Oprah show

[juliepoudrier]

Mary,

For the average human, it's not bad, but when you're an entity like AKC, which makes $$ off the registration of purebred dogs, then the more purebred dogs being produced and registered, the more $$ AKC makes. It matters not to them where these puppies come from, what matters is the numbers, and puppy mills satisfy that requirement. They allow impulse purchases at pet stores, and even if they don't realize it, those new owners have supplied $$ to AKC for the registration of their puppies. In other words, greater regulation, or doG forbid, complete shutdown, of puppy mills would cost the AKC a great deal of $$. And although they claim that dogs are what they exist for, the fact is, the organization exists to make $$. I'm sure you already knew that though. (And do you remember the brouhaha over AKC's plans to affiliate with a pet store, which were withdrawn only after huge protests by their members?)

 

J.

[MaryP]

Well, it's pathetic that they feel the need to abandon any ethics they may claim to have just to protect any future profits. It IS possible to make money and still maintain some sort of ethical standard. But, I guess the AKC hasn't achieved that level of enlightenment, yet.

[juliepoudrier]

Yep, definitely pathetic, but I think it's quite common among corporations of all sorts to ultimately let greed override ethical standards. I think what happens is that when organizations get big enough, they lose something of their humanity and before you know it, making money, pretty much at all costs, is the one driving factor for their existence. That's kind of cynical, but I think it's fairly accurate. The effect over time has been that at least in some sectors, investors and even consumers have pushed companies to be more ethical, and in some cases they have been successful. That's why you can now choose to invest in mutual funds, for example, that include only ethical companies (I'm going senile and forget the word for it)--companies that have clear concern for the human condition where they do business or for the environment. The real shame is that companies seem to have to choose to be ethical, which can then be used as a selling/marketing point, when it would be nice if that were automatic.

 

J.

[nancy in AZ]

That's why you can now choose to invest in mutual funds, for example, that include only ethical companies (I'm going senile and forget the word for it)--companies that have clear concern for the human condition where they do business or for the environment. The real shame is that companies seem to have to choose to be ethical, which can then be used as a selling/marketing point, when it would be nice if that were automatic.

 

J.

 

 

Yes, well they often hide behind the "we're beholden to our stock holders" banner. I think the term you were looking for w/r/t/ mutual fund companies is "socially responsible". There's actually one that has had very respectable returns. It has outperformed the S&P for the last 1,3 and 5 yr periods. More proof that one is not required to sacrifice total return for ethical responsibility.

[Shoofly]

I just wanted to point out something folks might not realize about the ABCA. As most of us know, ABCA has expelled a few folks in the last couple of years for different offenses in registering dogs - Swafford etc. What people might not know is that ABCA has taken a hit in revenues in the last year or two, most likely as a result of this very action. How's that for putting your money where your mouth is? I say "hear, hear" for ABCA!

[juliepoudrier]

Just finished watching and thought it was a great show. She plugged shelters, but also if you must have a puppy, go to a responsible breeder, and most importantly, make sure you see the breeding dogs and how they are kept. I don't see how anyone could complain about the show. It certainly wasn't as graphic as I expected....

 

J.

[mbc1963]

I agree, Julie. I switched channels when they went into the euthansia room - I really don't need that in my dreams tonight. But I think she mixed sadness and hope, and the expose wasn't nearly as graphic as some of the YouTube videos I've seen about this.

 

Mary

[kate40541]

I couldn't watch it but I really didn't think it would be what Mr. Yates claimed it would be. Glad to know Oprah did a good job with it.

 

Suzanne

[Bo Peep]

I just finished watching it also. The only thing I disagreed about was the comparison between internet advertising and puppy mills. There are some wonderful breeders that advertise on their websites. The euthanasia process is exactly like it was shown on TV. Very sad. I thought the show was wonderful and don't know what the big fuss was about. Apparently, they reacted before watching the show.

[bcnewe2]

I thought it was tatesfully done, which is important so that viewers keep watching. I wish the puppy mills would have really been shown in the manner that they are truly ran in. I think the ones shown were really not the bottom of the barrel but again, people would probably tune out if they saw the real horrors out there.

