Another dog magazine to avoid: Atomic Dogg

While visiting a local book store’s magazine section I ran across a title I had never seen before nestled amongst all the dog magazines. I had never seen a copy nor had ever heard of “Atomic Dogg”. I turned to the first page of the magazine and was instantly disappointed. It was a full page ad from a pit bull breeder.

With trepidation I began thumbing through the rest of it, finding more and more to dislike with each turn of the page. There were pictures from various “bully events” that all had a similar theme to them. Tough guys in their best gansta poses holding their pit bulls that I guess were supposed to look similarly “gangsta”. Most were heavily muscled with cropped ears. Many were wearing collars with long metal spikes. There were a few pictures of dogs doing dead weight pulls.

What was even more disturbing were the breeder ads. They all boasted of things like their dogs being from “Gotti” and “Razor’s Edge” breeding lines and impressive pedigrees. This is the same kind of breed prejudice that produces the slanderous attitude that shelter dogs are somehow inferior.

Sprinkled throughout the magazine were a couple of phrases that might sound good to the rescue community, “helping to dispell the myth” and “stop BSL”. But not a word about “shelter” or “rescue”.

Even the pictures of the dogs themselves were disturbing. All the adult pits had their ears cropped and were all so heavily muscled they looked like they were all on steroids. Clearly, the owners of these dogs have gone to great lengths to give them a sinister appearance. It was particularly hard for me see pit bulls that looked that way. There are two things I love about the way pit bulls look. In addition to their big goofy smiles their ears are just the right length for them to give them the absolute perfect-looking ear flop. Seeing all those cropped ears just made me cringe.

Out of a morbid curiosity I visited their web site. (I’m not going to put a link to it.) The home page has videos that start playing automatically when the site comes up. The videos themselves were uninteresting. More tough guys in gangsta poses, more roided out pits with cropped ears. What did pique my interest is that one video began by saying it was being sponsored by “Killinois Kennels”.

What? I looked again. I did see it correctly the first time. “Kill”-inois. At this point I had to know. It’s that same kind of curiosity that keeps you staring at a train wreck in spite of the moral part of your brain that tells you to stop.

Sure enough “KILLinois Kennels” were based out of Springfield, Illinois. On the home page they tell us “Our dogs will possess immense strength for such activities as weight-pulling, along with quickness & agility, as well as non-stop determination & drive. Our dogs do not sit in kennels all day; we have a very large yard and our dogs use every bit of it: they have 200 foot zip lines to run on all day and get the exercise they need.” Of course, there’s a disclaimer near the bottom of the page they’re not bred or sold for illegal purposes but who are they kidding? Hmm, what kind of person needs a dog that “possess immense strength”, and needs to have quickness, agility, non-stop determination, and drive? We’re certainly not talking about ones that are going to be taught to catch frisbees. And maybe they didn’t realize that outside of the dog fighting community telling us that they’re chained dogs is not you should be boasting about.

Did I say dog fighting? I’ve been dancing around that term the whole time just like this magazine does. They might as well call this rag “Dog Fighting Illustrated”. At best it’s dog fighting culture they’re promoting.

Another cute catchphrase they used was, “protecting the breed”. This is what these people use to justify their activities as breeders. Don’t be fooled into thinking they’re doing something noble. These people are the rescue community’s worst enemy. It’s not bad enough that they’re breeders, but they’re breeding pit bulls. Aren’t our shelters filled enough with unwanted pits?

Let’s be frank about why they are on the same side as us when it comes to BSL. They don’t care about the injustice of breed prejudice like we do, it’s because it would hurt their pit bull breeding businesses. For people like us BSL is an issue compassion and justice, for them it’s all about protecting their bank accounts.

If you should happen to see this piece of trash magazine at your local book seller or newsstand please encourage the owner to stop carrying it. I’ll publish a copy of the letter I’m sending to Barnes & Noble.

