IGCA Rescue - Hawaii
for the love of the italian greyhound in paradise
WHY CHOOSE RESCUE?
You may be asking yourself why you should adopt an Italian Greyhound from IGCA Rescue instead of just heading to the nearest pet store and buying that cute puppy in the window. This page will provide you with the answer to that question.
Pet Store Puppies and Where They Come From:
Maybe you haven't thought about exactly where it is that a pet store puppy comes from. Maybe you haven't heard about backyard breeders and puppymills. Maybe you don't know that there are companies out there that call themselves "Brokers" who buy puppies from puppymills and sell them to pet stores. Maybe you don't know what the definition of a reputable breeder is.
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Before you think about adding a cute little puppy to your family, you should definitely be considering all of the above. The links below will take you to web sites that will shed light on the truth behind pet stores, puppy mills, backyard breeders, and how to determine if a breeder is reputable.
This information is included to help educate you, the adopter, and we welcome any questions or concerns that you may have regarding these issues. NOTE: While looking through the links below, you may find some of the images and videos disturbing. View at your own discretion.
The following links will direct you to the HSUS (The Humane Society of the United States) site:
Oprah on Puppy Mills: LISA LING INVESTIGATES
More information and investigations:
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Now that you have learned what a puppy mill is and where those pet store puppies come from, you are probably wondering if ALL breeders are bad. The answer is NO, not all breeders are bad. Not all breeders are backyard breeders either. Part of your research should be to determine whether or not a breeder is reputable. The following is taken directly from the IGCA web site: Where to Get an IG (and where not to get an IG) and why.
The best places to get IGs are from responsible breeders or rescue service.
A responsible breeder's primary concern is the health and well-being of dogs they produce. They will be doing careful genetic research and heath testing before breeding a litter. IGs have a very limited gene pool so this is very important. Many genetic issues won't show up for 2-6 years so heath testing and knowledge are required to minimize the chances of your dog developing PRA, idiopathic epilepsy, slipped patellas, etc. Responsible breeders care about dogs of their breeding and want buyers to keep in touch with them, especially if a health issue arises.
Responsible breeders will be actively showing their dogs to be certain of breeding to the breed standard.
A responsible breeder would never advertise: WILL SHIP ANYWHERE. They know that a good measure of the success of a dog's placement depends on hands-on follow-up counseling. Responsible breeders are loathe to send a dog out of their area unless they have someone they personally know and trust in the buyer's area to provide hands-on counseling. References only from a vet or friends and bank statements would NOT be enough.
You should meet the breeder in person to verify that their dogs are properly cared for. Check with heath testing registries (CERF, OFA) to see if their dogs really are health tested. They should be able to show you how to brush teeth and groom nails with a grinder and to help you teach your dog to accept this type handling.
Responsible rescue reps are also primarily concerned with the dogs well-being and will not be sending dogs out of their immediate areas for the same reasons stated above. They will do follow-up visits to be sure that you are comfortable with doing teeth and nails and to help you with any training issues that might arise. The original source of rescue dogs is usually commercial breeders who sell direct via the internet or through pet stores and inexperienced backyard breeders. By purchasing dogs directly from pet shop, commercial breeders or backyard breeders you are contributing to the problem of dogs being bred without heath testing or concern for their well-being.
Rescue reps take on the responsibility of re-homing dogs bred by irresponsible breeders.
The internet has been a boon to irresponsible breeders as a profitable outlet for puppy sales. They can be very deceptive in their advertising, presenting themselves as caring breeders, lying about heath testing, saying they take dogs back or will help you re-home them. Offers of a year long health guarantee are meaningless when it comes to genetic issues that don't show up for 2-6 years. Even when they know their dogs produce genetic problems, they can get away with continuing to breed because the puppies won't show the problem until the guarantee is expired. Many now are active in showing their dogs to give the inexperienced buyer the impression of responsibility. You must do your research!
We hope that this information has been helpful to you in your decision to adopt your new family member. Again, we welcome any questions or concerns that you may have, so please don't hesitate to contact us.
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