OTHER STUFF
A little animal welfare on the side
Although I call Lilly and Stitch whippets, truth is they’re
probably closer to whippet-Italian greyhound crosses. The difference? Below is
a figure indicating the size differences between a greyhound, whippet, and italian greyhound (iggy), more-or-less to scale according to KUSA (Kennel Union of South Africa) breeding standards. Size-wise
Lilly and Stitch are somewhere between a Whippet and Italian Greyhound.
I bought Lilly off Gumtree (oh the shock and horror!). This
was before I knew anything about animal welfare. Of course I was familiar with
adopting, but I wanted to raise a puppy since it would be my first dog ever. I’ve
always wanted a whippet. As soon as circumstances allowed me to have a dog, I
Googled whippet puppies and Lilly was part of the only litter within a 300 km
radius. I met the litter and I deemed everything fine. Two weeks later when
Lilly was 6 weeks old I went back and bought her. There was nothing dodgy about
the circumstances – an ordinary middle-aged and middle-class married couple from
Sasolburg had a female greyhound rescued from a township as well as a female
whippet. Both had puppies with a male whippet the couple acquired a few weeks
prior (from people who could no longer keep him). This was to be his last litters
as they were having him neutered. Picture perfect hey? Well, sort of... See I
was never really bothered by breed standards and KUSA registration, but Lilly
is definitely far from whippet. Which is strange considering the fact that both
her mom and “dad” was real whippets – both white with brindle patches... which
makes it impossible for the litter to all be black and white (since black is genetically
a dominant color) . No, there was definitely another (role) player...
Picture adopted from http://www.123rf.com/photo_5776918_smiling-dachshund.html
The reason why I stuck a Dachshund picture here is because I co-incidentally once met a woman with a whippet, dachie cross and he looked EXACTLY like Lilly!!
Anyway even though I do love Lilly and she turned out even way cooler than I could ever anticipate, I by no means condone buying pets from the internet, on the contrary, it is a really bad idea due to the following reasons:
- Dodgy sellers – unless you physically go and meet the seller and view the pet your buying in the environment it’s born in and brought up, as well as the parents, it might just as well be a puppy mill or people over-breeding their pets for profit.
- Dodgy buyers – Often people selling pets on Gumtree do not go through the effort of doing home checks. In fact, often such internet sites are used by syndicates such as that responsible for the illegal export of dogs from South Africa to Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe to acquire pets. Would it not break your heart to know that the litter mates of your beloved cat/ dog ended up in horrific circumstances like these?
Recently Junkmail decided to cancel its pet-only print publication after concerned readers and animal welfare activists raised these concerning issue with them.
What is the best way of acquiring a pet then? Adoption, adoption, adoption! And of course - Adoption. For the following reasons:
- You’re saving 2 lives – the life of the animal you’re adopting and the life of the next one that can fill its place at the shelter
- Puppies are (in my opinion) overrated. They require constant supervision, ample time to house-train, and you’ll lose countless belongings due to puppy destruction. Adult dogs are calmer, better-mannered and mostly house trained. If they do have behavioral issues that need correcting, it’s going to require less time and effort than raising a puppy.
- If you must have a puppy, find out which shelters have litters. If you must wait, it’ll never be more than a week or two.
- If you’re into a specific breed, there is a rescue org for almost every single breed in South Africa! A simple Google search would lead you there. Greyhound Rescue Group SA is a good place to start looking for a greyhound, whippet or iggy!
- If you’re still nervous about adopting a dog, first foster one. This is an amazing experience that’ll allow you to either decide to adopt the dog or help to find it its perfect forever-home. PETS (Pet Empowerment in Townships) is one such amazing animal rescue org that operates on a foster-system. We’ve fostered a few dogs for them and I can tell you these are the most loyal and appreciative pets ever. Like Bones here currently looking for a home:
See what his foster mom has to say ..... "Bones is the happiest dog I have ever met. Whether it is relaxing in the house, running outside, playing, he seems to have a smile on his face. He LOVES people and is very gentle with small children. He loves playing with his foster sister and was in doggie heaven at the dog park! He is in the puppy stage of chewing, and especially loves shoes. But generally listens when told to stop- just be sure to have some chew toys around the house. He is also still learning that he will be fed regularly so he can be a little rough taking food and gets into trash. But he is a quick learner and these habits are lessening. He will definitely make a great family dog and share years of love and happiness!"
If u are interested in adopting him please email jhb@pets.org.za
In conclusion, I would never buy another animal in my life. Through my brief involvement in animal welfare I’ve come to realize that the supply of puppies is so much greater than the demand. Hundreds of perfectly healthy animals are killed daily just because there are simply not enough homes.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=504636536299362&set=a.226895917406760.48995.226541667442185&type=1&theater
No comments:
Post a Comment