As you know, I try to keep my posts on target with the exception of my unnatural attraction to LoveSac. But this article really cheesed me off and I wanted a forum to collect the comments of other dog rescuers…or anyone who loves animals.
A friend of mine shared this article with me this morning and I just read it. It’s by Hal Herzog (credited as a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C., has studied societal attitudes and behavior toward animals for more than 20 years) and, in my opinion, is so wrong on so many levels. It wasn’t until I read the comments that I realized that this guy is all over the place. I think that he’s single handedly offended Northerners, Southerners, dog rescuers, pit bulls, Democrats, Republicans…you name it.
The title is also misleading – I thought it was a public interest story – until I realized I was fuming by the end of the article.
Here’s what I walked away with…
- 4 million dogs euthanized in the U.S. in 2007 is acceptable.
- We are running out of adoptable dogs….HUH?
- All pit bulls are bad.
- Choosing a dog for your family is a strategic political move.
- Only the south has a skewed view of animals as companion animals. (I live in rural Virginia and I’m here to tell you, it’s not just the south.)
As you’ll see from the comments, other readers took away other interesting tidbits. I understand that there are statistically a lot of adoptable dogs in the south, but to say that they are “nicer” or more adoptable is irresponsible.
Am I reading too much into this? What’s your take? I invite all views. =)
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Well now, if all of our “northern” shelters are getting their dogs from “southern” shelters, who’s to say the “mean” dogs are the “northern” dogs? I have to say it’s a bit ridiculous to be labeling animals and people on such a wide scale. Hell, maybe all those pit bulls in the northern shelters are really from the southern shelters…hmmmm….. Perhaps a better angle for his article might have simply been the fact that there are still animals in shelters looking for good homes. However, I have to wonder, do they really think they’re going to find a labradoodle or a Portuguese water dog at the pound? Then again, I found my beautiful Himalayan, Sinatra at the pound in Phoenix. So who knows?
Thanks, Susan – great point! I think Mr. Herzog needs to re-check his “facts”.
I found George, a purebred Cane Corso mastiff, at a rescue organization. You never know.
Herzog obviously did not research this article, or interview anyone concerned with animal welfare except for one shelter director in NC. And he also obviously doesn’t know the difference between a shelter and a rescue, since he believes that shelters in the South ship dogs to “shelters” in the North, because there are no adoptable dogs in the North. Those of us who have worked in rescue for years know that animals are shipped northward not because there are no adoptable animals north of the Mason-Dixon line, but because there are fewer potential adopters in southern states. And why is that? Because there’s a glut of animals due to resistance to spay/neuter! Rescue groups in northern states accept animals from the South to save their lives, not because they can’t find adoptable animals in their area. The unsubstantiated conclusion that dogs in northern shelters are unadoptable, while those in southern shelters are “sweet” and adoptable, is patently ridiculous. Every day, dozens of wonderful dogs are pulled from northern shelters and adopted to loving families. Every one of us in rescue can point to a purebred, a “designer dog,” or a basic mutt which came from a county shelter and is now “the best dog in the world” to his or her family.
The saddest thing about Herzog’s article is that those people who are against spaying and neutering now have a new weapon in their arsenal…an alleged “expert” who asserts that spay/neuter laws have resulted in a shortage of adoptable animals.
Wow! Leslie, well said!! You put into words what I attempted in my rant to my husband, LOL. It’s completely irresponsible on the part of Mr. Herzog to put forth such unconfirmed and undocumented statistics regarding shelter animals. My only hope and here’s where my pesky optimism comes through, okay maybe it’s the wine, is that Mr. Herzog wrote much of this tongue in cheek. Is that naive wishful thinking? No more than the article, I guess.
The article seemed to start and end tongue-in-cheek, but the main body reads like a serious attempt to discuss a topic about which Herzog knows very little. If he did mean it to be tongue-in-cheek, he’s a terrible writer, because his intention isn’t obvious. So…he’s either a terrible writer who was trying to channel Jonathan Swift, or he’s an idiot. Take your pick.
Although the world thoughts and developments are advancing every day, there are still some myths in the ones people believe deeply, like the examples of dogs you post in here in your article. Now a days it is necessary to be aware about animals as sensible creatures, no matter they are not human, they feel.