This thread has been both horrific and interesting - kudos to all involved. But also I hate you all for making me aware of these things.
I found the ongoing discussions of shelters very interesting as a non-USA farmer. Are you guys referring to privately run shelters or…? I ask because shelters here would absolutely not get away with the kind of shit described. Animals have to pass temperament testing to be allowed to be adopted out and potential issues are always clearly disclosed. Seeing a dog listed as being unsuitable for homes with children, other dogs, cats or other pets is the norm. Private rescues and some ‘no kill’ rescues are where our issues come from (which is a double bummer as the responsible shelters get bad press for not being ‘no kill’ - people don’t understand that in many cases euthanising is the kinder option. And, unlike in many other places, shelters here don’t euthanise UNLESS the animal doesn’t pass temperament tests or has health issues severe enough that the animal can’t be expected to have any QOL. The former is a better fate than being adopted out to the dumbass general public who doesn’t know how to handle aggressive behaviours making those animals a danger to everyone, and the latter is mostly applicable to abandoned kittens without their mothers who are already on death’s door. In fact, the majority of euthanising is done to feral cats/kittens).
Having said that, even in the worst of these I’ve not seen the lying about the breed issue. Perhaps because pits aren’t legal here and bully breeds in general aren’t particularly common? Staffies are the closest thing we get in that category, and yep the shelters are absolutely chock full of them but it’s always disclosed. The problem is that if you don’t want a staffy, shelters may not be a viable option, and the grossness of what breeders are doing to pure breeds is clearly universal. I grew up with GSDs and I weep every time I see that back slope. Even the “responsible” breeders around here who do the proper testing and supposedly breed to remove the hip and elbow issues have dogs they breed from with that slope, which makes me immediately suspicious. I’d be curious to know what shelters outside the US look like - are they also overrun with pits and similar? Or can you indeed find a good ol‘ mutt of indeterminate origin?
Side note, absolutely fuck every single one of these “exotic” breeders. And ditto to breeders of pugs, Frenchies, etc. If a feature of the breed is that they permanently can’t fucking breathe, that’s a no brainer that it’s not okay to keep producing them.
