Imports are....important?

Over the last few weeks, via Facebook, there have been several articles about the rescue of dogs from "meat" farms in areas like Korea and China.  Dogs in that part of the world, aren't treated the same as they are here.  And some people in those cultures believe that eating dog, especially during hot months, is good for your health.  While it's sad that dogs of any description are being raised and consumed for meat, (I cringe at people eating horse meat in other areas of the world too) these dogs aren't exactly "house pets".  They are raised specifically for their meat qualities, just like beef cattle or goats would be in the United States, and elsewhere.  They are kept and raised like livestock, on commercial farms.

While efforts to save these dogs are noble, I take pause when I hear they are being flown back to the United States for placement into companion homes.  Dogs that are unsocialized, likely unvaccinated, do not know life outside of a cage, and have not been selectively bred to want, or seek human companionship, are being brought back to the U.S. and offered up for adoption to the general public.  I don't think it makes me a doomsayer to say that I see disaster looming over the horizon.  As a trainer, I wonder what type of screening process that families or individuals will have to go through in order to obtain one of these dogs.  And what type of help and support the adopting agency is going to offer to these families in the future.  Or will they just adopt the dogs out, pat themselves on the back for a job well done, and move on to the next sensational rescue?

PeTA has spent years on an ad campaign that has conditioned many of us to think that, if you purchase a purebred dog, you are condemning a shelter dog to die elsewhere, and because of your "selfishness" a worthy dog is overlooked and pays the ultimate price.  Kinda harsh, huh?  The reality of the situation is not quite so simple.  Many of us, myself included, enjoy owning purebred dogs.  We enjoy the looks of a specific breed, being able to reliably anticipate anything from feed bills to grooming requirements.  We know what, typically, our purebred will excel at, and which areas they would bomb.  We can also, reasonably, count on life span and health (both good and bad) to be included in those norms.  Not to mention intelligence and exercise requirements.  And while PeTA might say that death results from our personal choices, many also, would not go to a shelter to obtain a dog, even if a specific purebred were not available at the time.  I don't feel selfish in this decision.  It's my choice, and yours as well.

So why, if shelter dogs are still being euthanized daily in the U.S. (even though recent studies point to greatly reduced numbers of shelter animals because of ad campaigns that push adoption, spay and neuter, and demonize breeding) would anyone move more homeless animals into the United States?  Aren't those 60 or so dogs in the same boat with every other shelter dog here?  And since they are also mongrels, aren't they taking homes away from 60 shelter dogs that were already here? Lying on a cold concrete floor waiting for a shelter volunteer to spend a few minutes with them each day while they wait for a permanent home?  The reason is actually quite simple.  People feel MORE GOOD about themselves when they can do something good as part of something BIG, rather than a smaller simple act, that would arguably be just as impactful.  (Consider the fact that many people would rather donate to very large organizations like PeTA and HSUS, rather than donating to their local shelter where they could actually see how those donations were used, and the animals benefiting from them) Meaning; people who adopt a "meat trade" dog feel better about adopting, and sometimes generate a vacancy in their home that wasn't there the day before, to be part of a sensational media story.  So they can feel like hero's in some respect, for rescuing an animal that was "really" in trouble (and there is nothing wrong with that). Adopting ANY homeless or shelter dog is equally meaningful TO THAT DOG, regardless of their background or story. Those that apply for these dogs were likely not visiting shelters the week before, looking for their next companion.  A slot opened up in their home only after they heard the story.  And who doesn't love a good story?  When you're out at the pet store, home improvement store, local ball field or dog park, a dog is a great ice breaker.  A dog with an amazing story is even more so.  But, no matter how dull or uninteresting a shelter dogs story may be, they all deserve a hero, not just the ones on the 6 o' clock news.  And rest assured, EVERY dog has a story, some I would wager, more horrific than being someone's sandwich. 

After hurricane Katrina, I ran into hundreds of people who claimed what they had on the end of their leash was a "Katrina" dog.  So much so, that after a while, I suspected that they were lying, or had been lied to.  I live in a small city, surrounded by a few smaller towns, and about 30 minutes away is a fairly large city.  We are not a bustling metropolis by any means.  So how had all these Katrina dogs found their way to this area?  When the hurricane was over, and people started spreading the word that there were going to be many homeless animals that would need to be moved from that area, I went and put our rescues name in the pot for terriers of any description, Dachshunds, and Aussies.  The breeds that I was familiar with.  We had a fully fleshed out website with education, information and references they could look at to see we had been a legitimate rescue for some years.  I never heard back from a soul.  Meanwhile, there were people all around me claiming to be adopting out or having adopted Katrina dogs.  I just scratched my head, figured that perhaps my choices of dogs to take had been too limiting, and just went on my merry way.

At the time, it would have been ludicrously easy to move some hard to place dogs that you might have had for some time in your program, by just calling them "Katrina" dogs.  After all, we've already seen people open up their homes for "just one more" when it's part of a sensational media story.  So it would be a little unreasonable to assume that someone didn't see the opportunity and exploit it.  Years later, looking back, I think that more than a few did.  And who could blame them? If the end result is that a dog got a loving home for the rest of it's life, you had a slot open up to take yet another dog to foster, and you got an adoption fee to buy food for your fosters next week, what harm did it do, really?

Except that it's dishonest.

Call me old fashioned if you will, I don't consider it an insult.  But I see myself as part of a small group of people who cling to the last vestiges of honesty.  I can only hope, in retrospect, that anyone involved with Katrina rescues was then, and the group moving 60 meat industry dogs into California for adoption, are now.  I hope that they are honest with themselves and with adopters that these dogs will have a lot of work to do to be cherished companions.  I hope that they will be honest in saying that it will take hours upon hours for some of them to be able to handle life in general.  Some may never completely housebreak.   Many will never be the kind of dog you take to the hardware store, garden center, or dog park.   I hope that they offer resources and support for these adopters, and don't consider their work done with the signing of a form and the pocketing of a check.  I hope that their good intentions do truly turn into good works.  And I sincerely hope, that 60 dogs, with no media madness to tell THEIR story no matter how mundane, get adopted too.  Because in the end, they are all worthy, and they are all important.  I just honestly think that every dog here should have a home, before we reach across our borders and help companions in other countries.  Having a story to tell is only the beginning.  And there are millions of stories in shelters right now, waiting to be told.  I just wish there were that many people who wanted to share them, as there are for those meat industry dogs.