ENG 122 PAPER

Running head: ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 1

The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion

Yolanda B. Student

ENG122: English Composition II

Professor I. M. Jackson

August 31, 2016

ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 2

The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion

Dogs are important members of many families, especially since they live for many years

and can be with children from childhood all the way through until they become adults. People

without children also enjoy having dogs in their lives as surrogates for the parent-child

relationship. There are many ways to obtain a dog in America and similar western countries.

Many people choose to obtain a puppy from a pet store in a shopping center, mall, or another

commercial storefront. Others seek out puppies from seemingly licensed breeders; however,

many puppies are also supplied by unlicensed or home breeders. Because of the sheer number of

dogs lost or abandoned, shelters and rescue organizations that take care of homeless or unwanted

pets until a forever family can be found. Family pets should be seen as a lifetime guardianship

commitment and not a frivolous financial business transaction. The ramifications of treating

living creatures as consumer goods are great. Due to the pet overpopulation in America and the

exacerbated medical ramifications of selective breeding, it is more ethical to adopt a rescued dog

than to purchase a commercially bred puppy.

Pet overpopulation in America may be the cause of numerous environmental and

sociological problems. Pet overpopulation can lead to larger numbers of unsupervised and

homeless animals across the country. Pet waste left behind by dogs without human guardians is

not just unsightly and smelly; pet waste left in the open can have a major impact on ground water

quality (Paterson, 2011). If pet waste is left on the ground, it seeps into the groundwater, gets

washed into storm drains, makes its way into streams and lakes, and is left as untreated sewage

in the natural water cycle.

Rescue organizations reduce the pet population in America by spaying and neutering all

animals before they are released. There were 3,500 individual animal shelters operating at

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capacity in the United States in the mid 1990s (Motavalli, 1995). The number of shelters and pets

in need is large and has only increased over the years. The numbers grow because too many pets

are allowed to breed freely without control. According to environmentalist Jim Motavalli (1995),

the average female dog can produce two litters a year, which means that one un-spayed girl dog

can be responsible for 67,000 births during her fertile years if her offspring are also left intact

and not spayed or neutered. Such prolific breeding increased the pet population exponentially

with each litter born. Spay and neuter programs have been found to be most effective in reducing

the pet population along with increased adoptions from shelters and rescues (Frank, 2004). A

simple choice to adopt a pet from a shelter can greatly and positively impact the entire ecological

and ethical issues surrounding pet overpopulation today.

Despite the overabundance of dogs available, some people seek out specialty dogs bred in

through commercial enterprise. Designer and purebred dogs are created by artificial genetic

modification through selective breeding practices. Since humans have selectively bred dogs for

physical and behavioral characteristics through inbreeding, pedigree dogs can be plagued by

genetic disease (Farrell, Schoenebeck, Wiener, Clements, & Summers, 2015). Breeders who

work in commercial enterprises are focused on breeding for desirable sellable characteristics

when breeding an animal as a business. With a focus on business, animal welfare can become an

after-thought.

Any selective breeding practices can result in exacerbated medical conditions in canines.

Because historical breed standards were focused on aesthetics and temperament with disregard

for health, increased medical issues are now prevalent in pedigree dogs. Indrebø (2008) found

that it will take “several generations to change the breed through genetic selection in order to

eradicate the unhealthy over-typed dogs” (pp. 1-2). Shelters and rescue organizations do not

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participate in selective breeding for designer or purebred animals. Instead, rescue organizations

accept animals in any variety until a permanent home can be found.

Rescue organizations do not breed animals, therefore not participating in selective

breeding for designer or purebred animals. Pet stores, however, are supplied by breeders who do

participate in selective breeding but may not take the steps necessary to ensure healthy pets. The

only way breeders can ethically create healthy litters is through ongoing diagnostic screening of

all dogs along with genetic testing regardless of arbitrarily chosen aesthetics of the animal

(Farrell et al., 2015). There are ten recommendations for ethical breeding programs that require a

number of actions, including: all breeders must only breed very healthy dogs, breeders must

continually calculate percentages for breeding stock, breeders must limit “matador breeding,”

breeders must immediately exclude female dogs who are unable to give birth naturally, breeders

have to screen all breeding animals for polygenetic diseases, breeders must conduct DNA testing

on all breeding animals, and breeders must practice natural puppy-rearing with birth mothers

(Indrebø, 2008). These recommendations are essential for ethical breeding yet are not mandated

by any regulation or law. Without firm regulations and legal ramifications, commercial breeders

can continue to breed animals for profit and without regard for the health and welfare of animals.

