"Dog shows were invented to promote breeds - to promote breeding stock," says Kaitlyn Anderson, a Newfoundland dog breeder while attending the Golden Gate Kennel Dog Show at the Cow Palace last January.
The officials at the Westminister Dog Show which opens this weekend in New York City, must agree wholeheartedly with Anderson, having parted ways with their long-time sponsor Pedigree in favor of Purina. In recent years, Pedigree commercials have been filled with sad faced dogs whose messages were in favor of rescue and adoption, which contrasted strongly with the purebred dogs on stage at the dog show.
Purina on the other hand produces commercials featuring galloping, joyful dogs whose origins are identifiable - no pooches of mysterious ancestry in sight.
4 million killed each year
According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), four million cats and dogs, that's one every eight seconds, are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year. HSUS's solution to this problem is urging people to spay and neuter their own animals and adopting new animal family members from shelters rather than buying from breeders.
Killing surplus companion animals has been an ongoing ethical delimma for people who love them - dog rescuers, shelter workers, and even dog breeders. Breeders and rescuers are often at odds on how to combat pet overpopulation. Some dog rescuers claim they "clean up the messes the breeders create." Some breeders claim that they "rarely breed and never make any money while doing it."
Backyard breeders
One area in which both sides agree is their shared animosity towards so-called backyard breeders - people whose unaltered dogs accidently mate and produce puppies, or worse in the eyes of breeders, are those who purposely mate their dogs without any knowledge of the genetics of the breed.
Ellen Perlson, a Corgi breeders says of breeders like herself, "Don't say we're all a bunch of murderers, we're not, we care." Perlson went on to say that the best way to combat irresponsible breeding is through education.
Picketing at the Golden Gate Kennel Dog Show against breeders and in favor of adoption was Deborah Claussen who said, "A lot of people are defending their right to breed their animals despite the fact that there are millions of animals being killed everyday because people are breeding more animals than (we) have homes.
Spay & neuter ordinances
Regulating breeding through legislation may be the only way to decrease the numbers of animals being killed in shelters. While animal activists generally support such legislation, dog breeders often do not. Perlson says, "It comes down to rights. Good breeders feel that you are infringing on their rights."
With the Westminster Dog Show now in its 136th year, clearly the pure bred dog community is not going away. And with passions high on the animal activists side who vow to continue to fight on behalf of shelter animals, it appears that for any progress to be made on reducing pet overpopulation, the two sides must come together.
For Perslon, who walked past the animal picketers in front of the Golden Gate Kennel Dog show, she says, "I would go out to the front of that building and shake PETA's (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) hands. I have wanted to for a long time."
To watch a video of the interviews from the Golden Gate Kennel Dog Show, click on the video link in the upper left side of this page.
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