy mills and unethical breeding:

1.) Visit the HSUS Stop Puppy Mills website and get involved.
2.) Turn in back yard breeders to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. All breeders are required to have a license.
3.) Encourage the AJC to stop allowing pets for sale unless the seller provides proof of a pet dealer license.
4.) Adopt, don't buy, and encourage your friends to do the same. We can help you find any breed, any age, any size you want. Visit Petfinder and Atlanta Pets to look for a pet.

saying goodbye in a world where every pet matters

We lost a member of the family last night, both our own family and the AARF family. Many of you may remember Joe, a little white puppy that joined the AARF program in the summer of 2006 (here's his original page, for those of you that weren't part of the AARF family at that time - http://www.aarfatlanta.org/savejoe.html.

When Joe came into our program, we were using a vet for AARF pets that offered discount prices for rescue pets. We realized, unfortunately, through our experience with Joe that discount prices meant discount value. The vet who saw Joe recommended just euthanizing him, because the cost of treating him just would be too much. In the end, she simply refused to even find out what was really wrong with him.

The next day, we scooped Joe up and headed off to our personal vets at Buckhead Animal Clinic (where the AARF pets have gone ever since!). At Buckhead, every pet matters - purebreed or mixed breed, old or young, owned or in rescue. Even pets that arrive with no guardian are loved and cared for. The folks at Buckhead live by and operate under the principle that this is a world where every pet should matter, and every pet's life is equally valuable there. So, after a series of tests and a few weeks of TLC at Buckhead, Joe was well enough to come home to our house, initially as a temporary foster. Once we learned the extent of his heart condition, he joined our family as a permanent foster, although at that point, he was just our dog. The word foster really dropped out of the context, and he was no different than any other pet in our house.

Let me be honest, Joe was not the most well-behaved dog. He quickly learned that if he was doing something he wasn't supposed to, a few whines and coughs, along with holding his breath would quickly end whatever consequences he might face. When he got really upset, his breathing would become irregular and he would literally turn blue. Needless to say, he was a smart little guy and learned to use this to his advantage. He also wasn't neutered - he would not have survived the surgery. So, he was definitely a little territorial about his house, and had one of the loudest barks, ever.

But Joe was also a very loving dog. He loved to be petted and sweet-talked, and loved us unconditionally. He wanted nothing more than just to have our hands on him, telling him how much we loved him. And he had a zest for life that I have never seen in any other dog. It's almost like he knew his life would be short, and he had to squeeze every minute of life into just a few seconds. He had a best buddy in our house, and it was amazing to see them chase each other around the yard at full speed, with big smiles on their faces. Over the last few months, the chasing had diminished and his energy level was just noticeably less. I knew he was slowing down, but tried to just continue to let him enjoy his life. There was literally nothing we could do to stop or slow the progression of his condition, so trying to limit his life would have only made us feel better, but would have made no difference at all in the length of his life.

Last night, just before dinner, Joe was outside playing with one of his buddies, and we heard what sounded like something between a howl and a scream, and found Joe struggling to stand just outside the door. I picked him up and quickly headed inside. Joe stopped crying and struggling and went limp in my arms. I know he was gone before I even laid him down on the big dog bed. The whole thing was over in less than 30 seconds.

Joe left us exactly the way he would have wanted to - playing and enjoying his life. He lived every minute of his life to the absolute fullest. I can learn a lot from how Joe lived, and from the life we committed to giving him. I know some people agree with the advice of the first vet. Why spend money on a dog who is probably not going to live a full life anyway? Why not save that money for more "valuable" pets (healthier, more adoptable)? Because I want to live in a world where every single pet matters, even the little ones like Joe. Every pet deserves a chance to live the kind of life he did, even if only for the 2.5 years that he had. I have never second guessed our decision to treat Joe or to commit to providing a loving home for him for as long as he was with us. He was our little guy, and I'll miss him desperately. Rest in peace, my sweet boy.

Just a Dog...

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