I love Lila. She’s one of the best decisions I have made. She is work but she is delightful and learning fast. It’s exciting to help her learn how to be in a people world. She’s healthy, high-spirited, very intelligent and it seems, very willing to learn. She reminds me of my last dog, Katie. Only this time, I want to do a better job of training and socializing her, allow her to be a welcome addition to my world.
But I lost a friend, a long-time friend, a friend of almost thirty years, because I got Lila from a breeder. I find this very upsetting. But I don’t regret my decision. This friend believes that breeding dogs should be outlawed, that people who “order” (her word) pets from breeders are selfish and insensitive because there are so many pets in shelters needing homes. And there is an enormous amount of purebred pets in shelters. So why would I “betray” her passionate need to save all the dogs in the world by choosing to have my dog come from a breeder.
From what I have been reading, there are so many dogs in shelters, so many discarded dogs, because so many people do not train their animals. Only about 3% of dog owners carry through with the much needed training. This leads to frustrations and aggressions that would probably not happen if the dog was taught how to coexist in a human society.
Dogs come from a different social structure than we do. They need to learn what is expected of them. Probably 75% of my friends have rescue pets. It just didn’t feel right for me at this time. Maybe next time. But I intend to give Lila the best life I possibly can. I can see that if someone didn’t work with her, help her to learn people ways, she could have ended up in a shelter. She has so much puppy energy. It’s a thrill to see her learning. She’s very sweet and wants to please (as well as challenge me along the way!). And I’m enjoying what she is teaching me.
And on the thought of outlawing breeding, perhaps it would be a good idea as well, if people had to apply for licenses to have children. Just a thought, a good one, from my friend Rowena. But a good amount of thoughtfulness in any kind of caring situation, be it dog or human, is so valuable.
I'm sorry about the loss of the friendship, Leya. It's really interesting, because a lot of people are critical of my sister and I for keeping our rescue dogs. Both dogs had hard lives before they came to live with us and they have their quirks...we've been really intentional about training and working with them to make sure that they're safe and so are the people and dogs that we encounter. I commend you for working so hard with Lila. I wish that I had been able to do the same with Jasper. I mourn those years before we got him and what happened to him during that time. But I also love him for who he is now...and I really, really hope that we can train my sister's dog to walk better on his leash and not be so scared of other dogs!
Well, must go walk the dogs...
Posted by: Rachel at January 28, 2006 11:12 PM