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Doc in the dog house


Dear Dr. Forsythe:
I read your weekly column and always find it interesting and informative. But wow, your column last Friday really blew me away. I felt incredibly sorry for “Will visiting from Oakland”. You were extremely harsh and sarcastic towards him and I felt embarrassed just reading it. This person did not adopt Peggy Madge on a “whim”. He was trying to save this poor dog’s life. Most rescue operations and shelters will not adopt this type of dog to just anyone. They had already spent $2,000 in medical treatment for her and he probably felt she was, for an 11 year old dog, good to go for a bit. Then, having spent $1,800 himself, realized she needed more care than he could afford. Everyone is hurting economically now and instead of applauding him for his effort, you ridiculed him.
This kind of response in your column shows a lack of compassion on your part that I strongly feel this poor guy did not deserve. I am afraid it will also prevent others from trying to take on the more problematic adoptions because the expectation to do the right thing at all costs will scare them off. You know what the alternative is: euthanasia. I can’t imagine what you were thinking when you wrote your response. I really hope you have had second thoughts about how you dealt with this.

Sandy B.


Dear Sandy:
Thanks for writing in, sounds like I really “bombed it” big time in my response to Will. I should have been kinder and thanked him for trying to help a pet in need. Instead, I apparently was all “jacked up” in my response and didn’t convey much kindness or understanding. Well, I’m officially stating for the record that I do think it was nice of him to help a Bulldog in need—and I’m sorry if I seemed crass or rude.

Dr F

Dear Dr. Forsythe: In response to the person who wrote in about brothers and sisters mating, what would their babies look like if they DID produce offspring? Would they be born funky?

Monica
Sonoma


Dear Monica:
When in-breeding occurs, the incidence of malformations and birth defects increases dramatically. I refer to the movie “Deliverance” which depicted horrifically this situation with people in the Appalachian Mountain region. In dogs and cats, the situation is often shrouded as “line breeding” and done more deliberately to maintain certain desirable traits in show dogs, such as massive head size in bulldogs or a perfect top-line in a Chinese pug. Usually in such cases a male dog is bred to his grand-daughter or great niece as opposed to a brother-sister. Commonly, when incest occurs in the animal community, soft tissue birth defects become very noticeable: cleft-palates, “water-babies” and other serious birth defects. Other defects such as heart and liver malformations become more common leading veterinarians to recommend sterilization of siblings who are going to be in close proximity. That way, you won’t have unwanted or “funky” puppies or kittens!
Thanks for an interesting question.

Dr. F

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