Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-rescue anymore than I am anti-breeder. I think the world needs ethical breeders as much as they need responsible rescues. However, I am aware that there are bad rescues out there, that not all of them deserve our support, and that in some cases, rescues are just a front to have the public pay for your personal hoard of pets. As the donating public, we have a responsibility to ensure that the rescues we choose to support are on the level, that they do not use the money for their personal gain, that they keep their personal animals separate from the rescue animals, and keep separate finances for their home and their rescue. We can only do this by asking questions, and receiving answers...
It seems that my open letter to Mr Bellows was either not found, or was ignored. So, I'm going to copy it all here, and see if I can get his response this way.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-rescue anymore than I am anti-breeder. I think the world needs ethical breeders as much as they need responsible rescues. However, I am aware that there are bad rescues out there, that not all of them deserve our support, and that in some cases, rescues are just a front to have the public pay for your personal hoard of pets. As the donating public, we have a responsibility to ensure that the rescues we choose to support are on the level, that they do not use the money for their personal gain, that they keep their personal animals separate from the rescue animals, and keep separate finances for their home and their rescue. We can only do this by asking questions, and receiving answers...
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Alright, in my blog about the Flat Creek Border Collies, I made a claim regarding a majority of animal rights activists being a certain way. And pitchforks and torches have come out, the villagers are indeed rallying - there are animal rights advocates posting all over the internet concerning this, with the majority of them being the typical "breeders are evil, all breeders should die, let's go steal these dogs and burn down their children!!!" type, irrational and jumping on every comment. Comment anything at all, in any way supporting the kennel OR simply stating an opinion about their conduct, and you are instantly an evil breeder, with no compassion, no heart, no soul, who should be stabbed and peed on. I was guilty of stating that taking the dogs would be theft, and that "for the animals" does not make you exempt from the law. In response, someone posted an inquiry regarding this. kindessspeaksvolumes 01/07/2014 12:52pm Please - before you indulge in a little defamation here and there -- QOUTE one person who has said that "breeders should die" ??? Please.. . and we will wait patiently for you to verify that claim. Just because "the villagers" care about what is taking place in their community, and demands that their citizens are KIND to one another and to animals, does NOT mean they are all "animal rights activists". I'm just a mom - who loves my border collies, and treats them humanely. I don't think it's asking too much of my neighbors that they do the same. So - back to your defamation/libel -- please PROVE that statement... otherwise what you have done is illegal... and my guess is it is against the policy of weebly.com. I got to thinking. I had posted one screenshot of an animal rights activist wishing harm on people. But how many examples are there out there. So, I submit to you, ARA's Behaving Badly. Volume One. These will be malicious vicious posts by people, and I will edit out the names of those who do not post bad things. Please feel free to submit your screen shots via the Contact link at the top of the page. Once I have obtained 10 screen shots, I will do another volume of ARA's Behaving Badly. The purpose of this blog was not to talk about dogs, nor dog breeders, nor any animal other than rabbit... However, the world wants what they want, and right now the uproar is about the Flat Creek Border Collies. Unfortunately, until the time given to that breeder has passed, and we find out if he is a) able to make the required changes in the allotted time, and b) if he will get his dogs back intact, and is able to afford the boarding fees(I truly am interested - how much does the ASPCA think one person should be paying to care for a dog in a day - I doubt I will reach that cost, because I only spend $20 every 3-4 months feeding my dog), there is not much to write on about that.
I could, of course, write generic blog posts - I have 4 or 5 drafts partially finished that could be wrapped up in a half hour or so, something to pass the time and fill the space, but I would rather keep with the trend, and write more about the Flat Creek Border Collies. However, no new information about them, so why not take a look at Eric Bellows, the man who started it all? You'll have to excuse me, I'm not completely up to date on this situation, nor is it about rabbits... However, it is about a breeder being targeted by Animal Rights Activists. And that's enough for me to have an opinion on this.
First and foremost, this whole situation is thanks to Eric Bellows, who seems to be in the same line of work/thought as Cesar Millan.. Which is all well and good, you can keep as many dogs as you are able to properly care for. He saw some dogs, didn't like how they were cared for, took pictures and rallied the villagers. Cue pitch forks and torches!! And pitchforks and torches have come out, the villagers are indeed rallying - there are animal rights advocates posting all over the internet concerning this, with the majority of them being the typical "breeders are evil, all breeders should die, let's go steal these dogs and burn down their children!!!" type, irrational and jumping on every comment. Comment anything at all, in any way supporting the kennel OR simply stating an opinion about their conduct, and you are instantly an evil breeder, with no compassion, no heart, no soul, who should be stabbed and peed on. I was guilty of stating that taking the dogs would be theft, and that "for the animals" does not make you exempt from the law. The rabbit lady of Missouri. In case you don't want to read the articles, posted at the bottom, this is an elderly woman raising rabbits for pet and meat sales. No biggie, right? Well, apparently it was a biggie, as the HSUS came and took all of her animals away. And charged her with abuse. A judge has ordered the animals returned, however as far as I can tell, the HSUS is still holding onto them.
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