ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2007-07-31 08:55 am
ladysprite) wrote2007-07-31 08:55 am
Taking An Idea WAY Too Far
In my job as a veterinarian, I am privileged to come across many wonderful animals, including fascinating different breeds of dogs and cats. And while I'll always be a fan of mutts at heart, I'll admit to having a soft spot for some particular dog breeds. Gordon Setters, for example. And pugs. And, much as I hate to admit it, Boston terriers. And, much as it galls me, I've been doing my best to bite my tongue and not gripe too much about the latest trends in designer mixed-breed dogs.
Golden-doodles. Labradoodles. Puggles. Buggles. Cockapoos, peka-poos, chi-poos, schnoodles, uri-peis, and just about any other genetic mishmosh that the pet stores can hang a cutesy name and a four-figure price tag on. They come marching through my door, usually carried by fresh-faced novice pet owners just shining through with pride of ownership for their designer purebred. And I'm not going to help anything by raining on their parade and explaining that they just spent a small fortune on a glorified mutt. But now it's becoming ridiculous.
A client brought their husky in recently, I can't remember why, and while we were making small talk I mentioned that when I was growing up I had a dog that was half husky, half golden retriever. The client looked at me with sudden awe, and exclaimed that he had seen those dogs on the internet, and weren't they really expensive, and new, and how I must have been on the cutting edge back then!
I had to break it to him gently that, no, Rocky was not a designer dog, but instead the product of a Romeo and Juliet-style star-crossed romance between the show dogs of two neighbors, one who bred Huskies, one who bred Goldens, and who were foolish enough to separate them by only a chain-link fence. Mama dog was sent to the canine equivalent of a convent for two months, the puppies were hushed up and given away through anonymous ads, and neither family ever spoke of that event again.
But then I stopped, and figured that the client had to be teasing me. There's a limit to how far this designer craze will go, right?
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Goberian.
Stop the madness. Adopt a mutt, call it a mutt, love it, and revel in the fact that you can still afford medical care for it instead of spending a thousand dollars on something with a goofy made-up name and a questionable history....
*Edited to add: Of course, no offense intended to anyone who owns a designer mixed-breed, especially purpose-bred ones like my personal favorite patient, Brodie - I will be the first to admit that labradoodles make marvelous service dogs. But as pets-only.... they're awfully pricey status symbols.
Golden-doodles. Labradoodles. Puggles. Buggles. Cockapoos, peka-poos, chi-poos, schnoodles, uri-peis, and just about any other genetic mishmosh that the pet stores can hang a cutesy name and a four-figure price tag on. They come marching through my door, usually carried by fresh-faced novice pet owners just shining through with pride of ownership for their designer purebred. And I'm not going to help anything by raining on their parade and explaining that they just spent a small fortune on a glorified mutt. But now it's becoming ridiculous.
A client brought their husky in recently, I can't remember why, and while we were making small talk I mentioned that when I was growing up I had a dog that was half husky, half golden retriever. The client looked at me with sudden awe, and exclaimed that he had seen those dogs on the internet, and weren't they really expensive, and new, and how I must have been on the cutting edge back then!
I had to break it to him gently that, no, Rocky was not a designer dog, but instead the product of a Romeo and Juliet-style star-crossed romance between the show dogs of two neighbors, one who bred Huskies, one who bred Goldens, and who were foolish enough to separate them by only a chain-link fence. Mama dog was sent to the canine equivalent of a convent for two months, the puppies were hushed up and given away through anonymous ads, and neither family ever spoke of that event again.
But then I stopped, and figured that the client had to be teasing me. There's a limit to how far this designer craze will go, right?
Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you the Goberian.
Stop the madness. Adopt a mutt, call it a mutt, love it, and revel in the fact that you can still afford medical care for it instead of spending a thousand dollars on something with a goofy made-up name and a questionable history....
*Edited to add: Of course, no offense intended to anyone who owns a designer mixed-breed, especially purpose-bred ones like my personal favorite patient, Brodie - I will be the first to admit that labradoodles make marvelous service dogs. But as pets-only.... they're awfully pricey status symbols.
no subject
I used to know someone who had a German Shepherd/St. Bernard cross, and he was a beautiful dog -- got his size and personality from the St. Bernard side, and his markings and lack of drool from the Shepherd. If I wasn't very well aware that hybrids don't breed true, I might have been tempted to look for one like him.
Another friend of mine had a beagle/Weimariner cross; that one was also a breeder's accident. The mind boggles to think that they're selling animals like this as "purebreds", when this is exactly what they're NOT!
no subject
I hate to even think of a time without Brodie, but since one of my partners is allergic, my next guide dog will also be a labradoodle. (Brodie is not hypoallergenic by any means, and she does shed, but she's a hell of a lot easier for my SO to deal with than, say, a golden retriever). Interestingly, my school refuses to call them that, and just calls them "lab-poodle crosses", or "LPs" for short. If someone asks if she's a doodle, I say yes, because hey, I call my tissues Kleenex, even though they're PUffs. It's just easier. :)
no subject