So happy to say that Gemma is loving her new people today!
Retired Champion showdog available
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Am I missing something here? Do we not view these animals as sentient beings? Are they just show pieces for our own vanity? Really, I would love someone to explain this to me. it breaks my heart to think that we treat these animals as objects to be discarded when they are no longer useful to us. I would love to hear a rational argument to justify this.
this to me. I do not get it.Did you miss something? Oh, the boat. Heck, forget the boat, you didn't even make it to the dock.
First, the word discarded is unreal. She isn't dumping the dog in a shelter or on the street, she is looking for a good home.
Second, as an active rescue/rehab person, wow, get over it already. I have had people take PRECISELY the same attitude with ME over placing RESCUES!! Oh, how can I possibly find it a home, don't I want to keep it? What is wrong with me that … blah blah blah.
Here is a truth. Rarely is there only one home that is great or even perfect for a dog. If you do rescue, if you breed, even if you find you have acquired more dogs than you can fairly give time to or got one that truly does not fit your household, the UNSELFISH act is to find it a great home where it CAN fit in or get what it needs. I see more dogs suffer from people who WON'T rehome but neglect than any breeder on earth who places dogs to make room for the next generation.
Third... sigh. Breeders are NOT just pet owners. They are the guardian of developing and improving the breed. One of the hardest parts of that duty involves creating puppies and letting them go. You think you quit loving a dog because you place it? I got several mother's day or holiday cards from the families of my puppies til the dogs died. A good breeder stays in contact with the adopter and a good breeder cares about the continued life of that dog. BUT, unless you are advocating the kennels of old where a breeder might have 20 or more dogs in kennels and never let anything but puppies leave... oh wait, we still have those. They are called PUPPYMILLS. Most breeders must limit the number of dogs in their home to a fair number for both the humans and dogs. To suggest a breeder should essentially stop breeding rather than place adults that no longer fit their breeding program, or to make room for a next generation, is to suggest that the breed simply isn't worth continuing. It is a necessary process that all responsible breeders face. In fact, honestly.... I am far more critical of those that hold onto more dogs than they can fairly treat like other "pet" homes.
At one point here I had 4 Rottweilers, a rescue toy poodle, a chow/coyotee and still had room for rotating one to 2 rescues. But I had my daughter home and husband here a lot to help provide attention/playtime/love/training. Now with her in college and my husband generally disabled (until he sucks it up and gets hip surgery but let's not go there), I find just the 2 basenjis are about enough.
However, you find me a breeder who is just discarding a dog in their program, and I'll help you picket them. We see those. We see them in shelters, we see them in rescue when a breeder refuses to stand behind their dogs and take them back. But I am pretty darn sure you won't find that true of ANY of the breeders who regularly post here.
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Okay - fair enough. Those arguments make sense and I truly didn't mean to offend anyone. This part of the dog world is outside my purview and I appreciate the patient explanations.
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Here is one more sigh view. I had one older puppy that I wanted to keep, unfortunately, he needed more time and one on one than I had to give him. The others fit well into my multiple dog household. Frankie went to a great home with some great people that still continue to work with him for what's best for him.
Sometimes it's better to let a dog go to a good home than keep him and show him. When we 'retire' show dogs it doesn't mean we don't want to keep them, it sometimes means that it may be in the dogs' best interest to place them in a loving home where they will be spoiled. Hope this helps explain a little bit about what we, as breeders, want for our dogs we place.
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I know I will get a lot of heat for this, [snip] I thought that when one gets a dog, one is committed to that animal for it's whole life. Am I missing something here? Do we not view these animals as sentient beings? Are they just show pieces for our own vanity? Really, I would love someone to explain this to me. it breaks my heart to think that we treat these animals as objects to be discarded when they are no longer useful to us. I would love to hear a rational argument to justify this.
this to me. I do not get it.Well, I think maybe you got a little heat, but not too much. I know where you are coming from. It's been drilled into your head that you get a pet for life and therefore, if you rehome your pet, you've failed the pet and failed as a pet-owner. But I also think that it is because these dogs are sentient beings that they are (sometimes) rehomed. Kathy isn't just giving Charlie away to the first person who asks for him. She will research the home to make sure that Charlie is going to a better home than she can provide for him.
I've also seen rehomes where the resident dog/s are not accepting of the new dog/puppy, especially as a new pupppy reaches maturity. And so the second dog is rehomed for the sake of the first dog. Patricia McConnell does a wonderful job of recounting this sort of thing in her blog (http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/update-on-hope). She eventually does rehome Hope because of how relapsed Willy's behavior becomes. Sad, but probably the best option for both dogs in that case. It would have been a sad life for Willy being afraid of his housemate every hour of every day.
However, I do think in today's society that people are too quick to give up their pets for a list of reasons (new baby, moving, new house, new carpet, new boy/girlfriend, etc). But please don't loose sight of the fact that sometimes rehoming is done with a loving heart and in the best interest of the animal. I hope some of that helps.
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@Agilebasenji - Yup, you're right - that's pretty much how I have felt, and I never saw it from a good breeder's perspective. I know that there are valid reasons for re-homing a dog. I guess I just saw this as "shuttling" dogs around without thinking about what the folks who really care about Basenji's are doing by trying to breed sound and healthy dogs, and that sometimes means making way for dogs that can make that happen. I should probably have asked about it before spouting off my knee jerk reaction. I apologize to Kathy - I don't even know her and made unfair assumptions about how she feels about her animals. And I really am grateful that folks took the time to enlighten me - I never thought about the other side of the scenario. So, thanks. I didn't get as much heat as I expected and probably less than I deserved. I appreciate people being civil.
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I think that most of the breeders here took this as a chance to do some education into insights of a breeder. So no worries…..
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Well, I think maybe you got a little heat, but not too much. I know where you are coming from. It's been drilled into your head that you get a pet for life and therefore, if you rehome your pet, you've failed the pet and failed as a pet-owner. But I also think that it is because these dogs are sentient beings that they are (sometimes) rehomed. Kathy isn't just giving Charlie away to the first person who asks for him. She will research the home to make sure that Charlie is going to a better home than she can provide for him.
I've also seen rehomes where the resident dog/s are not accepting of the new dog/puppy, especially as a new pupppy reaches maturity. And so the second dog is rehomed for the sake of the first dog. Patricia McConnell does a wonderful job of recounting this sort of thing in her blog (http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/update-on-hope). She eventually does rehome Hope because of how relapsed Willy's behavior becomes. Sad, but probably the best option for both dogs in that case. It would have been a sad life for Willy being afraid of his housemate every hour of every day.
However, I do think in today's society that people are too quick to give up their pets for a list of reasons (new baby, moving, new house, new carpet, new boy/girlfriend, etc). But please don't loose sight of the fact that sometimes rehoming is done with a loving heart and in the best interest of the animal. I hope some of that helps.
This is a perfect post! I completely agree
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Charlie is so handsome and sounds like a love. I hope you find a great home for him.
If I didn't have Cody, I'd be tempted -
Kathy how can someone contact you about him?
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My website has my email address on it… and it is also noted in the original post.
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He is ever so lovely..he sounds like a love too…someone will be a very happy basenji owner with him in their lives..I wish him best of luck..
