Comments on: Author Outraged at Obama’s “Absurd” Broken Dog Promise

By: Virginia Cornell

Virginia Cornell — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:53:50 +0000

Labs and Golden Retriever shed a lot and need lots of grooming…mixing them with a poodle does not necessarily mean they will NOT shed depending on which side of the family the dog takes after,youcan have a litter that has both in it…like families who have curly headed children and then straight haired children .

I think everyone has a right to get a dog where ever they want to, I always recommend Rescue or the local animal shelter; but I also offer that people go to the breed club of the dog they are looking at for a pet and talk to a dedicated breeder or referral person,do their homework, do not buy from the webpages where you cannot see what you are really getting; instead how abt someone, who does contracts, advises, will take the pup/dog back if need be and return any money involved, or replace…

There are good dog people out there who are involved in healthy, good temperment dogs,do dog events and education…stop bashing them If they chose a purebred, who was specifically bred for a purpose/reason according to their jobs and a specific look or standard to go by. I have owned both. And, will continue to make my own choices, not the cause of the day nor the dog of the year.

A good,loving home for any dog, any breed is what is really needed, with a family who will give the health care and training to make the dog a good doggy citizen.

Thank you

By: Karlin Lillington

Karlin Lillington — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:42:29 +0000

Actually, as a person who has talked to plenty of allergists (with allergies) — while there is no ‘hypoallergenic’ dogs there are breeds that definitely cause far lower reaction rates for many people with allergies and the PWD is one of them. So are labradoodles. There is a test that can be done for this to check the appropriateness of a given dog, too — some are less allergenic than others.

I run a rescue myself and have NO ISSUES with people working with responsible breeders if a rescue dog doesn’t suit them (and for a whole variety of reasons, one may not). If responsible breeders don’t breed, then breeds will be lost completely. I hve found it one of the great ironies of doing rescue and working with general rescue that very often the same people who are most vocally against buying breeds and who deplore others not taking a dog from a pound are exactly the ones who have their own house full of the breeds they cherry pick in rescue and get most excited when an interesting breed shows up at the shelter or pound.

I also do not see how accepting the gift of a pup from a breeder is going against a pledge to fight animal cruelty — that is absurd. Really, if we are down to this level of nitpicking –sadly so typical in rescue!! (and even as people ‘tearfully’ bring their dogs to shelters… ) and with so many huge cruelty issues in animal welfare (mills, maltreatment, poor legislation), then little will ever be achieved that actually benefits animals.

Encourage people to consider shelter animals, yes.

By: Ryan O'Meara

Ryan O'Meara — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:54:36 +0000

A child’s reaction to a dog allergy wise has absolutely ZERO relation to whether it comes from a breeder or a shelter. There is, quite simply, no such thing as a ‘hypoallergenic dog’. A dog less prone to shedding – oh yes, there are plenty of those – plenty of them in shelters too – all of which would have had the exact same levels of allergy inducement as a PWD. The only baloney that’s being spouted is that the PWD is any different to any other low shed dog.

By: Cathy Torres

Cathy Torres — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:27:10 +0000

Baloney! If a child has an allergy it doesn’t make sense for them to adopt a dog from the shelter. PWD are great dogs for those with allergies. I support adopting from a shelter or rescue when it’s feasible, but in this case it wasn’t a feasible option. I would also be supportive of your mission if you didn’t paint responsible breeders with the same paint brush you paint puppy mills and backyard breeders with. I support getting a dog through rescues, shelters or responsible breeders.