This column will, by some measure, “bite the hand that feeds me.”
With apologies to the Greek poet Sappho who coined the original version of the idiom as early as 600 B.C., what we’re discussing here is the maybe 6-point typeface page published each week in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and the Lewiston Tribune titled as: OUT OF MARKET: Classifieds from the Spokane Exchange and the Coeur d’Alene Nickel’s Worth.
This is a cut and paste from those two publications most people find near the front entrance to a supermarket. On Jan. 27, 83 column inches encompassing 127 dogs-for-sale ads made up the vast majority of the page. It is a curious trend seen often for this section.
Most of the telephone numbers for the pooches on the block are either 208 or 509, as would be expected. There’s also 406 (Montana), 541 (most of Oregon), 206 (western Washington), 253 (Tacoma, Wash.), and 951 (Riverside, Calif.). There are a couple of contact websites and a couple foster solicitations among the 127. And then there is one ad for “desert lynx kittens.”
Desert lynx kittens are said to have been developed by Arlene Magrino in Hood River, Ore. The breed is said to be a, “ … combination of exotic looking cats with a dog-like personality.” The website states that, “In the beginning, I used a mixture of Bobcat, Feral Manx, Maine Coon, American Lynx and Pixie-Bob to create the Desert Lynx.”
I’ve never seen one. I guess it is the dog-like personality that got them into the “dogs” for sale or was it poor editing?
Desert Lynx aside, let’s say 120 ads for multiple dogs — each week! That’s a lot of breeding and is bound to have some dogs going unwanted. Are these ads being vetted in any way? If not, that is likely a problem. Let’s ignore caveat emptor or “buyer beware” for a moment.
You see, many people are concerned over the alleged lack of oversight among social media providers. In some states, laws are proposed to limit what social media providers can allow on their sites and under what conditions must they flag such content as, shall we say, less than journalistic or a “correct” opinion.
So, this brings up a few questions which in today’s column are being borne on the back of dogs for sale. Who vets classified ads like this? And by vet, understand you may be calling a “Montana” number that connects to an illegal puppy mill in say, Missouri.
Many purebred breeds are currently being stolen, too. Remember Lady Gaga’s dogs stolen right off the street from her dog walker?
“Puppy mill” is a catch-all term for commercial breeding operations that mass-produce dogs for sale through pet stores, or directly to consumers through classified ads or the Internet. Some estimates are that 90 percent of puppies in pet stores come from puppy mills. In most states, puppy mills can legally keep hundreds of dogs caged their entire lives, for the sole purpose of puppy production.
Most retailers never see where the animals come from. They assume that the animals are happy and healthy without seeing for themselves.
Do publishers also make this assumption? The puppy mill problem is likely being supported to some degree by re-running these ads across the pages of our local newspapers.
I suggest with as many unwanted dogs as there are languishing in our struggling shelters, TPC Holdings Inc., could do better than reprinting a full 60% of a page in tiny type that tries to sell more dogs from goodness knows where.
Powell is the public information officer for the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, which provides this column as a community service.
