07/01/2026
THIS THIS THIS X 1000
This post may be unpopular.
It might lose us followers.
It might create controversy but...
..it has been a thought in my head for the last ten years and even more so in the last five, when back in 2020, half the working nation ran out and got themselves a puppy, because they were stuck at home and "finally have the time for a dog" then found themselves in a pickle, when the world opened up again. I felt the dread, when shelter after shelter and rescue after rescue, proudly displayed empty kennels, thanks to a glut of pandemic shut down inspired adoptions.
"Adopt-Don't Shop"
It is has been the battle cry of rescues and shelters for decades.
In the beginning, 20-30 years ago, before No Kill shelters existed or the emergence of private and organized rescues by the gross, it made perfect sense. It was a rally call to hold near and dear to our hearts but now, at least as far as I am concerned, it has lost it's power and meaning.
You will not find this slogan on any of our posts, swag or promotional material. Here is why.
Imagine if you would, every person who decided to bring a puppy home, regardless of where it came from, kept it responsibly and for it's entire life. Would it really matter where that puppy came from? What a concept.
The big money grab from crappy breeders would dry up. Imagine people keeping their dog for it's whole life, rather than turning them over, every two to three years, when life or trends change.
Crappy breeders don't love dogs. They love money.
They profit off of the throw away society we have become, where humanity is more interested in the latest trend and their own comfort and convenience. If breeding dogs in backyard sheds was no longer the cash cow it is now, because people actually KEPT their dogs until they died of old age, rather than discarding them like outdated technology or fashions no longer trending, the market would dry up. If people actually purchased a dog, with the intent to keep it, no matter what, until it's last breath and with the understanding this could be a 15 year commitment, rather than just thinking about the cute TikTok videos they are going to make or until it eats their gaming system, soils their throw rugs or howls for attention it is not getting, the surplus would diminish to near zero.
Why not concentrate more on making long term dog ownership cool and the goal??
I have long felt that responsible, ethical, thoughtful breeders have suffered the slings and arrows of rescue advocates, without basis.
I know responsible breeders; breeders with two year waiting lists because their dogs are exceptional and excel at the skills they were bred for. Breeders who breed for the betterment of the breed. Breeders who could breed more often but don't because they consider the mental and physical health of their dogs, important. Breeders whose reputations for producing a quality pup, means more to them than life. Breeders who lose money with each litter, because the quality of care put into producing it, exceeds what they make. Breeders who vet potential owners of their puppies with longer applications and more stringent requirement than the growing number of rescues and shelters, buried in so many dogs they can scarcely keep their heads above water. Breeders who take back their dogs, at any age, for any reason, without question because it is in their contracts and they insist upon it. Breeders who keep their pups until they are old enough to display the qualities they bred for and if they don't, alter them, themselves and still find better homes for them as "pet quality" than most rescues or shelters. THIS is an ethical breeder and they are NOT the problem plaguing rescues and shelters across the U.S. but they suffer the consequences of the unethical breeding that gave birth to the "Adopt-Don't Shop" slogan.
Surprised to hear me say this?
Then let me explain to you, how many dogs we take in, that have been adopted through a rescue or shelter. Microchips tell the story. They not only tell us who the owner is but what organization put the microchip in the dog. Far FAR too often, it is a big shelter or an overworked, underfunded rescue. Calls to owners, if the chip was even registered go unreturned or we are told, "yeah we gave that dog away and don't want it back" but conveniently cannot remember who they gave it to. Forget about the shelter or rescue it came from, taking it back. They have no room.
Even the terms "adopted", "rescued" and "rehomed" are abused and WAY overused these days, in an attempt by the ignorant, irresponsible or ill prepared, to avoid social media criticism and their own guilty consciences.
Those terms really don't mean anything anymore.
I hear people all the time tell me, they "rescued" a dog from a back yard breeder" or they "adopted a $3500 puppy from a pet store" (don't even get me started on the big chain adoption events) or are "rehoming" the mutt pups from the 4th "oops" litter. Buzz words that used to be connected to ethical rescue but have now been ridiculously overused to avoid social media backlash and personal self loathing. They have been rendered meaningless or at least they have to me.
It feels like mockery.
It's infuriating and I find it disgusting.
I am just over it.
So seriously, I really do not care where you get your puppy or dog from. What I care about is your commitment to that dog and that you care for it responsibly, ethically, safely and with all the love in your heart, until the day it takes it's final breath, in your arms as a grey faced member of your family. If we could just do that...rescues and shelters would be vacant and silent and MAYBE, I might be able to leave the house for more than 8 hours. I haven't had a vacation since 2008, unless you want to count the 36 hours I left the house, to attend my brothers out of town funeral. A trip that took more time orchestrating dog sitters, than the actual time away.
We need to change the rescue battle cry to:
"Until Death Do We Part" or maybe
"Fifteen years or not at all" or
"It's a heart beat. Not an iPhone" or
"Would you want to be your dog?"
We have, for several decades now, if not more, taught ourselves that we are the only ones that matter. Our feelings and our egos are not to be tested. The world revolves around us. Nobody and nothing, should ever be hard or uncomfortable. If it isn't easy, get rid of it. We have developed entitlements that lead us to believe our responsibilities are the burden of others to bear. I have a sweatshirt that says, "If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet" and another that says, "SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR DAMN DOGS!! They are great conversation starter, mostly good ones but some...not so much but I hope it makes at least a few people think dog ownership through before embarking upon it.
Love is not enough.
Life can change a lot in 15 years.
Dogs love with all their hearts.
We need to make people consider all three of these things before laying their money down for that pup, no matter who is picking that money up. If everyone did that, every dog would have a home for LIFE, rescues could close their doors for lack of need and thousands of us rescue warriors could enjoy and devote our time to our OWN animals for a change.
Yes, we as a rescue, rely on adoption to keep the doors revolving. We love and appreciate every last one of our adopters and will always hope people consider adoption, when thinking of bringing a dog into their lives BUT a bigger message needs to be about the commitment, not the method of acquisition. If we normalized the idea that puppies are not trends but mean work and financial obligation that will require a 15 year commitment, no matter what life throws at you, perhaps we can squeeze the unethical breeders out of business because the market dries up.
I doubt I will live to see that day but I for one, am game to start a new battle cry that has more to do with the length and depth of commitment, rather than the method of obtainment. I would love nothing more than to have to shut down the rescue because there were just no more dogs out there, needing help.
Pictured is Twix. A female dog dumped on the Yakama Reservation along with two other females, pregnant like her. All three gave birth out in the sage. Only two adult females and one pup survived the weather and coyotes.
We as a society, MUST do better.
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
