Rescue Numbers - Curiousity Killed the ...?

Sorry for not posting for a few days - busy times around the holidays! Also, I was asked to start working another dog (there are 5 actually, but I am starting with 1 - they learn in stages and I can only have 1 dog in stage 1 at a time otherwise I couldn't work my full-time paying job!). BYBer GSDs ... nice dogs, but scaredy cats right now - if they're not developed properly, they'll turn into fear biters. They always take more time in the beginning - once they enter stage 2 or 3 I can start looking at working another one.

On October 17, I posted some numbers from petfinder listing the amount of certain breeds available for adoption. I may be odd, but I sometimes wonder how things are going for all those animals and whether or not things are getting better or worse out there (especially when I start working a new dog!). I'm not posting this to depress anyone, but I believe that people should all be aware of the sheer numbers we face out there.

Here are the numbers from that day:
Beagle - 8,106 dogs
Black Lab - 5,197 dogs
Border Collie - 4,794 dogs
Boxer - 5,792 dogs
Chihuahua - 7,895 dogs
Dachshund - 3,888 dogs
German Shepherd - 7,852 dogs
Labrador Retriever - 20,075 dogs
Pitbull Terrier - 9,984 dogs

I chose these 9 breeds because they are the breeds we see most listed in rescue. They have the highest numbers. Why? Probably because most people aren't properly prepared for the high level of maintenance these dogs require.

Here are the updated numbers as of today (2 months later):
Beagle - 7,851 dogs
Black Lab - 4,860 dogs
Border Collie - 4,829 dogs
Boxer - 5,793 dogs
Chihuahua - 7,434 dogs
Dachshund - 3,787 dogs
German Shepherd - 7,504 dogs
Labrador Retriever - 19,845 dogs
Pitbull Terrier - 10,355 dogs

Is that different? Yes, some. The numbers went from 73,583 to 72,258. That's 1325 dogs. That's a lot of dogs! Considering since they often come in just as fast (if not faster) than they get adopted and go out. If the number went down by 1300, we can hope that the dogs are being adopted faster than they are coming in *knock on wood* Let's hope we don't get a resurgence of all those "Holiday" puppies.

I'm going to add 6 other breeds that have high numbers from petfinder.
American Staffordshire Terrier 3,276
Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler 3,212
Australian Shepherd 3,424
Rottweiler 3,535
Shepherd 8,650
Terrier 7,204

Don't forget that some of these dogs will be listed twice due to mixes listed. Anything over 3,000 I have listed - anything less than that I have considered a managable number. That brings our running tally to 101,559.

What does this mean? Spay and neuter your pets people. We don't need any more dogs regardless of how kyoot your poopsie-poo is. Take a note from those dogs in shelters and rescue and remember what breeds they are ... we don't need any more of that breed unless they are super duper dogs (think their parents should be winners of ... SOMETHING other than the kyoot awards!).

If you want to breed your lab (or other) because you feel like it and think you could make some money off it ... think about those 19,845 labs waiting for homes! Maybe you think your children should see the "miracle of life"? Don't you think the owners of their parents didn't think the same? Do you care?

And for everyone else, please remember, don't give an animal this holiday as a gift. If you are going to give something like that, go to the shelter and Sponser an animal! Often, that person you want to give a puppy/dog/kitten/cat to doesn't have one because they don't want one. The dog/cat you buy them will just end up in a shelter so you may as well just sponsor. It would do more good and the person may appreciate it more.