Close to Home: For pets, look to rescues, not breeders

Over the two years of the COVID pandemic, demand for puppies and even older dogs has soared. For the first time ever, animal shelters and rescue groups have been nearly emptied out. Puppy prices have gone through the roof. We’re talking up to $10,000 for a “Frenchie” or a “maltipoo” or other “lifestyle accessory” dog.

The pandemic puppy bubble is beginning to burst, and shelters around the country, including here in Sonoma County, are again packed with abandoned dogs. But backyard breeders will keep churning out puppies as long as there is any market at all. It’s cheap to breed dogs, especially when you can cut your losses by dumping the sick or unsold.

Backyard breeding can be cushy for those who have left the workforce during COVID to make a living from home. Providing you have no conscience.

Like so many others in Sonoma County, I am a dog lover and rescue supporter. Thousands of us around the country have monitored Craigslist for years, flagging puppy posts for deletion because they violate the site’s policy of no pet sales, can be deceptive, masquerading as “rehoming” or “adoption,” and sometimes involve animal abuse, theft, sickness and exploitation.

Breeds offered for sale tend to be bigger macho dogs like pits and guard dogs or smaller designer dogs like Frenchies and doodles (poodles mixed with something else).

The first group usually isn’t allowed in rentals because of their size and/or breed. Cute as puppies, they grow into adults that often have natural prey/herding drives and require lots of food, exercise, training and fencing, which most people don’t have the patience, time, money and energy to deal with. If they bite, even once, it’s usually a death sentence. So these dogs end up dumped at shelters or locked or chained in a backyard or garage. They are literally being bred for profit and extermination.

The second group usually sell for much higher prices and may fare a bit better in the long run because they stay small and cute, aren’t usually as hard to manage, and a bite isn’t as big a deal. But because backyard breeders will sell to almost anybody who shows them the money, these dogs often go to impetuous, unrealistic buyers who lose interest once the novelty is gone and the reality of ongoing care, grooming and vet bills sets in. People go back to work and realize you can’t leave most dogs home alone all day. So plenty of these “littles” get passed around and eventually end up in shelters.

Who pays to support all the animal shelters and rescue organizations (well over $20 million annually, just in Sonoma County) that take in, care for, adopt out or euthanize the endless tsunami of surrendered dogs? Not backyard breeders. Would you pay sales or income taxes on online sales if nobody was looking? And would you donate to animal rescue groups? Not likely. So those of us who pay taxes and donate to pet rescue groups end up footing the bill for all the excess “inventory” created by backyard breeders.

What can be done about this worsening cycle of breeding and killing?

Join the Animal Legal Defense Fund and others in putting pressure on Craigslist to enforce its no pet sales policy. Those who care can flag these posts for deletion and post the truth about what backyard breeders do.

Never buy pets online and educate others about the misery and exploitation of animals involved in most breeding.

Most of all, tell elected representatives that we need licensing for breeders in California. This almost happened about 20 years ago, but the measure narrowly failed. Also, tell them we want sales tax laws enforced for these pet sales.

Most of us love our pets. We owe dogs and cats a decent chance at a stable, loving home. The only way we can do this is to deal seriously with the roots of pet overpopulation and the fact that there are simply not enough viable homes for all the puppies and kittens being produced by unregulated breeders.

Nancy Hair is a retired certified public accountant and animal advocate. She lives in Sebastopol.

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