Editorials / Opinion

Purebred community monitors canine health issues

I am writing in response to the recently published letter “Dog show promotes an unhealthy business,” [Northwest Voices, March 12].

The responsible breeders and owners that exhibit at dog shows aim to preserve and improve the health, temperament and longevity of the breeds they dedicate their lives to. Breeders are most concerned with finding loving, secure homes for their puppies, not how much money they will make.

The letter writer’s assertion that “mutts are much healthier” is incorrect. In fact, there is no comprehensive study of genetic diseases in the general population of dogs. The purebred community scientifically monitors canine health issues, but at this time, there is no such corresponding or comparative effort concerning mixed breeds or dogs in general.

There are now over 60 screening tests that responsible breeders can employ to ensure their dogs avoid illnesses. The American Kennel Club is the only all-breed registry that incorporates health-screening results into the permanent records of all the dogs we register.

AKC dog shows as well as other AKC events like Agility, Obedience and AKC Rally® (which welcome all dogs, purebred or mixed breed) strengthen the human-canine bond and provide a lifetime of enjoyment to many loving owners and their dogs. We encourage the letter writer to learn more at akc.org.

–Lisa Peterson, director of communications, American Kennel Club

Dog show promote an unhealthy business

French bulldogs Bump, on the bottom, and his daughter Fergie, top, during the agility competition, along with owner Tom Hopkins, Saturday at the annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show. The event, which took place at CenturyLink Field Event Center, included about 1,700 dogs. (ALAN BERNER/THE SEATTLE TIMES)

My love for dogs cannot in good faith support and celebrate dog shows [“It’s showtime for canines,” NWSunday, March 10].

Because of breeders we still have too many puppies/dogs in shelters who need to be adopted to good homes. This includes purebred dogs. Dog shows promote horrible puppy mills because selling purebred puppies is a very lucrative business.

For this 75th annual Seattle Kennel Club Dog Show, I was appalled at the sheer number listed in the article, “1,700 dogs representing 156 breeds”; it is not just a question of pride for the owners but it is a business, an unhealthy business, very costly for the dogs’ welfare.

Furthermore, purebred dogs often have health problems caused by overbreeding. Mutts are much healthier.

It is time to ban or at least boycott these canine shows where purebred dogs rule for all the wrong reasons.

Animals are not ours to use or abuse in any way.

–Claudine Erlandson, Shoreline