Did you know that over 5 million dogs and cats are killed yearly in U.S. shelters. Did you know that is 13,800 every day or 575 dogs and cats killed every hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Did you know in six years, one female dog and her off spring can theoretically be the source of 67,000 dogs. Did you know in seven years, one female cat and her off spring can theoretically be the source of 420,000 cats. Did you know that you and I are responsible if we do not spay or neuter our pets

San Luis Obispo County keeps similar stats as those shown above. In 2010, over 1200 animals were put to death at San Luis Obispo pound. 54 in one month alone. While they may not be as horrific, they are just as unnecessary. If mandatory spay/neuter was enforced, there would be a substantial reduction in the animals put to death, stuffed in a plastic trash bag, and stacked like cord wood in a freezer until they were disposed of.

This is the ugly result of "unwanted animals". If you buy rather than adopt, you contribute to this cycle of death. Every age, every mix, small, large, puppies, and pure breed. This is what happens to them when they are discarded, given away, sold, bred, unspayed, unneutered. This is their fate. We humans are responsible for this. And it is all completely unnecessary.

Did you know that at least 2 San Luis Obispo Animal Control Officers are backyard breeders? Odie Cawley, and Alan Metzler both sell unspayed, and unneutered puppies off their websites, pocketing thousands of dollars every year. Then they collect a paycheck to round up and kill the unwanted, unadopted dogs of the same community they profit thousands of sales dollars from. How screwed up is that?

If you don't spay or neuter your pet, you are directly responsible for these statistics. If you buy a dog, puppy, cat, or kitten, instead of rescue, you are directly responsible for these statistics. There is no middle ground. Shelter animals are put to death because someone bought a pet instead of adopted. Shelter animals are put to death, because someone didn't spay or neuter their pet. Shelter animals are put to death because breeders are breeding more "product" for sale and profit. Every puppy or kitten born takes the home of a dog or cat already here and running out of time.

Over a thousand animals are killed in this county every year because there are not enough homes for them all. Instead of buying a dog or cat, rescue one who will eventually be killed because it ran out of time. Instead of allowing breeding for profit, breeders should be subject to hefty permit fees to offset the tax dollars spent caring for the unwanted animals at the pound who will eventually be killed and then disposed of.  Statistics show that only 3 out of 8 dogs/puppies stay in their original homes. The rest wind up being bartered, sold, or dumped at the pound. For cats the numbers are WORSE.

Some counties, including SLO, actually charge rescuers more substantial permit fees to rescue animals than they charge the breeders to create more!!

In San Luis Obispo County the cost to get a Breeders Permit to breed 2 females/year is $191.00 annually. That could translate to over a dozen unspayed/unneutered puppies sold to the community every year. Or more!

To get the permit I need to RESCUE DOGS the cost is $360.00!!!  And a rescue is required to spay and neuter everyone they adopt out. Which is why rescuers don't make a profit saving animals.

SLO County put hundreds of dogs to death in 2009, yet hundreds more unspayed/unneutered puppies, and dogs were sold for profit.

State law dictates that all rescuers/shelters must spay/neuter any animal adopted from them. Why then are breeders allowed to sell their "product" without being held to the same higher standard?

Our community should be outraged that our tax dollars are being spent to house and then eventually destroy hundreds of unadopted animals every year. Yet  breeders,  are allowed to profit THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS every year from selling unspayed/unneuterd puppies to the very same community. And most DO NOT pay sales tax on those dollars. Cheating the county out of thousands of sales tax dollars every year.

Next time you see some breeder selling puppies in the paper, or you go to a petstore and see the cute pure breed puppies, and mixed breed (mutt) puppies that are "for sale" keep in mind what these puppies actually are.                                       MERCHANDISE FOR SALE.   

The Humane Society of The United States  estimates that 99% of the puppies you see in petstores come from puppy mills. Even here in California. Petstore owners rarely, if ever, visit the puppy suppliers. An example of this is my personal dog George. I adopted George, a Chinese Crested, from another local rescuer.    George had been confiscated from a California puppy mill in the Central Valley. George was approx 10 yrs old when I adopted him. George had spent his ENTIRE LIFE in a wire rabbit cage. George could not walk when I adopted him. His legs were atrophied from never, ever, being let out of his cage. 10 YEARS of imprisonment!!! It took him many months to be able to stand, and then eventually walk. He is still unstable, but far better than he used to be. Thousands of dollars were made from breeding this poor dog. Thousands!! And yet he was not even given basic comfort. Of course not. To this California puppy mill, George was just a commodity. Wring every dollar you can out of them, and then throw them away.

Instead of sleeping on the floor of a wire cage, George slept on the blankets of my bed, until he passed away several years after we adopted him. His final years were kinder than he had ever known. He was allowed to move freely, fed often, had other dogs to interact with, and most of the time was snuggled in blankets.

