treehugger.com — 1. Adopt from a shelter Pet breeders have only one goal in mind?to raise large quantities of purebred animals for profit. They?ve also been pilloried for misdeeds such as overbreeding, inbreeding, poor veterinary oversight, lousy food and living conditions, overcrowding, and culling of unwanted animals. Love knows no pedigree.
Jun 17, 2008 View in Crawl 4
alwaysawakeJun 17, 2008
Man's inhumanity to man, is reflected in our indifference, insensitivity, and abuse of animals. Not a pretty mirror to look upon.
wheezy360Jun 18, 2008
While I agree with adopting from a shelter, it's not fair for all breeders to be labeled as they have been by this article. There are reputable registered breeders in this world who care immensely for the health and safety of their dogs and would be disgusted at the thought of being grouped together with the puppy mills and back yard breeders that are the ones churning out unhealthy pets for profit. The bottom line here is do your research on breeders as well, if adoption is not the course you wish to take. There is nothing wrong with buying a healthy, pure bred pet from a reputable AKC / CKC registered breeder.
cjschmidtJun 18, 2008
I'm all for adopting pets (I'd never buy from a puppy mill), but most responsible owners spay or neuter their pets nowadays. Most shelters are overrun with rottweilers and bulldogs - not a good match for many people. I'm a hound dog guy - give me a beagle-mutt any day.
thegreenspanputJun 18, 2008
green your pet??you hippies are sounding worse and worse by the day.
nemosoJun 18, 2008
"George Carlin's "The Planet Is Fine"We're so self-important. So self-important. Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. What? Are these f**king people kidding me? Save the planet, we don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the f**king planet?I'm getting tired of that s**t. Tired of that s**t. I'm tired of f**king Earth Day, I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world save for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a s**t about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are f**ked. Difference. Difference. The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what, a hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles...hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages...And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet...the planet...the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!We're going away. Pack your s**t, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet'll be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet'll shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.You wanna know how the planet's doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, how the planet's doing. You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.The planet will be here for a long, long, LONG time after we're gone, and it will heal itself, it will cleanse itself, 'cause that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover, the earth will be renewed, and if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the earth plus plastic. The earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the earth. The earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old egocentric philosophical question, "Why are we here?" Plastic...assh**e.So, the plastic is here, our job is done, we can be phased out now. And I think that's begun. Don't you think that's already started? I think, to be fair, the planet sees us as a mild threat. Something to be dealt with. And the planet can defend itself in an organized, collective way, the way a beehive or an ant colony can. A collective defense mechanism. The planet will think of something. What would you do if you were the planet? How would you defend yourself against this troublesome, pesky species? Let's see... Viruses. Viruses might be good. They seem vulnerable to viruses. And, uh...viruses are tricky, always mutating and forming new strains whenever a vaccine is developed. Perhaps, this first virus could be one that compromises the immune system of these creatures. Perhaps a human immunodeficiency virus, making them vulnerable to all sorts of other diseases and infections that might come along. And maybe it could be spread sexually, making them a little reluctant to engage in the act of reproduction.Well, that's a poetic note. And it's a start. And I can dream, can't I? See I don't worry about the little things: bees, trees, whales, snails. I think we're part of a greater wisdom than we will ever understand. A higher order. Call it what you want. Know what I call it? The Big Electron. The Big Electron...whoooa. Whoooa. Whoooa. It doesn't punish, it doesn't reward, it doesn't judge at all. It just is. And so are we. For a little while." The gist: The Earth has gone through a lot worse than styrofoam cups and kitty litter. Cut this pretentious green s**t out and stop trying to save something that has been around for billions of years before us and what will continue to live billions of years after us. Humanity is in danger, not the Earth.
bbqsaladJun 18, 2008
eat them
haikufuJun 18, 2008
Not all breeders are bad. And certain breeds are very risky to adopt. Case in point, German Shepherds. German Shepherds are prone to hip dysplasia and other ailments. GSD's from American lines have been literally RUINED by the AKC's show guidelines. The sloping back requirement has destroyed their hips, and since they are bred for looks and not smarts, they can bite out of fear and are worthless for a working dog. So, unless you want to have $6k worth of vet bills for hip surgery at some point (some need it as early as 2 years old) or you want a dog that hasn't been properly socialized or you like aggression/dominance issues, then you need to find a breeder with solid european lines and OFA certified parents, or find an adoptee with papers.
trollhunterJun 19, 2008
Fireboy is a "label queen". ROFL
stevela100Dec 23, 2008
Being GREEN for your animals is definetly the way to go in 09'. I find Laurel House's Green Guide on the WUFFINGTON WAG to be quite thorough...<a class="user" href="http://wuffingtonwag.com/articles/guest-wags/the-green-dog-gift-guide/">http://wuffingtonwag.com/articles/guest-wags/the-g ...</a>