Breeds on the leash, mutts on the streets

O texto abaixo, em inglês, é de autoria da Jenifer do 3º ano de Letras para a disciplina de Expressão escrita em língua inglesa, pertencente à dupla habilitação português-inglês. A proposta era escrever um texto para um jornal expressando uma opinião ou ideia.

Breeds on the leash, mutts on the streets

As someone who loves animals and tries its best to protect them (but who has given up on promoting vegetarianism, since no one cares about it), I have decided to dedicate myself to a less complex matter: breeding versus rescuing/buying versus adopting. I find it horrifying and incomprehensible to see yorkshires, golden retrievers and Persian cats being walked on sparkling, fancy leashes while non-defined breed creatures (a.k.a. mutts) starve, become dehydrated and severely ill, get run over, burned, kicked, stoned etc. every day on the streets.

Breeding is a cruel, selfish practice that views nothing but making easy money by getting females pregnant every time they are in heat (every 6 months), keeping them in small, unsanitary cages, separating them from their babies way too early, selling the puppies and kittens (most of the times without vaccinating and/or deworming them) for outrageous prices, and giving away (or killing) the females once they get too old for reproducing. I am not making that up; with a quick search on the internet, anyone can read about millions of kennels and catteries that have been denounced and closed down all around the world for these reasons. Even breeders who provide proper health care, large, open areas and sanitary conditions cannot escape the fact that they are trading lives for bucks, which is obviously not an ethical attitude.

Even worse, since I am part of a rescue group, everybody shows great pity when I talk about the mistreating cases we handle, but that is all they do. Unfortunately, most individuals still prefer to buy a pet rather than adopting one, because they think street animals are ugly, dirty, hard to educate and may carry illnesses. Evidently that is futility and ignorance. It is futility because obviously no living being is supposed to be a toy, ornament or symbol of status. It is ignorance because people do not know that the levels of disability, deformity and disease in pedigree individuals are rising every year, while mutts are very resistant and can live much longer. Also, it is not the breed (or the lack of it) that determines behavior; a poodle may poop on places it is not supposed to and eat shoes if its OWNER allows this behavior. Plus, we have had many owners asking us to keep their “buys” because they could not predict certain things: “it grew up too much”, “it loses too much fur”, “it is too active” etc. There is no need to say that those who charge R$ 300.00 to R$ 2,000.00 for a puppy/kitten do not take “merchandise” back or make refunds. Well, if you decide to adopt a friend, you will spend a maximum of R$ 50.00 to cover the costs of vaccination and spay/neuter that shelters provide, although some organizations do not charge a dime. More than that, if you adopt a pet that does not meet your expectations, the shelter/organization will take it back anytime, although it is important to say that this kind of situation hardly ever occurs, since rescuers (not sellers) actually KNOW their protected ones and do not push matches that might not work (for instance, an active/impatient/anxious dog and someone who lives in an apartment). Finally, unlike those who trade lives for money, we actually have great concern about the future of our “pals/paws” and do not pass them on if veterinarians suspect they might be sick, which saves a lot of trouble to adopters.

It is more than time people opened their eyes for the disgusting, cruel market behind the cute, furry babies displayed on shop windows. Human beings must NOW leave their prejudices behind and think rationally to see the innumerous advantages of adoption. Next time you see a dirty, skinny, wounded dog/cat smelling trash bins, do not ignore it or feel disgusted. It will be your dearest friend until the end of its life if only you give it a chance.