If you think on what you can not do, or all that needs to be saved, you will stay tired, if you think on how much you have changed the lives you have and how positive they are and grateful...well, it all seaks for itself (woof) - you have to pick your fights, be positive when you can. Those of us who can will pick those who need us out of the shelter or off the streets whenever we can and love them and provide for them as much as we can. It is what you can do, and how you go about doing it that counts.

I think that the only things that would help would be state, county, & municipal laws that:

1. enforce pet licensing &
2. charge very high fees for unspayed & unneutered dogs & cats.
3. require licensing & inspections of breeding facilities

Politics being politics, I just don't expect to see it happen:

People who haven't voted in decades would boot out anybody who interfered in their right to get a litter from Fluffy or Sadie.

I *am* glad to see low-cost clinics making spaying & neutering affordable for so many more people.

Hang in there, focus on what you *can* do & what you *have* done, & talk to anybody you see, tell 'em how spaying/neutering makes for better pets & healthier pets, & how it assures that Fluffy & Sadie's offspring & descendents will never be mistreated, overbred, or thrown away.

When you hear someone talking about wanting to breed their dog, have them do a search thru petfinders.com.

I've been looking lately and am overwhelmed at how many dogs are in shelter/rescue. Yes, I know there are thousands of dogs that need homes, but scanning thru petfinders made me even more aware.
In my area Labs and lab/retriever mix seem to be the number 1 dog in the shelters, then border collie/working dogs, shepherds and bull terriers.

Labs and any big dogs really, are in abundance here. They all seem to be around the same age when I go visit the shelters, too. Just over one year old, and most are owner surrenders. I guess people don't realise that just because a dog has turned one, doesn't mean it's going to stop acting like a puppy.

My cousin almost gave away his lab/retriever cross, because at 8 months old, he was still chewing! Well, duh. He was still a puppy for one, he wasn't crate trained, so of course he was going to chew things when he was left alone. And puppies chew, they need adaquate chew toys, or they will make their own out of your belongings.

I think what I wish for more than people to look to shelters instead of breeding, is for people to do their research before they buy a pure-bred dog and then give it away because it isn't everything they hoped it would be. Breeding wouldn't be such an issue if the people buying the dogs, actually kept them.

Some breeds are a real challenge, so many people buy them on the basis of they look cute, and they seem nice and good with kids, or whatever. Labs seem to be most popular for this. I think all potential lab owners must read the book 'marley and me' before getting into. Of course thats extreme, but they can be a handful. If you work all day and cant be bothered to exersize etc, not the way to go.

Personally, aside from being able to train and prevent certain habits early on, I can't understand why anyone would want a puppy if they had a choice. They are such a pain in the butt. The shelter route is a lot more convenient then again you don't know what you're going to get.

Not only that the shelters here are comprised mainly of big dogs. The rottweilers, the pit bulls, the shepherd mixes and the lab mixes. Those aren't the right dogs for all people. Some people would be best suited to a small toy breed and they really aren't very common in shelters. I was looking at the shelter websites on the phone with my mom in florida and she's in an area were toy breeds are very popular since there are so many high rise condos that have weight limits for dogs and even those shelters didn't have very many of them.

I was at two shelters today. The first was a municipal shelter that kills and sells to labs. They had a one year-old beagle girl, two big dogs, and two chocolate labs that were given up because "we're moving." I could imagine that with the bad economy we have here, someone may have lost their house and had to move to an apartment. Maybe a divorce split a family into two different apartments. But, in general, I think people give up their dogs too easily and do not try to find them good homes as they are obliged to do when they adopt them.

The second shelter was a no-kill rescue shelter. They had taken over the job of providing a shelter to a large suburb, so also got the municipal pound to go with the job. I went to see a girl dog with a bad back leg. I was kind of hoping that her disability would prevent her from being a counter cruiser, but she was a very athletic dog, and she seemed to be fully able to jump onto the counters if she was inclined to do so. Worse, she was bigger and a jumper. She would be able to knock over my father-in-law, who lives with us. Not an option! He is a steady 90 year-old, but does not need a risk like that added to the house.

On my way out the door, the worker finally had time to look over my application. I had written that I would like to be called if a small female dog came into the shelter. She asked if I had seen Amber, and I said no. I went back to see her and she is the cutest little thing! Red, long hair, 25 - 30 lbs. Face something like a Chow Chow, but much smaller. her body hair was longer and the black hairs mixed in in some areas made her look like mahogany. She is full-grown, calm, friendly, and sweet. She had not messed in her kennel. she looked and acted very promising. i put in an application for her, so once four days have passed, if her owners do not show up, we will be considered for her.

All of my dogs have come from shelters. 40 years ago, we did have dogs that had litters of mutts. We did not know better. My mother thought that they all should have a litter before getting "fixed". I remember the puppies and kittens with fondness, but would have felt the same about dogs we had gotten other ways, too.

Knowing that the dogs in that municipal shelter are in danger of death or experimentation does bother me. It is the county shelter, so I could band together with others to try to change the policy. The lady at the rescue shelter told me that the municipal shelter won't release dogs there to rescues. That is just inexcusable.

Around here, pit bulls and pit mixes seem to take up about 25% of the available dogs. This is also a shame.

We just adopted our very first rescue ever. I very large 8 month old Merle Great Dane. I don't know why I waited so long!! LOL... We always bought puppies from reputable breeders but I just didn't want to go that route this time. There are so many rescue groups out there that will help you find just the right one for you. I know when our older Dane is no longer with us I will adopt again.

Now if I could just convince my husband another Bulldog would be great I would adopt one of them too.

Yes, I got my last dog from a pound...a 13-pound mutt. Heartworm positive, so very expensive. She is a wonderful dog. Already housebroken and worth every penny. Current kitten was one of a litter that was dumped. Cost a fortune with all her ringworm (that we got too) but proves to be the best cat since my last best cat! Some people just shouldn't have animals because they just don't treat them right. My animals are members of my family.