Couple dog-related items that I thought I would share with y'all. The first is an online TIME article called "A Terrible Beauty" that is about the major problems inbreeding is causing purebred dogs, and how the AKC is contributing to it. I'm sure you all know my opinion about rescuing wonderful mutty dogs already, but it is interesting reading nonetheless. One particularly pointed quote: "The best use of pedigree papers is for housebreaking your dog. They don't mean a damn thing. You can have an immune- deficient puppy that is about to go blind and has epilepsy, hip dysplasia, hemophilia and one testicle, and the AKC will register it."On the off chance anyone reading this is actually thinking about adopting or rescuing a dog, I'd like to point you to petfinder.org, where you can find the dog of your dreams. They've got lots of puppies, too!
Second item is a book that I just finished reading for my book group, Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog, by Ted Kerasote. I found it wonderful and moving - and I particularly loved the amount of scientific analysis of how a dog's wolf ancestry has contributed to the way they act today. There is an awful lot of anthropomorphizing of Merle in the book, but as a dog owner who has often wondered what my pup is thinking, I found it plausible.
Banjo says hi!
1 comment:
Thoroughbred horses are inbred, too.
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