Story by D. Faith Orlowski
If anyone drives down the 71st Street corridor, as well as numerous parking lots and flea markets around town, you can find person after person offering all variety of dogs and puppies for sale. Many claim their animals are AKC registered, purebred or “papers available.” Others rely on the “cuteness” factor” – just about any puppy is cute. Still others tout their “designer dogs.” But is this any way to buy a dog?
Notwithstanding that these street vendors are almost always in violation of city ordinances, there are several reasons why street sales of dogs and cats should not be allowed. First, one should question the quality of the animal itself. Reputable breeders do not sell their animals out of the backs of trucks! Good breeders ask a multitude of questions of the prospective buyer and they expect the buyer to also have numerous inquiries of them. This exchange does not occur in street sales because the goal is to sell the dog – not necessarily to find it a good home. The fact that a dog is “registered” or “purebred” truly means nothing as far as obtaining a healthy, socialized companion animal. The breeders that sell on the street may not have bad intentions but their goal is to obtain a profit – period. Low overhead and quantity sales are their priority –– not the breeding of quality dogs. “Quality” here has nothing to do with show quality but with understanding the genetic health traits that exist in many purebred dogs and then trying to breed animals that do not perpetuate these negative characteristics.
Often, “backyard breeders” have decided that selling “living property” is a good way to make money, so they have may have purchased or acquired a male and one or two females and then they let nature take its course as early in the dog’s life and as often as possible. Many of these breeders do not concern themselves with in-breeding or breeding closely-related animals. As long as the dame and sire are registered, the offspring can be registered too – regardless of the fact that the parents may be mother and son, brother and sister or otherwise closely related. In-breeding increases the possibility of health problems and undesirable traits. Also, AKC registration is typically done through the mail and involves the honor system. It does not guard against the unethical breeders who do not honestly complete the forms, nor does it indicate the quality of the dog. To complicate matters, a female dog can be impregnated by more than one male dog during the fertility cycle. Street sellers are not concerned with who purchases their puppies nor with maintaining any type of reputation so they are not there to guarantee the health of their “merchandise.”
Second, bringing a dog purchased off the street into your home with your family and other pets is a public health hazard. The seller may tell you that the dog has had all or some of his shots or has been vaccinated, but how do you know? I am unfamiliar with any sellers that I have observed in this situation handing out the information of the veterinarian who administered these preventatives. Due to the transient nature of these vendors, facts and statistics are difficult to compile, but based on the citations written over the past three years, more than half of these vendors are not local individuals. Many of these people operate “”puppy mills”” or other undesirable breeding situations, unsanitary and often inhumane, and if your new dog or puppy becomes ill, the “bargain” price you paid will seem like anything but. If a person has other dogs in their household, they could be exposing all of them to illness. Last year, a family bought a puppy from a street seller in Ft. Worth, only to find that it was infected with rabies and all members of the household had to go through a series of rabies shots.
Third is the fact that many of these purchases are “impulse buys.” Passing a gauntlet of wide-eyed, bouncy puppies is near impossible for many of us to resist. Especially if you have been thinking about getting Sarah or Johnny a puppy but had been agonizing about the several hundred dollar price tag and now, right in front of you, is an adorable lab puppy for only $50! What a deal! (See the “”second”” point above.) Unfortunately, many people who buy from the street dealers do so with the attitude of “”Well, if it doesn’t work out, I can always take it to the shelter.” And this is the sad result for many of these animals. And many times these dogs do not “work out” because these types of breeders fail to socialize the puppy and bad behavioral problems often lead owners to surrender their animal to the nearest shelter. Sadly, the municipal shelter has the option to take owner surrenders immediately back to the euthanasia area without even giving the animal a chance to find a new home.
Finally, this entire process just perpetuates the pet overpopulation problem and the continued euthanasia of many good dogs and cats because there are not enough good homes in which to place these animals. Shelters and rescues are literally overrun with many wonderful companions – and often a large portion of these are purebred dogs. Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs and cats in the United States –– we spend over a billion dollars a year destroying “Man’s Best Friend.” Street vendors, backyard breeders and puppy mills are only part of the problem – but they are a major part. It is not logical to allow people to continue to profit from the breeding of animals when they do not contribute to the financial, emotional and ethical burden that results from overpopulation. While I loathe to recommend additional legislation, several groups and individuals are investigating new ordinances that will impact the profitability of unfettered breeding, and such measures are necessary. However, the overpopulation can only be effectively dealt with when coupled with a community-based aggressive spay and neuter campaign and public education regarding animal health and welfare.
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