Great thread, many good ideas to comment on, but I'll only choose a few:
Dekka, I do understand this statement, and I think it's a valid idea. But, I've talked to a lot of people (my own mother, for one) who have adopted a shelter dog before and then the dog had so many health problems that they will not adopt another dog. One of my good friends will not adopt another cat from a shelter because of all the health problems her current cat has. I think if someone adopts a pet from a shelter, they are not wondering about what breeder that dog came from, and wouldn't necessarily go to a BYB simply because that's where their rescued dog originally came from. What I could see happening, though, is that they rescue a BYB dog, and then want another dog that looks just like that one; since the rescued dog is probably not breed standard, they will probably find the best look-alike at a BYB, and if they don't know the difference between a good breeder and a bad breeder they'll buy from anywhere.
On the other hand, I've heard of a lot of people "rescuing" puppies from petstores and puppy millers, simply because they're in such terrible conditions. These people too are not necessarily thinking about what breeder the dogs came from or how their money is only encouraging the breeder to continue. They're just seeing that they're adopting that one individual animal, and they feel good about that.
To me, a big part of the solution would be educating people about puppy mills and BYB, and how to find a good breeder. I personally am passionate about rescuing pets, I don't see myself ever buying a cat or dog from a breeder, and I do whatever I can to help encourage others to rescue a pet as well (including helping friends and relatives temperment test pets in shelters and helping them find the right pet for their lifestyle). BUT, that doesn't mean that I think someone else is a terrible person for buying a dog from a reputable breeder. Like someone else said, some rescues are very difficult to work with. Recently I've been thinking about getting a pet bird, but all the bird rescues in my area (even those hundreds of miles away) require that you be experienced with these particular birds before they will adopt one out. I understand where they're coming from there, but at the same time I think I'm a good pet owner who could give a bird a really good life, but I will still be turned down for any bird other than one from a breeder or pet store.
I also think that there should be better government oversight on the breeding of pets, especially in regards to puppy mills. All too often puppy millers get "busted," fined, and then are back in business with new breeding dogs before you know it, and to me that is extremely sad and preventable.
Dekka, I do understand this statement, and I think it's a valid idea. But, I've talked to a lot of people (my own mother, for one) who have adopted a shelter dog before and then the dog had so many health problems that they will not adopt another dog. One of my good friends will not adopt another cat from a shelter because of all the health problems her current cat has. I think if someone adopts a pet from a shelter, they are not wondering about what breeder that dog came from, and wouldn't necessarily go to a BYB simply because that's where their rescued dog originally came from. What I could see happening, though, is that they rescue a BYB dog, and then want another dog that looks just like that one; since the rescued dog is probably not breed standard, they will probably find the best look-alike at a BYB, and if they don't know the difference between a good breeder and a bad breeder they'll buy from anywhere.
On the other hand, I've heard of a lot of people "rescuing" puppies from petstores and puppy millers, simply because they're in such terrible conditions. These people too are not necessarily thinking about what breeder the dogs came from or how their money is only encouraging the breeder to continue. They're just seeing that they're adopting that one individual animal, and they feel good about that.
To me, a big part of the solution would be educating people about puppy mills and BYB, and how to find a good breeder. I personally am passionate about rescuing pets, I don't see myself ever buying a cat or dog from a breeder, and I do whatever I can to help encourage others to rescue a pet as well (including helping friends and relatives temperment test pets in shelters and helping them find the right pet for their lifestyle). BUT, that doesn't mean that I think someone else is a terrible person for buying a dog from a reputable breeder. Like someone else said, some rescues are very difficult to work with. Recently I've been thinking about getting a pet bird, but all the bird rescues in my area (even those hundreds of miles away) require that you be experienced with these particular birds before they will adopt one out. I understand where they're coming from there, but at the same time I think I'm a good pet owner who could give a bird a really good life, but I will still be turned down for any bird other than one from a breeder or pet store.
I also think that there should be better government oversight on the breeding of pets, especially in regards to puppy mills. All too often puppy millers get "busted," fined, and then are back in business with new breeding dogs before you know it, and to me that is extremely sad and preventable.
