The sad thing is that the breeders are the lesser evil. So are the purchasers. We live in a society governed by supply and demand, and that includes the market for companion animals. As long as people wish to own pets, there will have to be suppliers, simple as that.

The greater evil lies in the middleman - those who have created and profit from the niche called pet disposal. They have turned this niche into an industry. They are the enablers of the dumping and abandonment of thousands of innocent lives every year. They warehouse, market, and dispose of used product. They shuffle lives from A to B to C to D to who knows where, most don't even keep track after B. They are the SPCAs, the "no kill" pounds (there is no such thing) with their unscreened foster homes, the Rescue Angels, with their 400 mile away "Forever Homes", approved through a home check done by someone they've never met, but hey, they must be good because they're a trainer or a groomer or a dog show judge...they are the shufflers, moving product and boasting of how many animals they've "placed" in the last month.

The SPCA recently held a contest, offering prizes to the branch that could move the most product in one month. And it is currently running an ad campaign on television, pushing pets as lifestyle accessories, encouraging people to add one to their household, people just like Frieda's owners, who saw a cute face and made an impulse decision, only to abandon that life to a poundkeeper months later because she didn't really fit in with their lifestyle.

Yes, the SPCAs and rescuers who betray and shuffle those who cannot speak for themselves really are more evil than the breeders. Why? Because they call themselves "shelters" and "rescuers". They lead the kindhearted and naive donating public to believe that they are something other than what they are.

Full to bursting "shelters" look needy and attract donations. "Rescuers" tell of how many tens of hundreds of animals they've flown off to "Forever Homes" with strangers, and get called "Angels".

Beware the middleman- those who deal society's cast off pets. Too few of them operate for anything other than gain or glory. Too many of them operate under questionable motives, making unethical decisions. The ethics of pet shuffling are so poorly understood by the donating public, and this is what allows the middleman to be self serving rather than animal serving, and to gain money or glory or both in the process.

Beware the middleman, for all too often he is not what he claims to be.

Jennifer Dickson
Vernon BC