Please read this.Makes a lot of sense.



After seeing your article "5 questions about rescued dogs" (Monitor Local & State page, June 13), I had to write.

I worked at and managed boarding kennels for 17 years. I've been training dogs since 1989. I was involved with dog rescue for nearly 10 years personally and up until 2006 dealt with many different rescue groups from all over New England.

There is a fallacy that there are no adoptable dogs in New England and that southern dogs are better. This is simply not true.

Most New England states have excellent spay/neuter programs. New Hampshire has a wonderful one. This means that there are fewer (not none, but fewer) random bred pups available through papers or in shelters. This is a good thing. Most southern states do not have such good programs; their shelters are overrun with litters because almost no dogs are spayed or neutered.

This does not mean that there are thousands of empty shelters in New England. However people may have to wait a little while before the perfect dog is available for adoption. But instead of waiting, people have jumped on the southern import dog trend.

Why is this bad? Don't these dogs need homes?

Any time you bring up hoards of dogs from other parts of the country, you bring along illnesses and parasites we do not have here. I have seen many dogs with strange and highly contagious upper respiratory illnesses and skin infections. I have seen heartworm positive dogs and whipworm infestations.

Many of the mandatory health certificates to import these dogs are a joke. Sometimes the vets barely even look at the dogs they are signing certificates for! It is no wonder many of the vets I talk to are in agreement that this mass importation is bad. These vets are treating illnesses they may have never seen in 30 years of practice.

Worse yet, the majority of these dogs and pups have never had a temperament evaluation. They have never spend the 14 days minimum in a foster home that good rescues require. Who knows how these dogs will turn out?

I have seen horrific illnesses affect several kennels that hold dogs for rescue groups that ship in dogs. I have seen hundreds of dollars spend on dogs that have gotten ill from exposure to these dogs. I have seen people's kids bitten by some of the adults shipped up. I have seen groups ship up whole truckloads of dogs and adopt them right off the truck with no quarantine or holding period.

I have seen some healthy, happy dogs and adopters also, but these mass importations are a tremendous risk to the health of the New England dogs.

One solution: People who want to help these dogs should donate money instead and send groups South to perform spay/neuter and vaccination clinics.

For the people who want a puppy now: Take a breath, be patient and chose a local pup who will not endanger the health of other dogs or your kids. The importation of southern dogs may help some individuals, but it is a tragedy waiting to happen for New England dogs as a whole.

(Diane Richardson lives in Unity.)