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You are here: Home / Blog / Stereotypes Hurt

Stereotypes Hurt

February 4, 2016 by CVRR

breed

Sometimes the retriever doesn’t retrieve, the family lab bites the neighbors kid, and the collie doesn’t care if Timmy fell in the well.

I am here to talk about breed based stereotypes.

As a vet tech I hear it all the time and it makes me cringe…a family had a golden and he was flawless…never chewed ….probably pooped out nutritious meals for the hungry and in need.
Now they have the NEW golden. He didn’t read the breed book!! Shame on him.

He ignores the kids in favor of slobbering on the cat, he doesn’t give two craps about their food lure for training, and he really just wants to spend his days chasing his tail and systematically devouring all the legs off the new dinning room table.

This dog may be gold in color and have super floppy ears, but he is nothing like the internet says he is supposed to be!!!

He is himself. And the sooner the family accepts that, the sooner they can fall in love with who he IS.

It’s as if owners expect the formula to be as simple as a cake mix. Two parts flower, some sugar, and egg and BAM! Cake!!

My sisters and I all have genes from the same mom and dad and yet we could not have ended up more different. Yes, we all three may LOOK like a golden but Kim is a basset, April has the heart of spaniel and I am 100 percent border collie.

I have said it a million times….when I die I want it etched on my tombstone….ok probably not, but seriously. Stop getting stuck on the stereotypes. Judge a dog NOT on his breed, but by the content of HIS character.

Love or hate…..adopt or pass him by based solely on who he is …..Not on what he is SUPPOSED to be.

Bully breeds so frequently fall victim to stereotypes.

How many APBs die in shelters because they have a bad reputation???? The truth is that so many make amazing family Dog!!

Here’s something to think about. In 2012, 23 people in the US died of a pitbull attack. Might sounds bad but consider this….

6,000 people die from texting and driving.

Hippos slay 2,900 people annually in Africa.

Falling out of bed kills 450 people.

Death by icicle is the sad ending to the lives of 100 very unlucky people annually.

Ok how about this perspective….61 percent of fatal bites are from APB’s. That’s a fact. Of course they are also the breed most broadly abused, neglected, under socialized, chained, left unneutered, and owned by those with a criminal history. Probably not a coincidence.

And let’s keep numbers in prospective….

92 percent of the homicides and violent crimes in 2012 were committed by MEN. Does that mean all men are villains? Killers? Murderers? I think not.

Stereo types hurt…. They may deprive you of your canine soul mate. They lead you to be blind….. To see only the APBs huge head and miss his equally gigantic heart.

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” -Marian Luther King

-Laura

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: blog, breed, laura, stereotypes

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Central Virginia Regional Rescue

20 hours ago

Central Virginia Regional Rescue
Yesterday was hot. A blast furnace of a day. In an open invite to Autumn, I cleared the deck: I upended pots of tired tomatoes to the back of border; I dumped a chair with a dodgy seat; I laundered a soft throw that matched the Adirondack by the back door (I cannot wait!). All the time, my ten-year-old pup Biggie watched me from his favorite spot in the mulch bed. He's a good boy. Not so active nowadays, preferring a steady half mile walk to a hike in the hills. He still barks at the mailman...and at invisible intruders at 11pm 🙂 He takes a few cheap pain meds each day...like me. At night, we cuddle on the sofa and watch reruns of favorite comedy programs or British Emergency Service shows that make me remember why I'm here and not there. Biggie is an important part of my day-to-day life. He's a senior and that reminds me each day to tell him what a good boy he is while I can. Days will be kinda crappy when he's gone.If you don't have a Biggie in your life, I have a solution for you. Adopt Ribeye. He's shaggier than Biggie, a little younger at eight years old. But really, they're the same: older dogs needing a little comfort in their later years. Ribeye is with a foster right now after being sprung from a shelter. Shelters often aren't kind to old animals. If your life doesn't have room for Ribeye, take this post as a challenge. As well as Liking or Sharing this post, reach out to five friends and tell them about him. Talk him up at work. Find a church pal whose life could be richer for a little Ribeye ❤ I can arrange a meet and greet, answer questions, introduce you to his foster. PLEASE HELP me get this lovely dog into a permanent home by the holidays. SHARE, share, share ❤ His adoption fee is covered for the right adopter. -Bunny ...

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Central Virginia Regional Rescue

2 days ago

Central Virginia Regional Rescue
Mama Taco says, "I spy with my little eye someone having their dinner..."Mama Taco's foster cat room recently lost its a/c which meant that she had to join the main floor resident kitties for the week while it was being replaced. You would never know she hadn't been there all along! She gets along with the other cats like she's one of the family. She loves all the many people in and out of the house (including the repairmen!) and she never tries to go outside. She even switched to using the house litter box and eating from the residents' bowls like it was no biggie. She is such a wonderful, easy-to-get-along with cat who is going to make someone such a great pet! Apply to adopt today! www.cvrrescue.org ...

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Central Virginia Regional Rescue

3 days ago

Central Virginia Regional Rescue
Yesterday we picked these two sweet boys up from Charlotte County after @SWAG Southern Welfare Animal Group reached out to see if we could help. They arrived at their new foster home last night following a hot and probably stressful and confusing day. After a little decompressing, meeting new and unfamiliar faces and smells, their new foster mom reports they are settling in quite nicely. That’s the magic of a foster home. For animals uprooted from their homes and the people who protected them, a foster home provides comfort and safety and can limit the trauma and stress. For animals coming from a shelter environment it gives them the chance to decompress in a calm and loving environment. Sometimes to learn to trust again, and learn manners. No matter where they come from it’s a safe loving space and somehow they feel that. Copper is a 1 year old chihuahua mix and as sweet and sweet can be. The little puppy is his son and didn’t come with a name, but we have decided on Hopper. Because on day 2 in his foster home that is what he has done. Hop around! These two are not available yet, but will be in the coming weeks. Make sure to follow their journey along with us as we learn more about them and get to know their personalities in order to find their forever home.#rescuedismyfavoritebreed #chihuahua #chihuahuas #puppyeyes #rescuejourney #chihuahuarescue #cvrrescue #adoptdontshop #fosteringsaveslives ...

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