DvDud1
Dave Mac
I can't believe this thread got the mileage that it did. We're talking about a dog...right? Who really cares what the dog pedigree is? it's got to be a lovable dog...just like most dogs are. Hey I'm about as conservative as it comes...but I have to give a pass on Obama on this one.
Having said that, I find it kind of curious that Barry was so vein that he had to name it...BO/B.O., like that's fooling anyone but maybe his kids.
Obama dropped the ball on this one, for several reasons.
For one thing, he PLEDGED to adopt a shelter dog, a "rescue". There are too many abandoned animals being put down simply because they're stray-Obama should have stuck with his pledge and set a good example.
And after all...a pledge IS a promise.
BUT...the Obamas, like all too many people out there, went for a particular "designer breed" that's currently popular in their circle, and they broke their pledge to bring home a shelter rescue in favor of bringing home a Kennedy dog instead.
Instead of setting the example that it's important to make the effort to look around the shelters out there for a suitable pet, Obama sent the message that it's OK to adopt a designer doggy like he's Paris Hilton or something, and to hell with all the animals who need loving homes to keep them from living in shelters or, in the majority of cases, being euthanized simply beacuse there are too many.
And-now Portugese Water Dogs are gonna be in demand, they'll be the new "in" breed for some time to come. People will pay big bucks for them, and guess where the supply will come from to meet the demand?
In a staggering number of cases, from puppy mill breeders.
You can bet that the puppy mill people are creaming their jeans right now...I absolutely guarantee you that will be the next big thing for all the puppy mill breeders out there...and Obama made it happen.
But he's probably just ignorant of all that...right? I mean, not everyone knows about puppy mills and their cruel practices...
Well, Obama SHOULD know all about it...when he was running for election, he publicly met with a lady named Jana Kohl, who is an author and activist against puppy mill breeders, and he made noise about being sympathetic to her cause...Obama even took advantage of a photo-op and was photographed holding "Baby", Kohl's dog, who is a 3-legged puppy mill survivor and a nationally recognized "poster dog" AGAINST puppy mills and FOR humane adoption.
In the grand scheme of things, Obama breaking his promise on this issue won't destroy the nation but it DOES send a bad message...and it WILL bolster the economy for puppy mill breeders who move quickly to start cranking out Portugese Water Dogs for all the idiots who are gonna just HAVE to have one, whereas Obama COULD have set the trend for those same idiots to do the RIGHT thing and adopt thru local animal shelters.
Of course puppy mill breeders will overbreed as they tend to do, and alot of litters will be left to live out their brief, cruel lives in dirty, cold cages, but the breeders will still make big bucks because they've learned how to keep costs down-don't waste money providing any but the absolute barest of care for your stock, and if you're overstocked-kill the surplus...or just let 'em starve to death.
Obama broke a promise...and for alot of animal rights organizations out there that are trying very hard to promote adoption for abandoned pets and puppy mill rescues, it was an important promise.
But hey, what the hell...he got a KENNEDY dog.
It'll serve him right if that dog drinks all his scotch, humps his daughters, and then pukes all over the floor and passes out.