Puppy Mills and Real Change: You Give Us Your Two Cents

Don't worry, we'll get to the hate mail shortly

DEAR EDITOR: Hallelujah! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You've done a very good job of presenting both sides of rescue ["The Incorrigibles," April 11]. Some choose to "save them all," and some choose to "do what they can with what they have."

My Simon was a "death row dog" in Spokane County. He was deemed "unadoptable" and slated for euthanasia two years ago. He had curled up in the back of his 3-by-5 kennel and given up on life. By the time an [Australian shepherd rescue] volunteer got to him, he was covered in his own mess, emaciated, hungry, and almost nonresponsive. After two hours of talking to him and coaxing him with meaty treats, he slowly stepped out and never looked back. There is hope. Recently, my previously petrified dog spent two days at the Aussie Rescue booth at [an American Kennel Club dog show] and showed off his tricks at their "Meet the Breed" event. He walked up to every person, and if they ignored him, they got a wet nose to the hand. Every time someone said, "We'd love a dog like Simon, but I bet you got him from a breeder," I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to talk about rescue, the matching process, temperament testing, and how the dog you start with is rarely the dog you end with.

Thank you for the article. We're painfully short on foster homes and would love some help. After all, we can only do the best with what we have.

Beware the "nightdrops"

DEAR EDITOR: I was most impressed with your article about the dog rescue groups. I am a volunteer down here in Olympia at Thurston County Animal Services working in dog adoptions. We have absolutely wonderful dogs that go wanting. Some we receive via our "nightdrop," which allows those who no longer want their pet to avoid a face-to-face, but at least the animal is not just turned loose or left to starve, unwanted, in someone's backyard. Many are "field strays" or "owner surrenders." If I could, I would take them all home.

All unwanted dogs deserve another chance for happiness. Not all get it. Nor do some pet owners "get it" that they are responsible for a life. I have never in my 62 years met an ugly dog. Because of circumstance, I see the results of ugly people.

Hi from puppy mill–ville

DEAR EDITOR: I just want to say THANKS for your article. It was well-written and comes across as sincere and compassionate. Too often stories done about animal people have an undercurrent of cynicism, as if the writer was smirking the whole way through. I live in Missouri, the puppy mill capital of the world, so I completely understand the concerns of the people you interviewed. I hope this article helps people understand how important it is to adopt a pet instead of buying one or breeding one.

I don't make the decision

DEAR EDITOR: I was interviewed for Brian Miller's article on rescuing and fostering dogs. I have Jordan, the pit bull, and seem to hold the record for fostering a single dog. I would like to correct the impression given in the article that I am in charge of finding a home for Jordan. The Pit Bull Project (www.pitbullproject.org) handles the application and screening process for the dogs on its roster. The director, Anne Holt, makes all decisions regarding adoption. I'm glad she does, because it's easy to get attached to foster dogs, no matter how long you have them. So why has Jordan been with the project so long? Obviously, there are far fewer people eager to adopt pit bulls, and far fewer who are good matches for the breed.

Story did nothing to help

DEAR HUAN HSU AND BRIAN MILLER: It was very disappointing to read your article because the misinformation that was printed in the article will do nothing to help save the lives of orphaned animals in our community. I would like to address some of the inaccurate information in your article as it relates to this organization:

1. Morgan, the staff member quoted, was not aware that she had ever been questioned by a reporter, and the quotes and information attributed to her were not things she said.

2. The dog, Zelda, was never in any danger of being euthanized at the Seattle Humane Society. We often transfer dogs to breed rescue groups or to foster homes on their way to homes of their own.

3. The article did not include any information from the Seattle Humane Society about Jake, but rather assumed that the facts were accurate as presented by the person from Ellensburg you identified as "Hardin."

I know that your hearts were in the right place when you wrote your article and that you wanted to help animals. It is not always easy to extract the facts from emotions when talking with people who care so deeply about any topic.