The big story out of Westminster this year isn't what's going on in Madison Square Garden -- it's what's NOT going on during the commercial breaks in USA's and CNBC's coverage of the country's biggest dog show. That's because Westminster has ended its two-decade sponsorship contract with Pedigree and sacked the dog-food maker over its popular advertising campaign that encouraged adoption of homeless dogs in shelters.
You might be scratching your head and wondering what could be wrong with a feel-good message like that, but then you probably aren't saddled with a guilty conscience like the good people at Westminster, who have finally been forced to come out and admit that they really only care about putting on a good show, and screw those sad mutts waiting for homes in animal shelters.
Not that they said as much in so many words. What they actually said was, "Our show is a celebration of dogs... When we're seeing puppies behind bars, it takes away from that. Not just because it's sad, but it's not our message."
Right, because their message is "Buy, buy, buy." Buy from pet shops, buy from breeders, buy from puppy mills. We don't care where you buy your dog (because the American Kennel Club will issue "papers" to any breeder, sight unseen, no matter how large or small) -- just buy. But whatever you do, do not under any circumstances adopt one of those needy dogs from a shelter. What kind of sick and twisted killjoy are you?
"Show me an ad with a dog with a smile; don't try to shame me," said David Frei, the Westminster Kennel Club's director of communications.
Apparently, viewers weren't entirely in agreement with Mr. Frei. According to Pedigree, it received $500,000 in pledges after its 2007 Westminster ad campaign. "People did not look away," said Melissa Martellotti, spokeswoman for Pedigree's parent company Mars Petcare US. "They were inspired to pick up the phone and make donations." Another Pedigree spokesperson said that shelters around the country had thanked the company for raising awareness about the plight of homeless dogs.
It is estimated that six to eight million animals are left at shelters every year and roughly half are euthanized. Most of these animals are young, healthy, and friendly -- and at least a quarter of them are purebreds. There is nothing "wrong" with shelter dogs and mixed breeds -- they are not inferior to the dogs you see prancing around the ring at Westminster (in fact, studies show that mixed breeds are often healthier and even smarter than purebreds) -- they simply lack Westminster's marketing might.
The Westminster Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the various other kennel clubs are as complicit in the deaths of shelter dogs as they would be if they had administered the lethal injections themselves. Not only do they promote and breed purebred dogs -- and in so doing take away homes from shelter animals with every litter that they bring into the world -- the dogs they breed and their offspring also end up homeless. (Yes, even dogs from vaunted Westminster breeders end up homeless -- a colleague of mine once adopted one.) To add insult to injury, the AKC also actively fights spay/neuter legislation introduced to combat animal overpopulation and homelessness.
Deep down, Westminster officials know that they play a starring role in the homeless-dog crisis, which is why they must cringe whenever they see one of those heart-wrenching Pedigree ads. Let's face it -- the ads are effective. No, the dogs aren't "smiling," but they haven't given up, either. Like the millions of dogs in shelters across America, all they want is a chance to strut their stuff, to prove that they are, if not the best in show, at least the best in your living room.
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However, I'm more disappointed in the comments I've been reading. People claiming that people who don't adopt from shelters don't really love animals? Come on. You need to realize that you cannot judge someone's love of animals based on how they obtain them. You're not only doing your movement a disservice when you act like that, you do the animals you hope to help a disservice, too.
I hope you all realize that animals in shelters aren't the only ones in need of help and a good home. I've volunteered with several retired racing greyhound rescue organizations in my area, and if these rescue organizations didn't do what they do, chances are that the hundreds of dogs who've been adopted from them would've been "discarded". These organizations not only care for and re-home these retired racers, they take in animals who have been neglected or abused, too. And I've seen some terrible cases of neglect and abuse since working with these organizations…
Purebreds and mixed breeds… ALL ANIMALS deserve a loving home. And I'd go so far as to say that YOU are the ones who don't truly care about animals if you feel that purebreds don't deserve your love, for whatever reason. That's just ridiculous.
Clearly, WestminsteÂr didn't drop Pedigree because they were "pro-adoptÂion". They dropped Pedigree because their commercialÂs are depressing and no one wants to watch them. This article is a typical knee-jerk reaction to something someone thought was going on... now who can't handle the truth?