There is a rich history in dog breeding and Kennel Club registration. Some people feel

that pedigree dogs represent an important cultural history. It has been found, however, that desire

for a pure-bred dog is more likely to be based on popular culture trends than more rational or

logical decision-making processes (Ghirlanda, Acerbi, & Herzog, 2014). For instance, films

featuring Lassie led to more demand for the Collie breed. Rin Tin Tin’s popularity led to more

demand for the German Shepard breed. Popular celebrities photographed with purse-dwelling

Chihuahuas increase the demand for teacup-sized Chihuahuas. The desire for designer and

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pedigree dogs is often influenced by fleeting cultural trends rather than complete analysis of the

situation and the animal’s best interests. Such activity negates the assertion that designer and

pedigree breeding is solely an asset to society, particularly since trends do not contain regard for

ethical treatment of animals. Dogs that appear to be designer and pedigree breeds can be found in

shelters alongside obvious mixed-breeds (Strand, 2015). Without documentation, however,

pedigree cannot be proven for a homeless pet.

Just as there is no assurance of breed when adopting from a shelter or rescue group, there

is no guarantee of a healthy pet when adopted from a shelter where the animal’s history is

unknown. While it is true that there is no guarantee of health when a pet is adopted from a

shelter, adoptions fees do not financially supporting breeders who are breeding animals with

disregard for health and welfare. Concerns over the commercialization of dog breeding have led

a number of municipalities across the country to ban the sale of puppy-mill animals due to the

animal welfare concerns (Taylor, 2015). Purebred dogs suffer needlessly and genetic diversity,

as exhibited in mutts from the pound, is preferable for a healthy and stable pet (Jeppsson, 2014).

While there are no guarantees when adopting from a shelter or rescue organization, the overall

impact of adopting pets rather than investing in commercial breeding is positive.

Pet overpopulation is a real concern in America, negatively impacting quality of life and

environmental safety. Additional animals bred through selective breeding for popular

characteristics not only add to the pet population, but they also suffer from exacerbated medical

conditions and genetic disease. Meanwhile, shelters and rescue groups are overflowing with

homeless pets in need. Shelters and rescue groups vaccinate and spay or neuter each pet before

releasing them to pre-screened families, reducing the potential for pet population growth and

assuring better potential quality of life. The sale of commercially-bred puppies from pet stores

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should be banned unless all ethical recommendations become legally mandatory. Therefore,

families should first consider adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue organization rather than

purchasing a puppy from an unregulated commercial enterprise like a pet store or large breeding

enterprise.

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References

Farrell, L. L., Schoenebeck, J. J., Wiener, P., Clements, D. N., & Summers, K. M. (2015). The

challenges of pedigree dog health: Approaches to combating inherited disease. Canine

Genetics And Epidemiology, doi:10.1186/s40575-015-0014-9

Frank, J. (2004). An interactive model of human and companion animal dynamics: The ecology

and economics of dog overpopulation and the human costs of addressing the problem.

Human Ecology 32(1), 107-130.

Ghirlanda, S., Acerbi, A., & Herzog, H. (2014). Dog movie stars and dog breed popularity: A

case study in media influence on choice. PLoS One, 9(9), 1-5.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106565

Indrebø, A. (2008). Animal welfare in modern dog breeding [Special Section]. Acta Veterinaria

Scandinavica, 50(56), 1-6. doi:10.1186/1751-0147-50-S1-S6

Jeppsson, S. (2014). Purebred dogs and canine wellbeing. Journal of Agricultural and

Environmental Ethics, 27(3), 417-430. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10806-013-9470-y

Motavalli, J. (1995). Our agony over animals. E: The Environmental Magazine, 6(5), 28.

Paterson, J. (2011). A greener pawprint. E: The Environmental Magazine, 22(3), 22-27.

Strand, P. (2015). NAIA study confirms fewer dogs, scarce purebreds in US animal shelters.

Retrieved from http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/article/naia-study-confirms-fewer-

dogs-scarce-purebreds-in-us-animal-shelters#sthash.eVrpn8cN.PkESlIas.dpbs

Taylor, J. S. (2015). Anti-puppy mill legislation across the country is dogging pet stores. ABA

Journal. Retrieved from

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/anti_puppy_mill_legislation_across_the_co

untry_is_dogging_pet_stores

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