How We Treat Pets in America

Soap box time!! -- I walk dogs at a local shelter. There is not a common breed that doesn't find it's way through our doors at some point during the year. Sure, you might not end up with a "certified" purebred that's going to win a dog show (do you really want one of those for your family anyway?), but with almost certainty, I can guarantee that you can find what you're looking for at a local shelter.<p>There is almost no reason to "buy" a dog -- the shelters are overcrowded, and the odds are good you can find what you want regarding breed/temperament if you're patient. Responsible shelters will find you the right dog if you tell them what you're looking for.

Somewhat ironic to find this post two links above the one about lab rats getting tortured for "science". I guess rats are uglier.

<i>Very</i> happy to see this on HN. I have never understood why people are willing to purchase dogs. Between the conditions of large-scale breeders and the amount of animals waiting in shelters, it's just absurd.

Funny this comes out, when only last week this research was released <a href="http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10498" rel="nofollow">http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=1049...</a> "Neutering, and the age at which a dog is neutered, may affect the animal’s risk for developing certain cancers and joint diseases" It is also worth checking out Nathan Winograd, who is campaigning to make ALL shelters in America no-kill. It is worth looking at the statistics and reasons why shelters kill animals in their care, as most often, it is not simply that there are not enough homes. <a href="http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=10627" rel="nofollow">http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=10627</a>

Sorry to be "that guy" but "dog days" has nothing to do with a summertime culling of stray dogs. It has to do with the "Dog Star", Sirius: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_days" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_days</a><p>This is a good article, and puppy mills (and the general unnaturalness of many dog breeds) are something more people should know about.

&#62; These breeders can raise their dogs in idyllic conditions of sunny farms, financed by the high premium placed on purebreds.<p>That sounds logical, but from my talking to various breeders it just isn't reality. They claim to barely break even or even lose money, despite charging ~$1000 per dog. Most of them seem to have other income that supplements their hobby.<p>Good breeders are motivated by love of the breed and not by money (which, to be fair the article pointed out).

Neutering in rats slightly increases lifespan of the animal. If this could be proven in dogs/cats, etc. as a more general biological phenomenon I think it'd be a great selling point for the procedure to new pet owners.<p>Who doesn't want their new pet to live longer?<p><a href="http://www.ratbehavior.org/Neutering.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.ratbehavior.org/Neutering.htm</a>

I volunteer as a canine friend at the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society and it kills me to know that for every one of the dogs that they save (no kill policy), many other dogs who are just as sweet are put down.<p>I've been volunteering there for a year and have never had a problem with a dog. Their population is almost exclusively pitbulls and they've all been great.<p>I started freelancing a few months ago and my first client was <a href="http://www.wagaroo.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.wagaroo.com</a> The site is built with rails and ember.js. It's very MVP right now and any feedback is appreciated.<p>They just got started and are only working with shelters and rescues for now. Their ultimate plan is to include responsible breeders and fight the puppy mills but they are taking their time in order gain understanding and to find the best way to make it happen.

This is a great priceonomics post (your blog is amazing, second only to the old OKCupid blog!)<p>I feel kind of bad for wanting a purebred cat now, vs. a shelter cat, but I'll probably do it anyway (the breeder is someone I know, and probably loses $1-2k on each kitten since it's just a hobby for a rich spouse, etc.) Russian Blues seem worth it. I'm considering taking an ex show cat instead of a kitten, though.

Anyone have numbers on the total number of pets in the US? Or on the number of natural deaths each year? It's hard to contextualize these numbers without understanding the overall population.

I've never really used their product, but the priceonomics blog is excellent. Complete, thorough, deeply researched and well written. Kudos!

I thought this article was going to be about the $52 billion a year Americans spend on pets.

It is worth noting that the campaign to make spaying and neutering required has also done considerable harm. Puppies are often spayed and neutered as young as 6 weeks, despite the numerous health problems associated with the practice. Even the standard 6 months causes significant increases in a number of health problems. We need to stop punishing our pets based on the notion that if we don't get them fixed early, they will breed via magic or spores or something of the sort. You can in fact prevent your dog from having sex with other dogs.