Westminster is a benched show. That means the dogs must be available to meet the spectators during show hours when they aren't in the ring. The AKC has displays and information booths with handouts and educational materials on how to be a responsible dog owner, how to choose a dog that fits your lifestyle, brochures on activities ALL dogs can participate in, even mutts, and on canine health.
Pedigree was asked to do commercials with dogs in a positive human relationship. They were encouraged to show adopted shelter dogs winning awards in obedience, agility and rally-o, going hiking, and just enjoying life as a family member. They declined. God forbid that for two nights a year, we focus on the wonderful companionship and bond we share with our dogs. I guess it's better to feed the AR machine that wants to make sure that we throw out all the GOOD points of human/dog interactions and eventually eradicate a partnership that has gone on since before civilization.
And my family adopted an older whippet from a breeder to give her a new home, as well. So, I don't truly love animals?
You're really giving your own movement a bad name, here. Perhaps you should instead focus on judging and condemning those irresponsible pet owners who don't spay and neuter their dogs and cats. THEN you'd be doing something constructive.
Rescuing from a shelter is noble and all that, but it's not the *only* "loving" option. There are people who care about how animals come into the world, who try to mitigate health concerns BEFORE the sperm reaches the egg, who work hard to socialize their pups, who diligently screen prospective owners to make the best possible fit for both them and the puppies, who try to make certain that all concerned, the babies AND the new homes, will have the best of all possible lives together. We call them 'breeders.' YOU call them evil. Who is right? Hmmmm. Maybe you should think more and propagandize less.
The AKC is most certainly NOT against adoption. THOUSANDS of rescue dogs find homes through AKC breed groups on a yearly basis. It is absolutely insane for this woman to say the AKC's message is "whatever you do, do not under any circumstances adopt one of those needy dogs from a shelter". That's not what they're about at all.
Not to mention she calls them a money-greedy business... she's comparing them to Pedigree- the same Pedigree that uses shelter dogs to market their horrible food. I'm sorry, THEY'RE the ones who are BUY BUY BUY. We don't see ads for the Westminster YEAR ROUND selling it to us.
With millions of dogs being put down, and not always humanely, it would be quite a while before any species died out.
" Why not eliminate the birth of human babies as well since sometimes there is poverty, disease, misery.."
A ridiculous analogy. Breeders are making money. When people try to sell babies, they’re arrested. But since you brought it up, human birth control should be advocated as much as possible, particularly among poor women in the third world who have to watch their children starve because they lack access to contraception.
When you have too much of something such that you must destroy it by the millions, you don't deliberately make more for profit.
Most people are not 'pure breeds,' so why must our dogs be? If you're that big a snob you can still find pure breeds in shelters. No such thing as 'ethical' breeding as long as 1. you're profiting and 2. millions of homeless animals are killed.
A dog should be a companion, not an object for winning prize money. People who 'show' their dogs for money are as bad as parents who put their children in pageants. Dogs and children were not put on this earth to be judged and awarded based on appearance.
And Humane Society and ASPCA, hardly radical groups, aren't fond of breeding, either. You can't refute the truth just because you don't like messenger.
What the dog show hobbyists are really after is POINTS towards their dog's AKC championship. Many hobbyists spend thousands of dollars in entry fees, travel expenses, and professional show dog handler fees for their hobby. That is money that goes into the economy.
Furthermore, the AKC conformation/breed classes are only half the story. The AKC also has Obedience Trials and Companion Dog events. I used to compete with my dog in both the conformation and the obedience.
The Obedience Trials were my favorite because they are so much fun, and you can find all kinds of people and dogs there, from rednecks with easy going Staffordshire Terriers, to aristocrats with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. It is fairly easy to earn a qualifying score toward a dog's "Companion Dog" certificate and is great fun for dog and owner alike. Your obedience dog need not be registered either. As long as he resembles an AKC purebred enough to pass for one, he may qualify for PAL/ILP papers, and can be shown in obedience trials.
If dog shows are "Toddlers and Tiaras," Obedience Trials are 4-H, Scouting, and FFA. ;)