Obama's Dog

[DanaC]

I found that really interesting. I do think attitudes towards pedigree dogs have got a little imbalanced in recent years. That said there is a definate problem with some breed 'standards'. We really shouldn't be breeding dogs who are so specialised in nature that they can no longer breed or give birth without assistance, nor indeed should we be specialising to the point of severe genetic defects; but that's a relatively small part of the pedigree world.

I have always had pedigree dogs. We've taken in the odd rescue mutt too, but they've been accidental admissions to the family, rather than planned. We've been stung by a large puppy seller, a kennel of which we have since become suspicious and I personally am convinced buys from puppy farmers. The dog we got from them was a lovely little thing. But he was beset with health problems from the start. What we thought was a cute fat little belly was actually a distended swollen belly. We could practically have set up a bed in the vets for his first eighteen months.

These days I know what I am looking for and I know how to source a good breeder. I took a long train journey to get to Pilau's breeder. I met his parents (his dad looked exactly like Pil grew to look, and was nicknamed Dud the Stud) and his litter mates. I saw the pictures of his grandsire and granddam on the walls along with their ribbons and prizes. I spent time with the dogs, unhurried and saw where they slept.

It pisses me off when the animal rights peeps characterise our relationship with dogs as an equivalent to our relationship with any other domestic creature. It's different with dogs. It just is. They are intertwined through our lives and histories, our homes and memories, like no other creature. We've moulded them and been moulded by them.