In 2007, at the request of a Victorville Animal Control Officer we were asked to rescue some of the 15 Bulldogs that were confiscated from an AKC endorsed puppymill. This little Bullie Boy, Brutus. He is one of 15 that were confiscated from the puppy mill in Victorville. When you BUY a dog you support the large scale merchandising of these lives. These dogs were found in locked in sheds without ventilation, or an outside yard to go in to.  VICTORVILLE IS THE DESERT!!!   Many were suffering from Giardia. One nearly lost her life because she had been bred so many times, and never spayed, that her uterus had collapsed and filled with pus. Had she not been confiscated, she would have died from massive infection. The breeder just thought the swelling in her belly was because she was pregnant again. The breeder is part of a "Bulldog Club". The breeder was AKC approved. The breeder used to show this breed in competition, so everyone thought he was reputable.    This is what you support when you BUY a dog instead of rescue one. AKC means nothing. Breeders pay their annual dues and get AKC endorsement. AKC does not EVER come to the property to check on the welfare of the animals that are being sold for profit. AKC is a joke!    

This is Sarah. She is one of the Bullie Girls we rescued at the request of Victorville Animal Control. Each of these dogs was placed into carefully screened homes. Subsequent pictures of the dogs with their new caretakers were sent to the grateful ACO who had contacted us about saving whese poor dogs.

This is Roxy. She was purchased by a Petstore in Hayward, Ca from a breeder. Roxy Has AKC papers. Roxy was sold by the petstore to a jackass man as a "present" for his two daughters. After the daughters got bored with their new "toy" Roxy was banished to the far end of the yard, where she lived on a chain. Ignoring this poor dog wasn't enough abuse. The jackass man let his co-workers know that when he returned from a business trip, he intended to take Roxy for a ride, and dump her. Fortunately for Roxy, one of the co-workers was also involved in animal rescue and asked if we would take Roxy in to save this poor girl. We did, and eventually found her a home with a Paso family. Then Karma stepped in and on the jackass man's next business trip he was killed in a car accident. Don't mess with Karma!

This is Forrest. Same story as Roxy. Just a different cast of idiots. Forrest was purchased as a puppy. Forrest was given no training. His owners said he was too stupid to learn anything. Forrest got bigger, as puppys will do. Forrest was still given no training. Only now he had grown into a BIG boy. So Forrest was chained up at the far end of the yard, where he lived in his own waste, 24/7, as shown in this picture. Finally a neighbor asked if Forrest could come to our rescue. Lucky for Forrest they said yes. So Forrest came to our rescue where he learned to sleep in a crate in the house at night, and run and play with other dogs during the day. Until the day we were contacted by a family looking for a large dog to become a service dog for their grandaughter, who was confined to a wheelchair. They needed a dog who was calm enough, and strong enough to help pull and navigate a wheelchair. The family had contacted Janet Neumann, of PAWSabilities to train him to become a service dog for their family. Service dogs must have the right temperament, and ability to learn to be successful. Janet reported that Forrest was SO smart, and learned SO quickly that he made her look like a brilliant trainer. So Forrest has lived for the last several years as a dog of service. Stupid, stupid Forrest. Whose owners said was too stupid to learn.

This is Fancy. Yet another lab who was purchased from a breeder for hundreds of dollars, and then eventually thrown away. Fancy was rescued from a high-kill pound where she was just hours away from being put to death. So where was the breeder who pocketed so much $$$ from selling her. Couldn't be bothered with rescuing her from death row though. So through the efforts of a number of volunteers, and rescuers, Fancy got to come to our rescue. She was eventually adopted by a great Santa Ynez couple who adore her. Fancy is one of the "happily ever after" stories we get to help take place. Unfortunately there are millions of companion animals that do not get to have that ending. They instead die at the pound where they are left.

Until breeders are required to spay and neuter ALL the animals they sell, there will never be an end to this killing. Rescuers are required to spay and neuter every animal they adopt out. Most rescuers operate at a loss. Breeders on the other hand make thousands selling the very animals that rescuers eventually try to save. Until we as a society make the connection between this cause and effect, the killing will never stop.

Next time you see puppies for sale in the paper, or at a pet shop, think about Brutus and Sara the AKC bulldogs rescued from a puppy mill. Think of Roxy, the AKC yellow lab, sold to Buy-Rite Petstore in Hayward, CA. Most likely born at a puppy mill. Think of Forrest, and Fancy, just of few of the thousands of labs that are purchased every year. Think of poor Wobbley George. Think about the thousands of dollars some breeder made off these dogs and then didn't give a rat's ass about what happened to them after the sale was made. Why would they? They've got your money. Who cares what happened to the dog after that. Not their problem. Ask yourself why breeders are so opposed to mandatory spay/neuter. Ask yourself why they are so opposed to paying a fee for a breeder's permits. Because it would cut into their profit. To them, this is only merchandise. A cash crop. Even some of the local breeders you see week after week advertising in the Easy-Ad, breed their females until they are no longer of value to them, (too old) and then they sell them off too. Absolutely no attachment to the animal. Absolutely no reason to keep the dog around when they can't make money off it anymore. Buying a dog, instead of rescuing a dog, supports this industry. If the demand for such "merchandise" disappears, the supply too will stop. It will no longer be profitable. Simple economics. Supply and Demand. Stop the demand!