Let's chat about Puppy Mill Free Reno, shall we ? The moniker appeared a few
years ago, and it's local founder, Billy Howard is known as a " character".
What separates Billy from any other "activists" is the fanaticism he seems unable to
control. The fiscal and emotional toll he takes on the lives and families of
others. Please don't get Oreo wrong, we are not
trying to make this personal, it's a free world, but I am writing it because his " movement is
flawed"..... seriously flawed. Below is an example of the animosity his rhetoric instigates..... Very dangerous, from the Puppymill Free Reno FB page.
"Brent Sanada: Let's quit the talking... Puppies Plus is a small business that likely wouldn't survive an awful holiday sales slump. Those of u who have been swindled by PP have the most persuasive voice! Bring your sick dogs and vet records to show perspective buyers outside of the store. Show up EVERY WEEKEND from now till Christmas and it will financially devastate them... Add a little media coverage and this guy is toast! We closed down EVERY Puppy Store in San Diego this way because it led to permanent city ordinances and financial ruin for the store owners. Hammer Down Reno!
Puppy Mill is a derogatory term used to slander commercial breeders, it's a part of the lexicon of language, currently being used by animal rightist to paint the world as a dark and dreary place. Are there horrible places that breed puppies ?? You bettcha, and there are horrid places that breed pigs and horses and even Parrots. Should we work to stop those places ? Absolutely !! Does the anti pet store movement do anything to stop the abuse, nahhhhh. We live in the desert, we are in a drought, would it make sense for Billy Howard to tell you to take out your kitchen faucet? I thought you were smart enough to get that. Silly to even think about isn't it ?
"Brent Sanada: Let's quit the talking... Puppies Plus is a small business that likely wouldn't survive an awful holiday sales slump. Those of u who have been swindled by PP have the most persuasive voice! Bring your sick dogs and vet records to show perspective buyers outside of the store. Show up EVERY WEEKEND from now till Christmas and it will financially devastate them... Add a little media coverage and this guy is toast! We closed down EVERY Puppy Store in San Diego this way because it led to permanent city ordinances and financial ruin for the store owners. Hammer Down Reno!
Puppy Mill is a derogatory term used to slander commercial breeders, it's a part of the lexicon of language, currently being used by animal rightist to paint the world as a dark and dreary place. Are there horrible places that breed puppies ?? You bettcha, and there are horrid places that breed pigs and horses and even Parrots. Should we work to stop those places ? Absolutely !! Does the anti pet store movement do anything to stop the abuse, nahhhhh. We live in the desert, we are in a drought, would it make sense for Billy Howard to tell you to take out your kitchen faucet? I thought you were smart enough to get that. Silly to even think about isn't it ?
Mr. Howard attacked a farm in another state, he never saw the farm, he didn't know the people, nor had Billy seen the conditions at the farm, but they sold " puppies" So, Billy went online and got lots of images, not of THAT farm, but some " he was sure" were representative, and began his attack.
Three " cease & desist" orders later Billy is still chugging on.. That family has 22 adopted handicapped children, Billy has so drained their resources with his frivolous charges, that they no longer can afford medical insurance. Does that seem like the right thing for a man who claims he " Founded Compassionate Washoe County" to do.... Really ?
Mr. Howard is a callous,self-absorbed man who cares nothing about the families and reputations he destroys with his rants. If you have no compassion for your own species, then you have no compassion...... period. I looked at his list of " activism achievements " can we spell wow..., most of that is stuff normal people just do, everyday, because it needs to be done.... I don't believe for a minute he got death threats, ... more fantasies. We used to call people like him " media whores" but that isn't very PC these days, so I will refer to him as " an attention seeking device" He may as well get a " Hey look at me" tattoo right in the middle of his forehead.
In his defense, he is a pawn, a pathetic man caught up ( by his own ego ) in a " market share" war. There is an old proverb that states " When Elephants war, it is the Earth that trembles " In this instance, it is the animals who suffer as the non profits fight for market share, nothing to do with dogs at all....Market Share... people, Market Share.. by forcing private stores to become satellite adoption centers the big 3 Charities ( who are really the ones living off the backs of animals ) transport more animals and sell more food.... Simple , really.. Why do you think they support TNR ?, because dead cats don't eat...
Oreo has been following the Commercial Animal Welfare Ordinance since it's inception, and it's a poorly written thinly veiled attempt to regulate a legitimate business into serving the non-profit industry. The big hook the loons like to hang their agenda on is " puppies are not products".... Well, yes they are, and the public is the consumer. All sorts of living sentient beings are " products" and that is not a bad thing. At Oreo's I don't wear leather, eat meat or anything that would draw a breath, I don't support the fur industry or hunting..... and frankly ; it doesn't bother me if you do. Matthew Scully says it better than I, so I will close with his wonderful quote on Stewardship.....
"Animals are more than ever a test of our character, of mankind's
capacity for empathy and for decent, honorable conduct and faithful
stewardship. We are called to treat them with kindness, not because
they have rights, power or a claim to equality, but in a sense, because
they don't. They all stand unequal and powerless before us."
