Shelter dogs need homes

A dog named Jubilee — who was apparently left at a shelter by a breeder because her “weird” eyes made it hard to sell her — has stolen the internet’s collective heart. Jubilee’s story has a happy ending — she was adopted by people who love her for who she is, not how she looks — but not all victims of the breeding industry are so lucky.

Jubilee’s perpetually surprised facial expression is due to a congenital condition, which, according to her rescuers, doesn’t cause her any other problems. But many purebreds suffer from serious, and even deadly, congenital defects due to inbreeding, such as heart disease, epilepsy, and hip dysplasia. Many dogs struggle to walk, run, and even breathe normally due to being bred for distorted physical features, such as bulldogs’ flattened faces and dachshunds’ abnormally stretched spines.

Dogs don’t care whether their appearance conforms to someone’s arbitrary idea of “beauty,” yet they are the ones who suffer the consequences of breeders tinkering with their genetics. And every new puppy a breeder produces means one less home for a pup in a shelter who desperately needs to be adopted.

If you’re ready to love and care for an animal for life, please reduce the likelihood of your companion suffering from breeding-related health problems and give an animal a second chance at life and love, by adopting a healthy mutt from your local shelter — and be sure to have your new friend spayed or neutered.

— Lindsay Pollard-Post, The

PETA Foundation