2025

Do not fear rescues and animal shelters. Fear breeders!

Nova is only a year old. In late December, on a freezing cold day, her “person” tied her to a fence pole and abandoned her in a park. Nova’s face says it all. You gotta love the nose. I haven’t met her, but her fans say she is smart, sweet as pie and ready to go into any home. Did I mention she’s a big cuddler? Go to outofthepits.org for more information. (If my dog Pearl could tolerate the company of other dogs, Nova would be with me.)

I have often felt that when I write about dogs, especially pit bulls, that I might as well be writing about women. We know the reality of subjugation based on looks, gender, and color. And certainly the reality of abuse. What I don’t understand is how we could put a convicted sex abuser in the White House who still boasts about groping women? How difficult is it to give us our due respect? I’m glad Trump doesn’t have a dog or a cat. A small relief—but still a relief.

Let’s stick to dogs.

What triggered me a few weeks ago was a letter in The Washington Post entitled, “How to Stop Judging People Who Buy Purebred Dogs.” The letter writer struggles not to make snap judgements about people who buy dogs instead of adopting them from shelters and rescues. Frankly, I judge them, too. But first, let me say there is nothing inherently wrong with judging people or with purchasing a purebred dog if you are doing so for the right reasons, not purely based on looks, but because you know something about the breed. I will readily admit that Monty, the Giant Schnauzer who recently took Westminster, gave me a moment of longing. He’s gorgeous and well behaved—the two things we all want in any male.

The American Kennel Club has about 200 registered breeds and I frequently find myself flipping through the pages of breed books and admiring them. Breeds do need their fans to survive. If you’ve ever met a Golden Retriever person, a Springer Spaniel person, or a Dachshund person—you know about dedication. These people live for their dogs—and why shouldn’t they? These breeds are not hard to love.

If you are going to use a breeder, just make sure you’re going to a good breeder, one who is not overbreeding, inbreeding, and/or selling dogs with health issues in the line. Unfortunately, breeders found on the web are often the worst because many are simply shilling for puppy mills, whose brokers are all over the Internet, swearing that they do not do business with puppy mills! Still, I might call you an idiot for spending thousands of dollars on a purebred dog, especially if the breeder is dubious and if you have no idea what’s packed into the breed. There are too many Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and Cattle dogs in NYC. What do these dogs do all day in small apartments? They need jobs.

A smart dog person will always check out local shelters and rescues before going to a breeder.

Shelters have always had a poor reputation and many are substandard. But don’t blame this fact on the animals. Just get them out. Why are people so wary to enter shelters? They’re too sad? Too dirty? The dogs are rejects, and therefore somehow broken? These are all wrongheaded assumptions. It’s time to change these attitudes. If you think you can’t live without a poodle—poodle mixes are frequent flyers in shelters. If you want a Labrador retriever, or a Husky, the shelters have many, in all colors. Remember: Most shelter dogs are there because of human foibles—not their own.

Indeed, you can even (and often) find purebreds. Last week, at NYC’s Animal Care and Control’s new Queens shelter, I spotted an Anatolian shepherd, and I learned on FB that a Keeshond was sitting in the Manhattan shelter. Who knew?

So, beware of buying dogs purely for their looks! It’s like buying a house without checking the plumbing. For those of you who depend on photos, deciding, “I must have a Lagotto Romagnolo,” a large dog who looks like an Italian doodle—you are making a big mistake. This is a powerful dog who is not going to sit quietly on the couch while you go off to work. They are beautiful, but not easy.

As for myself, I always go back to pit bulls because they are so damn charming and it’s in their genes.

Mina is a perfect example. She was surrendered to the Berkshire Humane Society at age 9. She is a deaf, pit bull mix who could not be any sweeter. She doesn’t particularly like other dogs and cats, but adores people. All people. Above, she is running the office, behind the scene, at Berkshire Humane.

She has been known to sleep on the job.

Below is an amazing face languishing with Out of the Pits, a rescue in the Albany area that takes mostly pit bulls. I’ve met Clover. She is a genuine beauty on three legs. Turned into OOTP because of a leg injury, this extraordinary rescue vetted the pup, paid for her surgery, put her in a foster home to heal, and there she remains. She is growing up with a terrific foster mom who happens to also be a vet tech. Clover is reported to be a dominant female pup and may need extra socialization with other dogs. But I think that’s a plus. Don’t we all love dominant girls? I do. And as most dog people know, put a male and female pup together —and the girls always take over. That’s just the way it is.

To find out more about what makes Clover tick, go to outofthepits.org