Dear Editor:
RE: ‘It’s heartbreaking’: family calls attention to suspected puppy mills, March 30.
While I sympathize greatly with the Englands, who had to euthanize two 10-week old mixed-breed puppies, their experience highlights the importance of educating the public on the financial and emotional value of purchasing pets from a reputable breeder.
“Goldendoodle” is not a breed of dog; it is a mixed breed dog of questionable parentage. Even if it could be established that the never-seen parents were purebred golden retriever and poodle, it is almost certain that they would not be stellar representations of their breed, nor would they have the necessary health clearances that reputable breeders require for their breeding stock.
In addition to the clearly unethical provision of invalid vaccination records for the puppies, there is every likelihood that these puppies would develop problems later in life due to the failure of the sellers to ensure that the parents were clear of hereditary conditions. These would include hereditary cataracts, heart problems, hip and elbow dysplasia, and a host of other conditions detectable through DNA testing of the parents.
I hope that this regrettable incident and the heartbreak experienced by this family will ultimately help to eliminate the practice of unethical, cruel and inhumane breeding of dogs, and the resultant, preventable suffering of the humans and animals involved.
People who allow dogs of different breeds to interbreed are not “breeders” and do not care about the long-term welfare of the puppies they sell for sometimes exorbitant prices. Financial gain is their only goal. They are fond of telling you that “hybrids” (i.e. – “mutts”) are less prone to the health problems of purebreds. The truth is that mutts produced in this way are more prone to the potential health problems of both breeds, because the parents have not been tested and cleared.
Please do your research, ask lots of questions and purchase your pet from a reputable breeder. The Canadian Kennel Club provides a great starting place in determining how to select a breeder.
Ann Hollings,
Guelph/Eramosa