Gayle Roberson ©
TheDogPress - April 2002
-
As I write
this, I am breathless with anger! In the April issue of Dog News, there is an article
entitled "Detente Begins With The Middleman", fourth in a series
on High Volume Breeders.
It seems that Mrs. Kodner
(she's licensed to judge ALL BREEDS, folks) was appointed by the AKC to
a committee to see when/if/how to bring puppy mills, now called
"High Volume Breeders", into compliance. It appears from her writings
that Mrs. Kodner was an honored guest at Hunte Corporation's multi-million dollar
facility. Did you know they do $26 MILLION in puppy sales. A year??
Mrs. Kodner was apparently dazzled by their facilities. Now, I'm cherry picking here
from her Dog News article, it's two pages long, but here goes:
"The fancy is certain
that all high volume breeders are cruel to puppies and brood bitches; and
that the distributor or middleman is a Shylock. The fancy imagines
suffering puppies being transported in run down dirty vehicles to
unsightly contaminated pet stores. NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM THE
TRUTH"
Mrs. Kodner then goes on a bit
about the history of Hunte Corp., extolling the beauty of their impressive
infrastructure, a facility that can house 2,000 puppies at one time! (are
you starting to hyperventilate yet? Well, wait, it gets better!!!)
She says that each "incoming pup" is examined, accepted, or rejected
according to easily detected defects and then if accepted, microchipped
and inoculated. She notes "Some hernias
are repaired by Hunte. Some are returned to the breeder for repair."
OK, now what do we have
here: at what age do you think these babies were taken away from
their moms so they can be transported to Hunts facility extraordinaire? Remember, they have to be checked, poked, wormed, prodded,
inoculated, microchipped, bathed, dipped, and shipped out to arrive with
as much "cute time" as possible remaining for pet store
purchases. How many people do you think handle these poor babies?
Lovingly? Yeah, right, as loving as any other assembly line! Oh, and that
'hernia repair'!! With or WITHOUT anesthesia? I don't know, how old are
they???
Mrs. Kodner goes on about
how great the "facility" is, stating "It is to the
pet industry what the AKC is to the dog fancy" Her words, not mine.
She says there may be flaws but then asks "Is it an organization to establish a detent with? Without question. such a relationship can only be beneficial to both
organizations." She goes on to point out "...the income to CAR (AKC's Companion Animal Recovery)"
and exalts about
the service to the public "if every puppy that is microchipped comes to the new owner registered with CAR."
She ends this part of her glowing testimonial with "Seeing is believing. See for yourself."
Kodner then states that the Hunte Corp., and others like it,
"are doing the breeders
job." Excuse me? She says of course there is profit involved
but that there is nothing wrong with making money
in a legitimate fashion. Then she says it is up to "the fancy to help upgrade the quality
of the breeders stock by offering its stud dogs to properly registered,
healthy bitches" for a fee of course. That is comforting but for
doubters, she asks readers "Wasn't the American Kennel Club
founded in an effort to improve breeding stock? Or is this once again, or
in the minds of some, still an elitist organization for the special
few?"
I still can't believe that
this ALL BREED JUDGE thinks legitimate, concerned breeders, those of us
who do our certifications, DNAs, CERFS, OFAs, vWDs, skin punches, you name
it, should then make stud dogs available to puppy mills, er "High Volume
Breeders" to upgrade their quality. Words fail me!
Cleaning up Volume
Breeders, bringing their paperwork and facilities into some semblance of
compliance is no different from planting flowers on a landfill. IT'S STILL
GARBAGE UNDERNEATH! We HAVE TO voice our opinions here. To Mrs Kodner, to the AKC, and to Dog News. Will we
be whizzing into the wind? Maybe, maybe not.
10081
