Why that's a death threat!

Yes...there are problems with some dog breeding...but this is craziness!

April 11, 2009


Activists with the power to ruin lives

From a report that Glenn Reynolds linked earlier, I read that Joe Biden bought a pedigreed German Shepherd puppy from a breeder. Not much of a story there, but what happened later illustrates something I consider a very serious (and possibly unsolvable) problem.

Because of an unstoppable movement of single-issue activist fanatics, the breeder has faced huge legal problems:

EAST COVENTRY -- It was a proud moment for Linda Brown when then-Vice President-elect Joe Biden selected her kennel to purchase his new German shepherd puppy.

That was in mid-December.

For Brown, that proud moment was short-lived.

After the story about the puppy sale ran in the newspapers and on TV newscasts, three dog wardens from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture showed up on Brown's doorstep for a kennel inspection.

And they showed up again and again for four visits over four months.

She said she has also received death threats from animal activists against her and Biden, which were reported to the Secret Service and the FBI.

This is all too typical, and you don't have to be Joe Biden to attract the ire of these activists. As liberal feminist blogger Jessica Valenti found out when she dared commit the politically incorrect crime of buying a pure bred dog.

What ordinary people tend to forget is that animal rights activists have increasingly been put in charge of animal law enforcement.

The bottom line is that they consider dog breeding an egregious moral offense, and they see dog breeders the way anti-abortion activists might see a late term abortion provider. Or the way a child advocacy activist would see someone who opened a NAMBLA chapter. If you doubt me, I suggest breeding and selling pure bred dogs. Never mind that the dog itself is the product of selective breeding by humans; the activists ultimately want to end pet ownership, and for them, going after breeders is only one step. Breeders, of course, are in a tiny minority, and are thus extremely vulnerable.

Note the way the horror story unfolded for the unfortunate breeder who thought it was an honor to sell a dog to the Second Family:

Following a story about Brown and Biden in the Daily Local News, readers posted 131 comments, some chiding Biden for having the Secret Service with him when he went puppy shopping and others complaining he did not get the dog from a shelter.

Brown was taken to task for selling pedigree dogs.

Brown said she has read the comments, even the one that said she was sued.

"I'd like to meet that person," Brown said, adding that she has not been sued.

Some people were outraged about the photograph of Biden holding a 5-week-old puppy, Brown said. But, the breeder points out, Biden only came to select a puppy on that visit, left it with its mother and returned three weeks later to take it home.

Naturally, PETA led the charge:

Brown was not only vilified in posted comments to newspapers but also on the Web site of People for the Ethical Treatment Animals, or PETA.

According to a Dec. 12 press release from the animal rights group, it aired its controversial TV commercials "Buy One, Get One Killed" in Biden's home state of Delaware after he bought his dog from Brown. The commercial blames euthanization of animals in shelters on people who purchase pets from breeders.

What the story fails to point out is that PETA is not only against dog breeding, but all pet ownership, and has a documented record of routinely euthanizing dogs rather than putting them up for adoption.

After the activists complained, enforcement teams were sent in, and naturally (thanks to legislation drafted by activists) they were able to find technical violations. They didn't hold up in court, but of course the damage was done:

Brown also was cited for record-keeping problems and warned about maintenance and sanitation shortfalls by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

"I was cited for a piece of kibble on the floor and five strands of dog hair. They took a picture of that, they walked around, snapped pictures and don't tell you why," said Brown, who disputes all the items where she was written up.

Brown's case was heard by District Justice James DeAngelo in South Coventry on March 31. She was found "not guilty" for each citation, the judge's office confirmed Wednesday.

Chris Ryder, press secretary for the Department of Agriculture, said Brown was inspected in December because of a complaint. He said it was department policy not to release the name of the person who complained.

Brown's kennel, Wolf Den, was inspected twice a year by the agency and routinely had satisfactory reports until December 2008 when it had seven unsatisfactory inspection results out of 26, according to the inspection records on the agency's Web site.

Ryder said the inspectors returned as a matter of follow-up to determine if the unsatisfactory matters had been taken care of. He said more than one inspector was brought in because Brown runs a large kennel.

Before going to court, Brown had to hire a lawyer. So far her legal fees are $4,000, she said.

"Never, never, never again," Brown said about selling a dog to anyone with a high profile.

I have nothing but sympathy for this woman, and for Joe Biden. If I were to breed Coco and sell her puppies, I would no more write about it in my blog than I would jump in shark infested waters with bloody meat strapped to my side. (I would be naturally hesitant to sell a puppy to a high profile celebrity, too.)

Like it or not, we live in twisted times in which selling pure bred puppies is considered a heinous moral offense. The bottom line is that if you breed dogs, you are vulnerable, as there are teams of well-organized, well-funded activists who regard you as morally akin to a child molester, and who can't wait to treat you that way.

