DOES YOUR pooch slouch in the presence of primped and prissy poodles? Whimper if you watch the Westminster Kennel Club show? Lounge under the porch just a little too long?
Then the Pet Savers Foundation may have just the thing for you or, rather, for your dog: A muttigree.
In a quest to fulfill a demand that no one had really sniffed out until now, the group has set up a Web site (www.muttigrees.org) where folks who are partial to mutts can register their pets for free and receive a certificate stating that their dogs are of bona fide mixed or untraceable heritage.
The muttigree is partly designed to tap into the rising popularity of mixed breeds like (shudder) the Labradoodle, a matchmaker's deliberate pairing of a Labrador and a poodle.
But, more importantly, the foundation hopes to raise awareness about the large number of mutts that are euthanized each year because many Americans choose to purchase a pedigree-worthy purebred.
"We want to become somewhat the AARP of mixed-breed dogs," J. John Stevenson, managing director of the foundation, recently told USA Today. "Just as AARP advocates issues relevant to seniors by aggregating a tremendous number of members, we, too, want to channel the voice of 25 million mixed-breed owners... " (Would that voice be "AARF!"?)
No self-respecting mutt needs a fancy certificate hanging in the doghouse foyer, of course. But the foundation's point is well-taken: Too many lovable pooches languish and die in shelters each year. If muttigree helps capture a little attention, it may not be such a doggone silly idea after all.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
I wouldn't own
I wouldn't own anything but a mutt. My last little girl was a VA Beach backyard romance mix, and the best pet I've ever owned. Pedigree's are often to closely breed, and have many physical and emotional problems. Adopt a mutt, you won't be sorry!
Mutts are the way to go
By far the best dogs I've ever owned were mixed breed.
Purebreds are notorious for having all sorts of genetic diseases that will cause them to suffer or die prematurely. Immune disorders, hip issues, respiratory problems, etc.
In many cases AKC rules actually encourage defects, specifying traits that should be selectively bred - shorter shouts, longer legs, etc - which result in increasingly exaggerated, nearly grotesque animals.
Animals that were once prized for their ability to do real work and live productive lives are now judged by arbitrary, mostly visual, standards. Breedlines that "show well" but develop crippling illness later in life are not discouraged from AKC competitions - quite the opposite.
Just buy a mutt.