Mathew Scully
12 comments:
Anybody else have the comment removed if the twit didn't like it ? What a whinner and sleazbag, he makes me think of Winograd and the rest of the save the furbabies crowd. If they really loved animals but they don't. Keyboard warriors.
i got booted Frank, these people are very mental. it's all rhetoric and drama for them. I am going to go to the protest and tape it from the beginning.Last time they followed me and my friends right up to the store front calling us murderers because if we boutgh a puppy a shelter dog would DIE
this bunch just signs petitions all day and none of them have ever been there to the places they attack, animal rightists are the scum of the earth
Excellent article Oreo and time to get the facts straight. I never thought I would say I hated what the animal people have turned into but they are not about animal welfare and that is a fact. My understanding is the Howard has a lot of emotional problems, and so while I feel sorry for him, that doesn't give him the right to screw with everybody else's head. I hope someone stands up and sues this group and further more I hope Washoe County gets a good lawsuit for allowing all of this to happen. Reno can have porn shop and pawn shops, but not puppy shops, seems strange.
Where do these people think shelter dogs come from, the puppy fairy? That all the pitbulls sitting in a shelter are whelped is some warm kitchen, perhaps by a fireplace ?
These shelter dogs are usually born into a home with no money to care for the litter, many litters are accidental and may even be father to daughter. The pups are often bottle raised at the shelter and get none of the nurturing and bite inhibition learned from the mom dog. I own a bottle puppy, she is a doll, she is also a little strange. In her case she came by emergency c-section due to a breech. I don't know what happens to these poor mama dogs who go breech in the poor family that doesn't have the $5,000 for the surgery at an emergency vet clinic. Do they let the Mama die in birth and then take the puppies to the pound? So my girl was raised in the kitchen with a very loving family, but a Mama dog who felt no connection to the litter. Excellent care and all the attention you could ask for, but their are somethings only the Mom dog can instill. Pet store dogs come with a history, you don't have to wonder if they have been returned 10 times for biting. In the actual assessment provided to NHS by Nathan Winograd he encourages them ( NHS ) to lie even more about age, and disposition... and never mention " breed" I have the assessment if anybody cares to argue. So while I advocate for shelter dogs, I dislike the way they are being promoted and set up for failure.... oh just so you don't think NHS is the only misleading shelter, my best friend left SPCA under Tom's lead because as Dog Manager she would not sign off and lie about dogs that had killed other dogs... so please, spare me your crap about puppy mill problems.
Billy Howard is a self Ritious Animal Rights Terriorst! He obviously has ties to ALF and needs to be put behind bars!! Sad for everyone this guy has hurt!
Comparing pet stores to kitchen sinks is an illogical analogy. I think it's important to differentiate good breeders and pet shops, and places that are appropriately called puppy mills. There can be a happy medium where people and pets are healthy and happy. But analogies like that muddy your own rhetoric and make it an "us versus them" situation.
They had 5 people, all looking very pissed off. I've always thought the NHS Santa looked a little crabby, but yesterday he was even more so and the few " honks he did get were from his outfit. He then told some person on his page that I was a puppy miller from Missouri and part of some group " out to get him".. Mental illness is not funny nd i don't make fun of it, but this is a very disturbed man who makes up spur of the moment lies and the foolish believe him. How did he get that I came from Missouri, has Hunter Lake moved there ? How does this crap just fall out of his mouth. I enjoyed helping people select the right dog for them, and was super impressed wit the place.
Michele, the drought problem is in the desert it won't be solved by taking out a faucet in the sink. It will be as resolved as possible by education and restraint. Same with the over abundance of dogs seeking homes. In the old days , ( before No Kill nutjubs came along ) Dogs that were unadoptable were removed through the system, generaly by humane euthanaisia..... by triage at the start of the process, most of the dogs who will be capapble of keeping a home will find one..... I suggest looking at the bar on the right and checking out " Another Very Nice Dog"
I hit enter to soon, sorry Michele :) I guess what I was trying to make clear was the problem is NOT where the puppy or water comes out of, but what is the cause of the problem to begin with. In our case locally I have seen 18 dogs on Craigslist in 2 months that have been adopted at NHS up for new homes, less that 3 weeks after adoption. All were off site " twofers" or big events where people did not go there to get a dog, like a ball game.....
I do not like to see any animal contained or bred in poor conditions, but by spinning away at windmills we are making the problem worse, not better.
Also all these rescues are bring dogs up from the bay area and Southern California, Nevada Transport is bring dogs in by the truck loads and these " out of area" homeless dogs are clogging our shelters and displacing our homeless pets...... being able to stick a few pitbull mixes into a shop window will not cure that.
I would like to know what Michele considers a "good breeder." I have first hand knowledge of many breeding operations in Northern Nevada and have found only 3 that I thought were well run and maintained. Most that I have seen are nothing but sleazy operations run in areas that don't have much animal law enforcement if any at all.
Gayle,
I know there are bad breeders out there but have also had experienced with good breeders. When I was a kid, my family bought a black lab from a breeder in Carson City who had a very nice and clean setup.
More recently, my family has bought two German shepherds from a breeder in Alta, CA. Both parents were on site, healthy, friendly dogs and their facility was excellent. My mother researched carefully before deciding to do business with a breeder.
You say so yourself that there are good breeders in the area, so it sounds like we agree.
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