It illustrates a larger problem, though. The majority of people don't seem to have any say in what goes on. Activists get their way and there is nothing democratic about it. Few people would ever decide to "stand up" to the activists, especially breeders, who have to keep a low profile, lest they find their dogs confiscated and killed, and having to face trumped-up charges.

As I discussed in a number of posts, a tiny minority of animal rights activists in Philadelphia decided that the elephants in the Philadelphia Zoo had to go. It made no difference what the zoo or the public wanted. The activists intimidated the zoo, and got their way.

No one stands up to them.

The problem is, while it's easy for me to advocate standing up to them (I attracted considerable ire for my elephant posts), in honesty I can't completely fault vulnerable people (like breeders, pet stores, or zoos) for not standing up to them. Putting yourself in their place, would you? Life is too short. How many people will stand up to single issue advocates with the power to ruin people's lives?

Still, I have some lingering questions. How did they get such power in a supposedly democratic society? Who gave it to them? Is there any way to take it away from them, or is it too late?

UPDATE: My thanks to Glenn Reynolds for linking this post, and a warm welcome to all. Your comments are appreciated, agree or disagree.

MORE: There are recent news reports about Barack Obama's choice of a pure bred Portuguese Water Dog as the White House dog. So far, both Obama and the dog's breeder seem to have escaped the treatment which befell Biden and the German Shepherd breeder.

Hmmm... I see that the dog was a gift from Ted Kennedy, who, while not the breeder, owns other Portuguese Water Dogs and seems to have acted as the middleman.

(Not surprising. Ted Kennedy would probably get a pass even if he were caught in flagrante delicto committing the actual crime of allowing two purebred dogs to mate!)

AND MORE: As details surface, the Obama Portuguese Water Dog story has intrigue written all over it:

The twists and turns of the Portuguese water dog's route to the White House make for the kind of intrigue that political junkies and the highly opinionated dog world delight in.

[...]

...conspiracy buffs might speculate that Bo was meant for the Obamas all along. Was his adoption engineered to look like a rescue--or at least blur the line to head off criticism that the Obamas had picked a purebred from a breeder?

It does appear that the dog was "laundered" for the Obamas, if that is the right word. The reason this has taken on the air of political intrigue is that daring to obtain a purbred dog has become a new morals offense.

posted by Eric on 04.11.09 at 12:08 PM





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Oh Good Freakin Gosh!! I see absolutely nuthin wrong with Biden buyin a puppy from a breeder. A responsible breeder. Why didn't they hone in on the fact that it was a breeder an not a puppy mill???? These are the ones givin good responsible breeders a bad name. I can only speak for myself, if I'm goin to buy a dog from a breeder it's because I know they're doin it not as a way to make money but for their love of the breed. And I know they will have taken very good care of that puppy from whelp to the time it goes into my arms. I will know every immunization, medication an brand of food given to that puppy. I will know it bloodline history. I will know if there are any kind of medical issues in it's bloodline. I have absolutely no problem with anyone buyin a puppy from a breeder, it's the puppy mills I take issue with.

OMG, they are harassing the breeder. How awful.

This about PETA:

"What the story fails to point out is that PETA is not only against dog breeding, but all pet ownership, and has a documented record of routinely euthanizing dogs rather than putting them up for adoption."

Are they nuts?!

How did Biden getting a pet get turned into something so ugly? It should have been a happy occasion.

I agree with ReddBeans. A breeder is not a puppy mill. My brother has bred and sold Chows in the past, btw.

Anything associated with PETA is insane. I'm a proud animal activist, and volunteer at the local shelter for hours everyday, and i will have NOTHING to do with PETA or any of its members.

INCOMING RANT! DUCK!

When people find out I'm an animal activist they instantly think I'm one of those crazy people who blow up buildings, only eat vegan style, and march to the beat of PETA. I DON'T! I know I personally cannot save every animal on the planet, nor do I try. Yes at the beginning of my volunteering i tried, but only ended up with a broken heart and thats when my Mom told me "you cannot save them all, but save what you can". I have lived by that ever since.

Yes its sad that animals must suffer but I and my shelter can only do so much about it. The animals we take in are treated with respect, and constantly being petted, running around outside in the sun, and have all the food and water they can inhale. We are lucky to have a zillion volunteers who come out for maybe 20 mins a day to groom dogs and cats and to just play with them or pet them. Thats more than I can say for PETA who routinely puts their animals to sleep. Only 3% of last year's animals got adopted from them. My shelter has a 97% adoption rate, and rarely are the animals put to sleep.

I love the PETA commercial that likened breeders of pure-bred dogs to hitler, saying they were creating an aryan race.

F*cking psychos. I fully believe in respecting and all creatures when possible and reasonable, but I'm not going to go out of my way and put a dog ahead of any person.