How Much (And From Where)

Is That Doggie In The Window?

By Nancy K. Crevier

That dog you adopted may have more drawl than drool. Many dogs born in the South have through one circumstance or another ended up in rescue shelters or foster homes in the Northeast.

Every year, dogs and puppies are imported from Southern states, Puerto Rico, or foreign countries into the Northeast to meet the demands of a dog-loving population in an area that has experienced success in controlling animal overpopulation, through neutering and spaying.

“It is impossible to accurately peg the number of dogs being moved from the South to the North, because very few states require shelters to publish their shelter statistics,” said Patti Strand, national director of National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), “a moderate organization that supports the rule of law and opposes illegal acts whether committed by animal abusers or animal rights extremists,” according to its website, naiaonline.org. NAIA estimates that the number of dogs moved from the South to North over the years to be in the hundreds of thousands.

“One of the things relocation demonstrates,” said Ms Strand, “is that we’ve had good animal control measures in the North.” There is a correlation between funding and success of animal population programs, she said, with some areas able to provide more affordable spay/neuter programs.

That is not always so in rural Southern communities, she said. “There’s a more agricultural mindset in many areas of the South, and values around animals are a little different than in Northern states. You might say that in the South, the animal is considered more of a working dog,” Ms Strand said. Dogs roam freely, and because there are few spay/neuter programs in place, it means that overpopulation becomes a problem.

Overpopulation results in dogs abandoned, homeless, and ending up in shelters that cannot handle the numbers. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that nearly half of the six to eight million dogs and cats cared for in shelters every year in the United States are euthanized.

 

Moving Dogs For Money

Since the 1980s when Ms Strand began working in shelters, “things have changed dramatically,” she said, in what shelters and rescues do and what the public expects of them. “I believe that the breed clubs still have strong ethics for their rescue breeds,” she said. However, there are many people moving dogs that are not doing so for the benefit of the animals they move. Money can be motivating, and rescue dogs now carry prices that used to be associated with purebred breeds, she said, noting that “$400 or $450 to adopt a rescue dog is not unusual.”

She worries, and can point to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bulletins that support her concerns, about diseases carried into Northern communities by sick dogs, or puppies that may have been exposed to infectious diseases and are too young to be inoculated when transported north.

“Practices are shoddy,” she said, “and our laws that govern import of dogs are not geared for the large numbers of dogs coming in.”

Dr Christopher Mixon of Newtown Veterinary Center on Route 25 said that he estimates 80 percent of his patients that are rescue dogs are ones that originated in a Southern state; but he sees no difference in illnesses or diseases carried by dogs from the South or a dog from down the road.

“I don’t see any unusual medical problems,” said Dr Mixon, who worked in Florida for ten years, prior to taking over the Route 25 clinic six years ago. “The reality is, dogs that are really sick down South are already dead. A dog that is really sick is not going to survive the transport north, for one thing. Most dogs with bad diseases aren’t going to be shipped north,” said Dr Mixon.

He did advise that a new dog, from any source, should be checked out by a person’s own veterinarian, before bringing it home. Other pets in the home must be properly vaccinated, as well, said Dr Mixon. Beware of dogs with a cough, nasal discharge, sneezing, diarrhea, vomiting, or mange.

Generally, though, his experience is that rescue dogs from the South are no more likely to carry unknown pathogens or other diseases than any other rescue dog.

“I think that the animals need a home. I think if people up here can give them a good home, that’s a good thing,” Dr Mixon said.

Ms Strand is also concerned for the welfare of hobby breeders who may cease breeding dogs because potential owners are swayed by the sad stories of dogs from kill shelters. Local homeless dogs in shelters, too, are overlooked when cute Southern puppies are available, and where, she asked, are these puppies coming from? “You are given a story, and you don’t really know the truth,” said Ms Strand.

Animal rescue groups driven by dogma, not knowledge of animal husbandry, prevent dogs with serious temperament problems and chronic illnesses from being weeded out through strict no-kill policies. “[Rescue groups] need to operate with a big heart, but be rational,” she said. Often, she sees instances of people who have adopted a long-term project in a troubled dog, which turns out to be more difficult or expensive than anticipated.

More discussion on the no-kill issue, more transparency and self-regulation of rescue and shelter groups would be desirable, said Ms Strand.

Population Control Needed

“We want shelters in the South to solve these problems: spay, neuter, license, and get the populations under control. We want the public educated — don’t let dogs stray. It shouldn’t be the Northern states’ responsibility to solve the Southern states’ problems,” said Ms Strand.

