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Lots of people are still hopping mad and flat-out disappointed that the first dog, Bo, came from a breeder—and who can blame them? After all, people working in animal shelters (the ones who are experts in the overpopulation crisis) know that buying from breeders spells certain death to an estimated 4 million dogs and cats each year—dogs and cats who didn’t need competition from litters that were produced simply for a profit. These hardworking people are the ones who personally have to say goodbye to the dogs they come to know, love, and care for—because there aren’t anywhere near enough decent homes for them all.
So, here’s an idea that we and others such as Jana Kohl have proposed to the Obama family: Keep Bo company by adopting a second non-allergenic dog, this time from a breed rescue, a pound, an animal shelter, or from the lists of homeless animals on the Internet. There’s no doubt that the Obamas mean well, or they wouldn’t have given a donation to the humane society, got Bo fixed, or arranged that complicated “He’s a reject from someone, no one bought him” deal. So, hopefully, they’ll learn from their missteps.
Please, offer words of encouragement on this topic by writing very polite letters to President Obama. His family is just like yours: They just didn’t “get” that a rescue means a rescue.
Written by Shawna Flavell
