Re: The President's Puppy

[Judy Reed]

GREAT LETTER, Livi!  I intend to edit it and send one too!  Everyone else -- you do it too!
Judy.





on 4/21/09 12:53 PM, elf...@juno.com at elf...@juno.com wrote:

FEEL FREE TO X-POST WIDELY, INCLUDING TO NEWSPAPERS AND NEWS BLOGS.


An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

           We in the animal rescue community are grievously disappointed that you broke your implicit promise to adopt a shelter dog. (Your donation to a humane society does nothing to assuage our sense of betrayal.)

           There are any number of hypoallergenic pure- and mixed-breed dogs beyond the two you had claimed you narrowed your choice down to (the purebreed Portuguese water dog and the mixed breed Labradoodle). On any given day, thousands of them languish in shelters and rescue groups, waiting, most desperately, to be adopted. Even more so nowadays, with beloved family pets being given up for adoption as a result of home foreclosures, job loss, and economic hard times.

           At six months of age, a relatively uncommon breed like the Portuguese water dog is no-way, no-how a ³second chance² puppy ³rejected² by his original buyer, as was publicized about Bo. Even if that specious tale were true, a reputably bred 6-month-old Portie is eminently resellable and, unlike a shelter pup, is not homeless ­ not in need of rescue.

            The transaction that brought Bo to the White House is hyped as a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy, who owns several Portuguese water dogs from the same breeder as Bo¹s. The deal smacks of a quid pro quo for Sen. Kennedy¹s early support of you in last year¹s Presidential Primary and/or an act of sympathy for the cancer-stricken senator.

           Whatever. Your ill-advised choice of a purposely bred puppy over a truly needy shelter pup blew what could have ­ what should have been a golden opportunity to educate the public about homeless pets.

Dog Owners Lesson #1:  Don¹t play politics with animals.

            Even worse is the unintended but inevitable consequence of your ill-advised choice of a purpose-bred dog:
           Today, countless puppy mills and other disreputable, unlicensed ³backyard² breeders across the country ­ and there are tens upon tens of thousands of them ­ are scrambling to acquire breeding pairs of Portuguese water dogs. The market will soon be flooded with their poorly bred versions of America¹s latest canine fad.

           Visualize the notoriously undereducated dog-buying public being sold thousands of poor-quality, often sickly, yet oh-so-adorable (and overpriced!) little Porties, their cute little noses pressed up against pet shop windows from coast to coast.

           Note:  Dog faddists want what they want ­ until they don¹t want it anymore. We¹ve seen this phenomenon over and over, with Dalmatians Š with Boston terriers Š with ChihuahuasŠ

            The breed surely will suffer and may never fully recover from the approaching tsunami of inbred, inferior-quality Portuguese water dogs, many of whom, irony of ironies, will end up, abandoned, in shelters, in need of rescue once the novelty of owning ³the President¹s dog² has worn off.


Dog Owners Lesson #2:  Save a life. Adopt a homeless pup from a shelter or rescue group. Most are already housebroken and trained. All will be forever grateful for saving their life.

           How important is any of this in the greater, global scheme of things? Mahatma Gandhi believed that "the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." It's a legitimate issue.

            You have an opportunity to lessen the damage, Mr. President. Give Bo a canine playmate for all those times when you and your family are otherwise occupied ­ with school Š with governing Š with saving the world. Only this time, do the right thing and adopt a real ³second chance² pup from a shelter or rescue group.

           Petfinder.com is a great place to find the real deal.

Sincerely,

Livi French

The Caring Corps

Animal Advocacy

New York City

____________________________________________________________
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[Judy Reed]

I just got this email from an activist.  I can't watch it (old computer), but perhaps you can.  

Suggestion:  Tell President Obama to watch it!
Judy.

[Judy Reed]

Ooops, I forgot to include the video link!  Sorry.  
Judy.


on 4/23/09 2:22 AM, ahimsa108 group at nor...@googlegroups.com wrote:

TOPIC: VIDEO 5 to 10 million pets are euthanized in US
http://groups.google.com/group/ahimsa108/t/eb7a967fe307861c?hl=en

Date: Wed, Apr 22 2009 5:53 am
From: Apesman

Click here: YouTube -  Born to Die ......

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ4M-H29LCw)  

on 4/24/09 4:08 PM, Judy Reed at AnimalVo...@earthlink.net wrote:


I just got this email from an activist.  I can't watch it (old computer), but perhaps you can.  

Suggestion:  Tell President Obama to watch it!
Judy.



on 4/24/09 3:46 PM, Judy Reed at AnimalVo...@earthlink.net wrote: