Lately there's been an emotional outburst in Dubai residents completely missing the mark on the actual cause of an important problem, hating dog sellers / breeders has become the hottest social trend in facebook.
Let’s start with the legitimate problem: each year, unwanted, stray or otherwise neglected animals are taken in by local animal shelters, and sadly, half of them must be euthanized for lack of an appropriate home. As an animal lover in general these shocking stats break my heart.
Since most of us can agree that euthanizing companion animals each year is morally unacceptable, the question naturally becomes “what do we do about it.” To answer that question, of course, we have to understand the root causes of pet overpopulation.
The obvious answer to an overpopulation of dogs is that sellers sell too many dogs, right? And if so, then dog sellers are obviously the problem, and should be shunned by a responsible society. There are only a handful of Reputable breeders in Dubai , so are they responsible too for this overpopulation ?
Quoting Lee Corso: “Not so fast, pet lovers!” The above answer, though it apparently has become the rallying cry misses the point on many levels.
Most issues of an imbalance in supply can be evaluated most completely by going back to basic economic principles… sometimes the most elegant solution is indeed the simplest. In this case, we have an imbalance in the supply/demand equation for dogs – too many dogs supplied, apparently, relative to the quantity demanded.
So where do these “extra” dogs come from? If you listen to the “I hate dog sellers” crowd, the oversupply problem is a simple factor of people wanting to buy dogs from pet shops rather than simply adopting dogs from shelters.
In other words, in a survey of animal shelters across Dubai , only 8% of dogs surrendered to animal shelters came from pet shops and none came from reputable breeders… The vast majority came from much more logical sources, if you think about it.
These are the statistics that cause more concern
Dogs surrendered were from offspring of another pet in possession of the relinquisher, otherwise know as I-didn’t-know-that-animals-can-have-babies-before-their-first-birthday-it is.
Dogs surrendered were obtained from a friend, otherwise know as my-female-dog-got-knocked-up-by-the-male-dog-that-lives-next-door-and-can-you-take-a-puppy disease, but sometimes known as the I’m-moving / have-a new-baby / just-got-a-new-job-and-I-need-to-get-rid-of my-pet-can-you-take-it syndrome.
Dogs were obtained from another shelter, also known as I-knew-this-pet-had-behavioral-problems-when-I-adopted-it-thought-I-could-handle-it-but now-I-can’t disorder.
Dogs most at risk for relinquishment were of mixed breed heritage, intact, young, owned for less than a year and purchased for less than 4000 aed.
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The problem here, however, is not a question of supply, but rather of demand. Because the store in question obviously believes it can sell said pup at said price, there is, in theory, a demand out there for that pup. In other words, because some number of consumers has acquired a pup for a similar price, there is a demand that must be met.
So what did the data tell us? Less than 10% of dogs surrendered come from pet stores! By even the high end of that estimate, magically wiping away those dogs from the marketplace, we still see thousands of unwanted pets surrendered at shelters, and still see many animals euthanized each year.
The far bigger problem, even bigger than Bob Barker’s rallying cry of everyone having their pets summarily spayed or neutered .A really good idea for a very high percentage of the companion animal population, is the basic reality that more than 90% of dogs surrendered to shelters find themselves up for adoption through what can largely – and bluntly – be described as the basic irresponsibility of their owners.
Those who breed without a thought nor care about the end result – the puppies. These are not “puppy mills.” These are the owners with 1 or 2, or 3 dogs that don’t do health testing (and sometimes don’t even know what that is), who don't study pedigrees, who use “breeding pairs” (yikes) and produce litter after litter of puppies for whom they have no history, and who sometimes barely look like the breed " Irresponsible owners " .
There is one last piece of puzzle that most people overlook - Relocation of their pets.
Moving to a new country with your pet can be a hassle. There are professional pet transportation services available in Dubai. Many people shy away from this simply because of the cost. True that is , its costs around 8000 aed to 15000 aed to relocate a dog. Here's another reason why there are many stranded dogs in the streets.
Shelter dogs, by the way, are great – I have no qualms about adopting a dog from a shelter at all. The challenge for shelters, of course, is the same challenge I’ve outlined above.So yes do give them a chance if u can handle the above.
To me, there are only two responsible places to get a dog: from a shelter, provided you do your due diligence and know fully what you’re getting into when you adopt; or from a reputable seller / breeder. The most important thing when deciding to add a dog to your family is to know what you’re getting! .
I can’t stress this enough , a dog is not a possession, it is a member of the family. You don’t buy a child by going to the local shopping center and swiping your credit card; buying / adopting a dog should be no less of a decision.
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