Thinking about breeding your pet? Please read.
For anyone that's thinking of breeding their dog, cat or rabbit, please read this first.
This is a plea. Please read it. If it changes your mind, then lives will be saved, and all the effort to write this post was worth it.
A dog's average litter is 5 puppies. That's not a lot is it? I'm sure you have people who have already asked for one of your puppies. I'm sure that you're a responsible dog owner and you love your pet. Well, once those 5 puppies are born that means that there are 5 less homes out there, so 5 dogs have to die. Why you ask? Well, it's simple. There are too many dogs and not enough homes. Five million dogs die in shelters every year in the US alone because of backyard breeding and puppy mills. Backyard breeders are people just like you, people with pets that they love. People who just want one litter, or just want to make a bit of extra money. That doesn't change the outcome. Five dogs born means five won't find a home, and they'll be put to sleep. Five dogs are born, five dogs die.
Here are 5 dogs in my local shelter right now. If you decide to breed, they, or ones just like them, will die.
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Are you willing to go to the shelter, hold these dogs while the needle goes in, while they take their last breath? If so, then I will not speak against your desire to breed. If you can honestly say you wouldn't have a problem with ending their lives, then ask your question, and I won't lecture.
Are you angry now? Do you want to yell at me because it's your dog, your right to breed, you aren't part of the problem, you're just one person? Are you? I can understand why you feel that way. After all, you're having only one litter right?
Surely one litter doesn't make that big a difference. Here's the reality. Five million dogs killed in shelters every year in the US alone. The majority of those dogs were born to that one litter, a litter just like yours. So ask yourself. Why are you angry at me? Are you angry because you realize that I'm speaking the truth? Are you angry because I showed you the faces of the dogs that will die if you breed and you didn't want to see that because they make it real?