Dog discrimination?
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I wish I was in your shoes instead of mine, you have so much to be proud of that you adopted / rescued your baby.
When people ask about Zahra I have to shrink down to the size of mini me and say that I bought her at a pet store and then either shudder waiting for someone to give me the "uh-huh" like I did a horrible thing and here comes the lecture (I know better know about puppy mills now, I had always had cats and adopted them from the shelter) or have them not really say anything at which point I start talking about how the pet store is not the best place to get a dog and that Basenji's are a different breed.
I think anyone who has a pure bred dog knows about rescues and if they love their breed probably supports them.
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I used to think my B was inferior to other B's. The other owners at the park would talk about the champion lines and all the money they paid from reputable breeders or how they had their akc dog flown out from across the country. One thing I really wanted to do with my dog was agility but I think I heard he has to be AKC so that was kind of a downer. I used to think "oh my dog is just a rescue" now I look back and realize how silly I was. These days I'm very proud to say my basenji is a rescue! It is a great feeling to know I helped the breed I love!
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both of my furkids came from the pound and I have no idea what their puppy history was but dogs live in the now. Most people when they hear that the dogs were rescued, say that they are lucky dogs. It's true that some dogs come with issues but the humans are the ones who create them or don't know how to deal with them. We are supposedly the smarter species so we are the ones who should figure out how to deal with it.
I have basenji mixes and to be honest I do feel a little jealous and inferior to the purebreds but when you see my babies and how healthy and gorgeous they are, well all feelings of inferiority are gone. My sweeties are the best. They are both survivors and exemplify what is best in both breeds that they represent, lab and senji. -
@vstripe:
I used to think my B was inferior to other B's. The other owners at the park would talk about the champion lines and all the money they paid from reputable breeders or how they had their akc dog flown out from across the country. I used to think "oh my dog is just a rescue" now I look back and realize how silly I was. These days I'm very proud to say my basenji is a rescue! It is a great feeling to know I helped the breed I love!
Oh absolutely! I am so glad you don't feel bad anymore. Rescue is so, so important. And, not being a champion, or from champion lines doesn't make your dog any less Basenji!! And, for all anybody knows, your dog IS from champion lines…sometimes those dogs need rescued as well.
I hope you don't feel like the other owners were trying to brag about their dogs though :( Most of us who show and do buy show dogs, and do have them flown around the country would NEVER ever want to make you feel bad about your wonderful rescue, by talking about our dogs.
In reality we need all of the branches of the tree to exist. There has to be good, responsible breeders to produce nice pets, and show dogs. There have to be people willing to buy show dogs, because a good breeder can't keep them all. There have to be people who are willing to take in dogs in need of rescue, because there will be puppies produced by irresponsible breeders, and people will have life situations change for whatever reasons.
I admire and respect people who choose to take in rescue dogs. It is not the path I chose, but that doesn't mean that I don't totally believe in the honor of rescuing.
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O.k I think I might have sounded completley the opposite of how I feel. I am not less pround of my dog because he was a rescue it does not define who he is in any way. I was just commenting how some people and few people seem to have the wrong idea about rescue pets. We love Champ and don't have any negative feelings about him as far as where he came from or where we adopted from. I was only sharing something I was feeling that day. We walk through the park with our heads held very high when we are with our Champ. He is our baby.
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I just want to add that in the past 2 months(almost) we have never not once felt that our B was inferior to any other pet. We have from day one always seen him for what he is and that is a beautiful, intellegent, bratty, spoiled, and love filled companion.
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When people ask about Zahra I have to shrink down to the size of mini me and say that I bought her at a pet store and then either shudder waiting for someone to give me the "uh-huh" like I did a horrible thing and here comes the lecture (I know better know about puppy mills now, I had always had cats and adopted them from the shelter) or have them not really say anything at which point I start talking about how the pet store is not the best place to get a dog and that Basenji's are a different breed.
I have the exact same situation and understand what you are saying. It is an uncomfortable feeling telling where Bella came from. I get the "why not a pound puppy" lecture sometimes and I just squirm.
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I have researched her line though and found quite a bit of info on Zande's site. Her breeder was supposedly a new establishment from what I understand (got this info from petshoppuppies.com). I don't know if the breeder is still in business, they may have dissolved… Bella's father was sold at auction a while back ago. I don't know about her mom and if she has siblings. So, although her history is scetchy, I do know more than some that get the pet shop pups. My consolation is that if her breeder was new, hopefully the dogs weren't in the terrible conditions some puppy mills inflict on dogs. I still feel guilty about having bought from a pet store, though, and won't do it again. I am aware now of how bad the puppy mills are!!!
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I have the exact same situation and understand what you are saying. It is an uncomfortable feeling telling where Bella came from. I get the "why not a pound puppy" lecture sometimes and I just squirm.
Well, if it makes you feel any better, if you hang out with some rescue people (haven't seen this in our breed), you get a 'well, don't you think you're special' attitude…or 'you're too good to rescue a dog, huh?' or 'too bad your purebred is a genetic mess' when you have bought purebred a dog from carefully planned breeding.
Really, we could do so much more good if everyone got on the same darn page, instead of being angry at each other :(
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I'm proud of the number of dogs that I have rescued, transported, and fostered. I'll tell you this too: You'd be suprised at how many of the dogs come from good bloodlines. After having basenji puppies, it's quite a relief to get an 18 month old B, that's just about grown out of it's puppy phase.
I would be proud to develop a champion bloodline too! In fact, it's a dream of mine that I hope to accomplish someday.
We're all committed to the basenji, because the little tools have a way of capturing our hearts.
I think basenji owners are a pretty tight-knit group. The ways basenjis affect our lives are so similar, it's hard to not find something in common with other basenji owners. This place is as much of a support group as it is a gathering of like minds, and as Andrea alluded to earlier: It takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
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Really, we could do so much more good if everyone got on the same darn page, instead of being angry at each other.
I agree wholeheartedly!!!
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We're all committed to the basenji, because the little tools have a way of capturing our hearts… I think basenji owners are a pretty tight-knit group. The ways basenjis affect our lives are so similar, it's hard to not find something in common with other basenji owners.
I think this may be the "same page" Andrea was speaking of!
