Puppies, puppies, PUPPIES.Is it our imagination, or are there more puppies showing up at our Shots Fairs than in previous years? Our autumn outreach event took place in Vallejo this past weekend and attracted some of the town's busiest backyard breeders with their wares in tow, along with a plethora of the newest fad dogs - the American Bullies.
At least one backyard breeder admitted to subscribing to the age-old vocation of selling dogs to help make ends meet. With foreclosed houses on nearly every street, it gets hard to blame them.
Below: Ye olde days. Not so different from today.
Several Vallejo homes are cashing in on the new American Bully fad with homespun kennels. They're still a relatively new dog on the scene, so breeders are still getting crazy-good money for fathead pups. But the arrival of dogs like BR's Huck (right) in our shelters is a sign of what's in store... 
...A supply and demand overload that will add up to a glut of fatheads in the shelters and dropping puppy prices on the streets. Anyday now, get yer Ambully pups at a Safeway parking lot near you! (Sigh)
Despite the head-bang that comes from seeing so many pups-at-risk, the Shots Fairs continue to give us hope. There's the shy family who marveled at how easy it was to teach their rowdy blue pup how to 'Sit.' And the moustached senior who brought his out-dated, wrinkled up spay/neuter voucher to exchange for an up-to-date voucher that he can use on his dog (Hey, time flies). Or the family whose dog was already spayed, but who stood in line just for training advice.
We gave away dozens of free microchips, some puppy shots, spay/neuter vouchers, leashes/collars, educational hand-outs and a whole lotta advice. In return, we enjoyed a great day in the sun and some warm welcomes from Shots Fair clients. As we packed up and pulled out of the park, an older gentleman waved good-bye and hollered from his seat at a picnic table, "When are you coming back?"
Maybe sometime next year. 'Til then, we're scheming new ways to spread our resources around to the many different pockets of bay area pit bull owners that need a little help for their dogs.
Thank you Vallejo. And good luck, little pups.
Above, the steady-eddie Shot Fair crew after a good day's work. Thank you Kim and Christine for your organizational magic!
thank you guys for all you do, i hope your words of advice and spay/neuter vouchers are used sooner rather than later on those pups. i wonder if people realize they can get their pups spayed/neutered as young as 4 months old. overbreeding and irresponsibility needs to end.
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing!!!! We need more rescue groups like you in New York!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the amazing work!
Sad and I maintain, until a person needs a license to breed and are busted if they are found breeding without one, this will just go on and on and on and on and dogs will continue to die and be misbred. And I mean all dogs, not just APBT!
ReplyDeleteDina
you guys are so awesome with everything you do for our little pits. i wish you were in chicago. rosie & i would be all over you guys!!! keep up the great work!!
ReplyDeleteYes, we are seeing a flood of folks coming out to get their dogs and cats shots at our reduced cost clinic. The Free Pit Bull clinic -- everything and anything is free, no residency or income rules -- is always over subscribed, and we give out rainchecks if we can't get everyone in. Leigh, we sp/ueter at 4 lbs or 4 months, which ever comes first. The parvo pups are done and they aren't 3 mos yet. And requiring a breed license or mandatory sp/ueter laws doesn't work, and can result in deaths. Offering free clinics works. Sp/uetering before they leave the shelter/ breeder works. Huck looks great, BTW.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Dianne. Fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, cities like Vallejo are so friggin' poor and under-resourced that enforcing a breeding license requirement would be near impossible.
All we can do is keep plugging away with education and accessible resources. The biggest battle is to avoid getting discouraged and to remember that bigger changes take time -- So much time!
Donna, I swear, I am so sick of large urban shelters (like Philadelphia) with 80% pitbull populations, going out the back dog in a black bag and then a landfill, that I'm ready to think way outside the box. Want a way to make money, people? You will get XXX dollars if you report illegal breeding and your name will be kept anonymous. Now, there's a way to make some bucks and you don't even have to pay for food for the poor momma dogs. By the way, I think those American Bullies look positively terrible!!!
ReplyDeleteDina
While I wish that breeders did require a license, honestly that's something that will probably never be able to be upheld law-wise (we can barely uphold some laws are are just people-oriented), and in all areas, it could lead to even more gruesome tales. So I agree with what was stated about how free or reduced-pride clinics that offer shots, spay/neuter, help and other amenities is the very best way to go. Thank you, Bad Rap, and others who do these things, for doing great service events like this!
ReplyDeleteAs for the American Bully dogs. ...I also agree that I wish they weren't being bred, but the fact is that they are, and so all we can do until (and after) the huge fad fades out is care for them like we do with other breeds. And hey, at least those breeders who were seen at the fair are attempting/trying to keep the dogs healthy instead of just tossing them out to whoever is close enough.
Actually real breeders DO require a license here in PA and an inspection as well. So my point is: just enforce the law and let others report on their neighbors. I know this sounds awful, but frankly, I haven't seen anything else that is even making a dent in the dearth of pitbulls and their death as well.
ReplyDeleteIn all 8 years I have worked at or volunteered at my shelter I have NEVER seen so many puppies. We just had a litter of pitbulls surrendered because they couldn't sell them, not one! We have dozens of them, mostly pitbull or lab, and have so many pleas from other shelters to take more. It's so sad, I just wish people understood what happens when they try to make a quick buck.
ReplyDeleteOf course we got a huge influx of puppies at the same time we got a transport of bust dogs. Times like this make me so thankful for fosters.
I volunteer at the Oakland Animal shelter and it is heartbreaking to see how many puppies there are. They don't just come from irresponsible breeders, but irresponsible people. I just adopted a beautiful pittie girl who had 10 puppies whose father is a Malinois. I doubt that was intentional, and probably came from their asshole (and I say asshole also because my girl was taken into protective custody because of neglect) human refusing to get them fixed. It was heartbreaking to watch a barely 2 year old girl nursing 10 pups in a shelter. All we can do is educate people, though. I think there is a stigma that goes along with fixing dogs in some communities. Education is the only way to end that...
ReplyDeleteIF people are going to breed at all, they should have good homes lined up for these puppies before the dogs are even bred. and they should be held responsible for each and every pup that results from their choice to breed their dog. period.
ReplyDeletemaybe we can take a little comfort in the fact that when these puppies end up in the shelters at least they wont be bred to make even more unwanted puppies. though its not very comforting to know that many of these sweet babies will not make it. so taking any comfort at all would be a huge stretch. people just need to be more responsible about it. no excuses.
Our group had over 100 dogs at our last monthly clinic in Baltimore, and we're not the only one.
ReplyDeleteugh. so annoying that people can just breed litters upon litters of unwanted dogs.
ReplyDeleteYou know- I would LOVE to have a puppy one day, but I know I never will. I'll always rescue a pit bull already out of puppy-hood because I know they're harder to place.
And there's always going to be a strong need to rescue while there are backyard breeders just doing what they please.
ugh.
What a great organisation you are please keep up the good work.
ReplyDelete