Non-western countries unfortunately often adopt Western notions of pet ownership, which generally means buying pedigreed dogs while treating village dogs as second-class citizens. In addition to popular Western culture (Hollywood, celebrities, Westminster, etc.), expatriates (westerners) living in poorer (as measured by GDP) countries often impart their definition of dogs upon the rest of the population. The Americans I worked with in Nicaragua should have “known better” still chose to buy “purebreds” from people on the side of the road sourcing them from puppy mills. My former colleague bred her golden retriever in Nicaragua – a very hot climate – and proceeded to sell them to locals who could have otherwise given their native (and homeless) village dogs a new life. In the diplomatic community alone, I had multiple colleagues who moved to Nicaragua, Mali, Haiti and Barbados and bred dogs instead of offering the many strays an opportunity for a home, despite the village dogs’ spectacular characteristics. Not only were these expats contributing to pet homelessness, abuse, and a black market in the country in which they are working, but they are propagating breeds that are not suited to the local country’s culture or climate.

 

Many locals view pedigreed dogs as a status symbol, but then dogs are abandoned when owners realize how much time, attention, training, and money the high-maintenance breeds require. I witnessed this over and over again in Nicaragua, Haiti, Mali, China and now Barbados. Our next door neighbor in Nicaragua bought two golden retriever puppies. Two months later, the puppies had ruined the inside of his house. He gave them to someone unable to afford to take care of them properly and they died shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, my neighbor left a village dog that was hit and maimed on the side of the road to die because he deemed it to have no value.

 

Some countries do not have a culture of walking or training dogs and owners are confused by the bad behavior and neediness that characterize many purebred puppies. Because of their high intelligence, many village dogs require less training and are often more independent. Further, “purebreds” have a 42% higher incidence of developing ten common genetic disorders than do genetically diverse village dogs.[5] Village dogs make sense for the cultures into which they are born and will generally cost their owners less in veterinarian bills – this should be a key consideration for pet ownership. Unfortunately, popular culture often prevails.

 

On a brighter note, some veterinarians are beginning to call for the ban of particular breeds because they know it is detrimental and cruel to the dogs. Veterinarians, however, generally do not receive extensive training on animal behavior, breeds, or nutrition. There also may be adverse financial incentives because mixed breeds or village dogs generally require less veterinary care. I hope these messages are distributed inside veterinary clinics, but it is difficult to know.

 

We live in an age where most people have access to abundant information online, so why do people still buy dogs when they are expensive, inbred, often prone to health issues, and sometimes contributing to a malevolent underground, cruel and illegal dog-selling industry? Imagine that across the world millions of perfectly healthy, well-behaved, sociable, and aesthetically beautiful dogs are dumped on the street or placed in shelters in need of adoption. And worse, millions are routinely “put to sleep” because no one thinks it’s cute enough or represents status. What does this say about a society? One shelter in Baker, California is averaging euthanizing 200 healthy dogs a month due to consumers' choices. This happens behind closed doors and Americans are mostly sheltered from this horrific reality.