Breeders Support Winograd?

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I hear SOME breeders are supporting Winograd because they think he does not oppose breeding and because of his statement that there isn’t pet overpopulation.

Only goes to prove people perceive what they want to.

I edit medical rebuttals. There is no such thing as objective fact. All “fact” depends on the motivation of the fact finder. A doctor who gets paid by an insurance company finds different “objective facts” than someone who treats the patient. So you can find whatever you want in any position anyone takes about anything. Look at the Bible. Everyone has a quote that supports any position anyone wants to take about anything; just ignore the context, such as who said it in what situation and in what era.

One can read lots of things into Winograd, and also what I say, that are not there except in the minds of some readers.

First, Nathan says there is not an overpopulation problem. This does not mean animals are not being killed in shelters. It means animals are being killed in shelters because of poor management, lack of caring and the belief that there are too many animals to be placed. The belief, the myth of overpopulation, prevents overcoming the status quo. If you think killing is inevitable, it will be.

But to take that to mean he supports breeders or that he thinks breeders can do anything they want, is ridiculous and shows the bias and lack of critical thinking that seems rampant in the animal rescue/welfare world.

He meant that there is a myth grasped with a death grip by many involved in sheltering, that there are not enough homes for all the animals brought into shelters, and therefore many animals that are not sick or injured need to die due to lack of space.

If we had good shelters across the country with a 90% save rate we would not even be discussing this. But we do not, and in the meantime we have an unnecessary death problem until no-kill becomes the prevailing practice.

Nowhere does Nathan defend professional breeders; it is some of the breeders that read a green light into Nathan—at least I think. If Nathan receives lots of money or book promotions from breeders, that is a different story.

I am not a Nathan apologist. I really don’t care what his position is about breeding. I am not his follower and he is not my guru.

I still support Hillary even though I think she is a phony and panderer, and I think her gasoline tax rebate idea stupid, because I think she has a better chance of beating McCain than Obama and we share enough of a common vision for me to want her as pres vs. McCain. This concept is apparently too complex for some of the commenters out there who continually attack Winograd (and me) because they or others misunderstand or deliberately distort what he or I say.

I oppose puppy and kitten mills, the fly by night operations where the animals are not cared for and the burnt out moms disposed of in shelters and maybe sick pups and kittens too.

But one of the most beautiful souls I ever met and who taught me more about cats than anyone at any time was formerly a breeder. Wilma loved animals and taught everyone around her who would listen about how to take care of them. Wilma spent her whole life feeding ferals, doing TNR and teaching people how to love and care for animals. I would not oppose anyone like her from breeding animals and placing them, as she did, ever so carefully in loving homes.

I strongly oppose the kind of operation I saw in Northridge and the stories on TV and on the Internet regarding the abuses committed by breeders. I find this cruelty to animals an abomination. I am talking about puppy and kitten mills.

I work in an area of mental health care that is filled with mills; the insurance mill and the provider mills. Some are much better than others. Yet, even among all this crap there are those who really care and bend over backwards to help people. I do not damn a whole class of patients who take workers comp help, nor the system as a whole. I do oppose the ground feeders who care only for a buck, which may be a larger or smaller percentage of breeders.

I do oppose those breeders who fight regulation because it hurts their business or because it increases the fees they pay, because all breeders, no matter how conscientious, as some point do cause some animals to go to shelters or put them in bad homes no matter how hard they try. They are part of the problem and also all businesses require monitoring to prevent greed that causes suffering. But good breeders leave a light foot print because they do love animals.

I also want to say I have never run into so many irrational people with no concept of truth or telling the truth outside of Workers Comp until I got involved in the animal community.

I have never run into so many people so quick to judge others as faulty. God, give Winograd a break; give Boks a break; give me a break. The only one who does not deserve a break is Marcia Mayeda, not only because she is incompetent, but because everyone in County Administration and the Supervisors are covering for her.

Some people in the animal community make the most outrageous statements and regard them as truth without providing any proof whatsoever. They just say it is so and they attack anyone who disagrees.