Sensitive topic: Breeding Rescues

[JeepGirL]

I have no clue when it comes to breeding, so please forgive me. I just want to ask a question.

On a jeep board I belong to, someone posted in MISC for sale. $400 pug puppies. I private messaged the guy and asked some questions (not that I wanted one, I just suspected dishonest breeding) only because where would you ever adopt a pug for $400 CDN.

So it turns out, this guy doesn't even know what CKC registered means (Canadian Kennel Club), and the papers are in order for the mother but no papers for the father since he is a rescue.

Aren't rescue pugs usually spayed / neutered? And not usually bred because its usually unlikely that the bloodlines are traceable?

I *really* hope I don't upset anyone with this post, like I said, i have no clue about breeding. Its just causin a HUGE blow up on this jeep board and I was wondering what info is right and what is wrong.

Thank you for your advice.

Shanna

[Almandine]

Hi Shanna,

In the UK, rescue pugs are always spayed or neutered. Not only because the blood lines aren't always traceable, but for the future protection of the pug's welfare - it takes away any possibility that the pug will be used (misused) for financial gain, however remote that possibility may be.

I wonder whether this "rescue" pug father came from a proper rescue organisation, or whether the person "rescued" him themselves from another situation?

Can you find out which rescue he was from?

I'll check back later - it's 10 mins to New Year!!!!

[TessiesMom]

Shanna, all reputable rescues I know of spay/neuter all their pugs before adoption. It is possible that his rescue did not come from a rescue group. Like Almandine said he made have rescued him from another situation.

A spay/neuter program is what keeps people like him from breeding rescues. The blood line can't be traced, but that is the least of it. I would be more concerned about his motive for "rescuing" a dog. It is supposed to take them from a bad situation and give them a forever loving home. Not make them studs for profit.

Stories like that really make me mad.

[M'Dear Pug]

Hi Shanna,

I don't think I can add anything to what Almandine and Debbie posted. In the U.S. I cannot imagine a rescue pug being deemed adoptable without being spayed or neutered for the same reasons Almandine noted. No one would want to risk the pug ending-up being used for the financial gain of the adopter.

One situation that troubles me to no end is seeing dogs advertised in the classified section of the newspaper as "Free to a good home". People don't realize that the dog they give away has a good chance of ending-up anywhere but a "good home", particularly if it isn't spayed or neutered.

There has been at least one case that I have heard of where a breeder supposedly advertized on the Internet that she was a legal rescue organization when indeed her sole purpose appeared to be obtaining pugs primarily for her own breeding program.

It's unfortunate both from the standpoint of the pugs in question and the potential consumer who may innocently purchase one of these puppies and then discover later that their puppy may have congenital health problems.

Ann

[pugtwinsmom]

Yeah, years ago I went to look at a Boston from a "rescue" ..supposedly that was in the newspaper. I swear to god the dog was half pit bull and half horse... If I took it, my brother would have never let me near his kids.... I was shocked because they couldn't answer any questions. My best guess is it was just two people trying to unload a dog and using "rescue" to get rid of it. This was prior to my ever joining a pug board, so I didn't know that much about rescue.

[Ebony's Dad]

Hello Shanna,
Like most everyone has mentioned above, rescue agencies always have the rescued pet altered - with some exceptions, like when the rescued pet is a small puppy. When that is the case, you'll be required to sign a contract stating that the pet will be altered at the appropriate age. There are some people out there that will not live up to the contract that they have signed. Then there are the rarer cases like mine - the vet checked Ebony out when she came into the rescue center (Noah's Bark in Canton, MN - sorry for the plug but shelters need all of the help that we can give them). The vet saw the scar on her tummy and said that she had already been altered. We brought her home on Dec. 30, 2003 and within a week she went into heat. It turns out that the rescue center vet was wrong - the scar on her tummy was from a c-section. Patty and I firmly believe that all rescue animals (no matter the species) should be altered and Ebony is already on our vet's calendar for her procedure.
And Shanna, I don't think anyone on this site is mad at you for bringing this subject up - angry at the 'human' that seems to want to keep perpetuating this problem, most definitely yes!!! - but not at you. In fact, I think you should be commended for bringing the subject out into the open where others can be made aware of it. Thank you.

Douglas