Homeward Bound Rescue
Fundraising Donation | Article by: Cindy Cherry
www.HomewardBoundRescue.ca is one of those specialized rescue groups that focuses on rescuing breeds that seem to have a common denominator. When you see consistent problems in certain breeds, I believe you can “stereotype”, these breeds, which is very politically incorrect to do these days. Homeward Bound’s intent is to educate and rescue Brachycephalic or as you may know them as, “flat faced” breeds. These man made breeds have a tendency for cherry eye, entropion, tight tail, heart mummers, dry eye, chronic ear infections, food allergies, cruciate repair, heat exhaustion, bloat/torsion, and these are to name but a few of their problems, plus their snoring is unbelievable. As I, Cindy Cherry have said to people in the past that tell me they are going to “buy” (not adopt) a pug , (FYI: I don’t get on my high horse and tell them why they should adopt cause I know they have their heart set on a cute puppy) I just say, “man, you must be really rich, cause I know vets that have put their children through college on what people pay them to fix pugs!” I believe most take this as compliment that I think they’re rich.
So here is a Cindy Cherry recommendation if you are going to buy a dog. Don’t ask a person who has a specific breed, “are they a breed for me?” For if they own a Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier , they will tell you SCWT’s are the best dog in the world. Ask a cocker spaniel owner if you should get one, and they will tell you they are the best breed. My father once told me, when I was going to be a commentator at a dog show of all things., he said, “Remember Cindy, everyone thinks their duck is a swan”. No truer words were ever said. If you want an unbiased feedback on certain breeds ask a vet, groomer, or shelter assistant. It’s these people that see consistent patterns of certain breeds. For instance, I, groomed dogs for 15 years, plus I’ve worked in vet clinics, kennels, zoos, racetracks, and pet stores. So people ask me all the time, what dog would you recommend? I always give them a frank answer, something that people blinded by their love of a certain breed might not tell them. For instance if a person asked me about Golden’s, I’d say, “nice dog, but you had better want to eat and sleep dog hair”. The truth hurts. Am I biased about Bull Terriers? Yes, in fact I tell people don’t buy them, especially if they are your first dog. I used to have a “go to” breed that I would recommend without any hesitation because it meant all the criteria that are important to me as a dog owner such as, minimum grooming, hardly any shedding, rarely had eye, anal, skin, or ear problems, basically a very low maintenance dog. This was the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, AKA “the nanny dog”. They could be satisfied to be a little old lady’s lapdog in an apartment, or the Crodile Hunter’s dog. Ohhh…, one problem now though, Ontario banned them in 2005.
If you’d like a list of these type of dogs, you have to go no further than Air Canada’s list of dogs that they will not ship in cargo. Click here, to see their very extensive list of not only brachycephalic dogs but other animals with similar type faces. Remember folks, this is all due to selective breeding to get these flat noses. I am sure at one time there was a point to these pushed in faces. One such reasoning is when using a Bull Dog for bull and/or bear baiting, the theory was when the dog chomped down on an animal, the blood would not go down the dog’s nose and throat, and thus the grip could be held on for long periods of time. This was, and in some places still is, a highly effective form of entertainment for some very warped people. Today, I really can’t come up with a probably reason why they breed dog and cats with such pushed in faces. I guess cause some people think this cute and this is their preference.
I know I will get negative feedback in my stereotyping these breeds. I will take the hit, if it means people will start adopting these breeds, instead of inducing breeders to breed more of them.
So it was with much pleasure that Homeward Bound gave this Foundation the opportunity to donate to their fundraising efforts, for I know there are a lot of pushed in face dogs out there, especially now since French Bulldogs and Pugs have become so popular.