I was dissapointed that ACK was allowed to state anything. They forgot to mention that those horrible puppymill puppies can come with ACK regs.

 

My DH watched and thought the beginning was over the top with ther tribute to Sophie, he brought up the big Ellen D. thing and thought it was staged. I think it was truely how she felt, and know I teared up a bit at different parts so why not Oprah.

If it educates even a few of the general public masses on where their cute puppies in the pet shop windows come from then it was a good thing.

 

Kristen

[notailabigail]

I'm studying for exams so didn't watch the whole Oprah show. Just had to say that the segment on the "Lange Foundation" in LA - that is the rescue Abby came from and I've been volunteering there for years.

[Eileen Stein]

That was the first Oprah Winfrey show I've ever seen. I thought it was a good job. What it showed was fully consistent with what I've personally seen in puppy mills. I'm sure she has a HUGE audience, and therefore this reached zillions more people than we could ever reach with essentially the same very important message.

 

The Yates piece was an embarrassment.

[Redbirdie]

I just finished watching it also. The only thing I disagreed about was the comparison between internet advertising and puppy mills. There are some wonderful breeders that advertise on their websites. The euthanasia process is exactly like it was shown on TV. Very sad. I thought the show was wonderful and don't know what the big fuss was about. Apparently, they reacted before watching the show.

 

 

In my opinion they weren't talking about this http://www.machdiva.com/

and this http://bordersmith.blogspot.com/ as much as they were talking about these:

http://puppydogweb.com

http://www.nextdaypets.com/directory/dogs/sale/

http://www.puppyfind.com/

 

 

Robin

[ShoresDog]

Gosh, doesn't "nextdaypets" say it all? Haven't watched the show yet, but I DVR'ed it so I will later. My hope is that the anti-puppy-mill message gets out as widely as possible, and that people understand the connection with pet shop puppies and internet "next day" puppies. Just maybe -- someday in our dreams -- she'll expose the AKC!

[MaryP]

My DH watched and thought the beginning was over the top with ther tribute to Sophie, he brought up the big Ellen D. thing and thought it was staged. I think it was truely how she felt, and know I teared up a bit at different parts so why not Oprah.

 

Why would he think that was staged? That was her dog for like 14 years. I doubt she was faking her feelings, especially since she dedicated a show to her dog.

 

We DVR'd it and watched it tonight. I thought it was tastefully done. Even the euth scene was watchable - heart wrenching, but watchable. Whether you are an Oprah fan or not, she is one of the most influential people around. I hope this show makes the impact that I think it was intended to make.

[bcnewe2]

I think cause he's not a fan of hers and he really didn't understand who Sophie was. All I had to do was remind him what it was like to lose his heart dog, he shut-up and let me watch the rest. He's put off by the celebrity of it all.

 

I totally agree that she is one of the most influential people out there in TV land. I think she's doing a great job of trying to use that for good.

[painted_ponies]

Good for Oprah!

 

I thought she did a nice job of avoiding controversy that wasn't essential to her big message, i.e. don't buy a pup from a pet store or a web site" (which I think is different from saying responsible kennels don't advertise on websites - she just said don't buy from someone who advertises pups for sale on-line IIRC).

 

She nicely avoided MSN (I kept looking to see if Wayne Pacelle was wearing a shock collar to keep him off that topic. ).

 

I reckon somebody clued her in that puppy mill pups can come with AKC registrations, and that's why the AKC was limited to a short somewhat ambivalent-sounding statement set off from the rest of the show. How did y'all think that came across? Did it sound as though AKC eligibility=responsibly bred pup? Or did it sound as though AKC was reluctant to get behind the show's message? Anyway, if people will stop buying from pet stores and on-line then I don't suppose the registry really matters. To this issue, anyway.

 

I'm thrilled with the show. Oprah has an incredible amount of influence - something hard for many of us to understand, but remember how beef sales plummeted after her mad cow disease show? I almost want to go find a pet store and eavesdrop around the puppy display today. I bet she's had quite an impact.