And just FYI, frisbee-catching pit bulls do exist. One of them is named Wallace, and he’s incredible! And guess what? He’s a rescued shelter dog. Wallace’s owner also fosters Hector, a Vick dog

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Southern California Woman Leads Charge Against Illegal Breeders

The problem of dog overbreeding poses just as much of a threat to their welfare as physical abuse and dog fighting, and in some ways, is worse. After all, a reasonable person witnessing two dogs being forced to fight each other, or a dog being struck by someone, or a dog that's been subjected to obvious neglect would easily recognize that those conditions threaten the animal's welfare. But a litter of sweet, innocent little baby puppies? How could they be part of the problem when they're just so cute.

Of course, we as responsible dog owners know better. So does dog lover Kelley McQueen. And she's decided to take her crusade to the next level.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise tells her story:

By LAURIE LUCAS
The Press-Enterprise

Kelley McQueen transformed from animal lover to activist when she spotted a sign twirler hawking the sale of Great Dane puppies outside a bank.

Since then, the Banning woman has been chasing down "backyard breeders" who sell puppies or kittens in front of stores, at swap meets, in parks and from the trunks of their cars.

These unlicensed street vendors usually are not registered with the American Kennel Club, and they break laws by selling unweaned, untagged and unvaccinated animals that often have congenital defects and end up in the pound. Sales can be lucrative, often impulse buys, fetching up to $1,200 in cash for a purebred pup, say police.

"After months of seeing purebreds in pens on a grassy area between the sidewalk and Tyler Street, I finally snapped," said McQueen, 61.

Terry Sheldon, a volunteer who works with McQueen's small animal rescue group, said she was aghast to see beautiful golden retriever puppies there one weekend. Then a truck pulled up with a litter of pit bulls.

"I don't get in anyone's face, but I'm a 5-feet, 170-pound pit bull," said Sheldon, 51, who runs a day care in Riverside.

Some breeders flatly denied that they were selling dogs from their car trunks. Two women peddling Chihuahuas took off after Sheldon told them they were trespassing and snapped photos of them using her phone.

"I never assume they know they're doing something illegal," Sheldon said.

After law enforcement issued several $100 citations for "transient vending" and trespassing, the illegal trade along Tyler Street has dropped off dramatically in the past six months, said Lt. Bob Williams, the Riverside Police Department's area commander for the West policing center.

Other communities are catching on. Temecula launched a crackdown last Sunday on puppy pushers in the commercial strip district on Rancho California Road, according to Rich Johnston, deputy director of code enforcement and building safety.

"It's a public health issue more than anything," said Robert P. Miller, director of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

Miller said he has no way to track the number of sellers, but he said they tend to be more prevalent in less-affluent communities where people want quick cash.

Big Problems

Often the animals are smuggled in from Mexico, are sick, and haven't been vaccinated, examined, spayed or neutered. They're ultimately destined for the pound once buyers realize care is costly.

Rescue groups estimate that about two-thirds of the 53 million dogs in the U.S. come from backyard breeders and say those are the single greatest cause of pet overpopulation.

Unregulated breeders tend to fly under the radar and elude authorities. Animal experts say they lack knowledge about their breed -- how to socialize the dog and maintain its health. They don't vet prospective pet owners to ensure quality care.

Worse, successful backyard breeders sometimes expand and morph into puppy millers, with profit as the only motive and sick and abandoned dogs as their casualties.

Rita Gutierrez, field services commander with Riverside County Department of Animal Services, said public education is critical to halt these vendors.

"Why would you give a stranger $200 or $300 on a street corner when there are shelters full of very cute dogs?" Gutierrez asked. "If you take away their business, they'll go away."

Reach Laurie Lucas at 951-368-9569 or llucas@PE.com

CONTACT

Those interested in Kelley McQueen's campaign against illegal pet sales and backyard breeders can go to www.millcreekrescue.org

THE LAW

It’s illegal to sell:

Unweaned animals until they are 8 weeks old, but the sale isn’t a crime until the buyer takes possession.

Unvaccinated and unlicensed dogs that are more than 4 months old.

Products without a business license

Two or more of anything without a tax identification number.