A successful spay/neuter program in the South would definitely help down the road, said Leyla Nichols. Ms Nichols is the coordinator for the Newtown Animal Center dog rescue program. Having lived in Georgia, though, she doubts she will see that in her lifetime.

“The problem is, even with a mobile van offering free services, people don’t take the time to bring the dogs in. There has to be a concern for the issue for it to be solved,” said Ms Nichols.

She is aware that rescue groups are criticized by some for bringing in dogs from the South. Why help those dogs when local homeless dogs need help, is a question she fields regularly.

“Most dogs in the Northeast in shelters are pit bulls, and they have a reputation,” she said. However unjustified she feels that may be, people want “ a small, fluffy dog” or one that will not create landlord or insurance issues. So far as Southern dogs displacing local shelter dogs, Ms Nichols said, “If there are not enough adoptable dogs available, people may turn to the alternate route, and find they are supporting puppy mill breeders. I’m not talking about responsible breeders or specific breed rescue places. But if you go to Craigslist and see someone listing four or five different breeds of puppies, at one phone number, you can bet this is not responsible breeding.”

The Animal Center brings up only about eight dogs a month from the South, and Ms Nichols networks only with the group from the shelter she worked in. “I know the people evaluating the dogs and know the vets. You can bring in a dog willy-nilly from the South and not know what you’re getting. It’s all about trust. If I didn’t have specific trust with this group, I probably wouldn’t do this. My dogs come up healthy,” she said.

Importing Disease

Southern dogs from unreliable sources can bring diseases with them, she said, and that is one reason she supports Connecticut House Bill 5368, passed last October, that demands anyone importing dogs be registered, and allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to inspect any imported animal or required records, among other regulations.

“It’s an additional cost and workload, but I know why they did it. If it puts a dent in addressing the problems [of unscrupulous importers], I don’t think it’s bad,” she said.

Meli Hibner founded Green Fur Kidz rescue program in 2011. The Newtown woman rescues dogs from the Southeast and Northeast that are hours away from being euthanized. “We are strictly a foster home based group,” she said, “and my little rescue has probably brought up only ten dogs in the past three months,” she said.

Green Fur Kidz works with shelters that she has signed up with, which need to place dogs that will otherwise be put down. She has not visited these shelters, but said that her associate, Jill Lindsey, southeastern manager for Green Fur Kidz, has seen some of the shelters.

“Our dogs get a behavioral test. I won’t take dogs with a bite or temper background, and we know before taking them what [medical] problems there are. They are checked by veterinarians — they must be, by Connecticut law,” said Ms Hibner.

She believes that the 2011 law places an unnecessary burden on small animal rescue programs like Green Fur Kidz. “Most rescuers want the dogs to be healthy,” she said, and would ensure that the animals are, before bringing them north. “A very large rescue program,” she said, “could have dogs adopted out that are sick. I do see that, but for rescues where the dogs will be in a foster home right away, I don’t like it,” said Ms Hibner.

She agreed with Ms Nichols that it is the abundance of unpopular breeds in Northeast shelters that makes the Southern dog market attractive, along with the belief that it is ethically correct to save a healthy, friendly dog from certain death.

“A spay/neuter program in the South should be state mandated,” declared Ms Hibner. “But [Southerners] don’t do it. If you change the mentality and get people to do it, it would work, eventually. I would love to see that,” she said.

Educating Owners

Ms Lindsey lives in North Carolina and stressed that education of dog owners in the South is key to solving the dog overpopulation problem. Dog shelters in the South, including the one in Gaston County, N.C., where she works, usually have triple the population of shelters in the North, she said. “I’m not proud of what I have to say of rural Southern communities,” said Ms Lindsey, “but it’s a lackadaisical attitude. There are a lot of uneducated, irresponsible people who own pets. There are counties that provide free clinics and low cost mobile units. But even when people adopt and are given a voucher for free spaying or neutering, they just ignore it. A pet has little significance, and is not considered a family member,” she said.

She said that it is true that unscrupulous rescue groups exist, eager to snap up any dogs they can and sell them in the North. “It’s all about the money,” she said. Shelters in the South are so overpopulated, understaffed, and poor that there is no adoption screening process. Anyone associated with a rescue group can pull from the shelters and then sell to anyone, anywhere in the country.

Is it ethical to ship dogs to Northern shelters and rescues? Yes, said Ms Lindsey. “When you think you saved a life. You send it north or it dies,” she said.

“[The issue of whether or not to import Southern dogs] is hard to address,” Ms Nichols admitted. “If we’re able to [rescue dogs from the South] are we morally responsible to do so? Are we doing the right thing? For now,” she said, “yes, until we can change opinions of people about the breeds that are available here and the attitudes of the South.”