Yes We Can

Yes, to answer every one's question this week: I am upset with the Obamas for not going with a shelter/rescue dog/puppy.

Yeah. I said it. And save the Hate, cause I'm not backing down.

To be fair: he didn't promise he would. I watched carefully and what he said initially was that a shelter/rescue would be their "preference" and outlined their hypoallergenic household needs, as a potential disclaimer. But I was hopeful they'd do the right thing.

They then did their breed research -- which made me optimistic. (Points for ruling out those hypoallergenic Imitation yappers too.) Everyone should be so thorough.

That was our job as kids -- all pets and livestock had to be duly researched and vetted before they were added to the family. And this was back before the Internets, when I had to use actual encyclopedias. If you can imagine. Like an Animal.

And so we became a family of St. Bernards, beagles, and later Mastiffs.

My own house was then later populated by mastiffs and Pyrenees. (Big dogs. Big joys. Unfortunately not known for long lifespans.)

I've worked with Mastiff Rescue; Pyrenees Rescue; sat on the Board of one Animal Sanctuary; and avidly support two local Humane Societies. I aggressively support Adoption/Spay/Neuter and if ANY of that interests you, I will personally hook you up.

This isn't a research treatise (though I've written a few), I'll just say it's a Myth to think if you have your heart set on a particular breed that Rescue isn't an option.

Humane Societies and Rescue organizations will work TIRELESSLY to match you with the breed that's right for you (or any imaginable array of assorted mutts and mixes, if that's your preference).

I hope that's a myth the Obamas didn't perpetuate.

Worse than that, the women on the View (including the one who doesn't believe in Evolution) expressed their perceived solidarity with the Obamas because maybe THEY wouldn't trust some unknown Shelter dog around their OWN kids. That is NOT what the Obamas said. It's just what one idiot said in response (an idiot who claimed she didn't know if the earth was round or flat).But she's an idiot with a microphone, in front of a camera. It made me (almost) hope a Dingo eats her babies. Or at least that she comes down with a nice case of the Mange. (As if supporting puppy mills somehow protects their kids? Idiots.)

And that's just ONE example of ignorance and misinformation that the Obama Decision (inadvertently to be sure) set off.

The thing is, the fish rots from the head.

Here was an opportunity to set a GREAT example (amid many, many others -- LOVE the locavore garden! And I am ALL about Sleeveless.) but this was an opportunity missed.I'm disappointed.

And a little irritated that the whole thing was orchestrated as a gift from a dying Kennedy cause hey, what could be MORE above reproach than that? And I'm sorry, but the fact that Bo "failed" in a few homes before the White House does not make him a Rescue.

God knows I am no fan of Oprah, but even I had to give the devil her due when she recently adopted two shelter dogs (one died of Parvo, which is how my own first attempt at a grown-up adoption ended when I was in grad school. That was Quentin, a sweet little Lab mix, and she didn't dissuade me from adoption/rescue.)
I don't normally think it's a GOOD thing that Oprah outranks the President and everyone else when it comes to influence.

But on JUST this ONE issue, I'm givin it up to her and saying: do as Oprah does.

And that's maybe what stings most of all.