Speaking Out

by Lisa Dubé Forman

There comes a time when I feel it is everyone’s duty to speak out or make known their opinion on important, pertinent issues. Regardless of my belief and expectations, frustratingly enough, there are a vast number of people who seem to cheerfully ignore worrisome matters, social problems, or injustices. They are best known to “Tsk-tsk” after hearing of an injustice or sad event. Setting aside any extenuating circumstances, I pose interesting questions to ascertain when or even if people will speak out on these possible occasions.

Would you speak out when another fancier keeps too many dogs similar to a hoarder? Would you speak out when others agree with you, however they refuse to do so? Would you speak out at the risk of alienating such person? Would you say something when an acquaintance is breeding an excessive number of litters per year? Would you say something when you visit a friend’s home and you are very concerned with how they care for and maintain their dogs?

Having been involved in your beloved breed over decades, would you speak out when you observe consequential modifications to breed type, transforming it into what can be best described as a caricature of the master copy? Would you speak out if there is unveiled hostility and ceaseless, protracted arguments within your dog club(s)? Would you speak out if the association is now a shadow of what it once was, it is no longer familial, as when you joined years or decades past? At what point would you speak out when you are aware of deeply concerning aftereffects of a genetic bottleneck in your breed? Would you speak out when the breeder of the popular sire is hawking the popular sire’s semen around the world? Would you say something at the risk of being called intrusive? Would you wait until such genetic gridlock affects your breeding program and you find yourself trapped, with no options, other than incorporating the bottlenecked dogs into your bloodlines? Would you speak out when you are aware of unjust actions by a fellow breeder or witnessed unsportsmanlike behavior by a fellow exhibitor?

Would you speak out when you are at a dog show and you see a giant breed dog confined in visibly too small of a crate? Would you speak out if you notice that a neighboring dog(s) in the grooming area has been crated for extensive periods without any exercise or attention? Would you speak out when you observe an exhibitor harshly handling a dog on the show grounds? Would you speak out after walking past a vehicle in a shopping mall parking lot containing a dog on a very hot day and the windows are not sufficiently lowered to allow heat to escape? Would you speak out on the same while attending a dog show? Would you speak out after exhibiting at a dog show held in an inadequate facility? Would you speak out if your dog show judging program has you reporting to your ring in the afternoon and the judge is running an hour or more behind schedule? Would you speak out when a dog show ring is clearly too small?

Sometimes I wonder if there comes a time when people will speak out on the issues important to them as denial is a comforting cloak.

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Posted by admin on Dec 5 2012. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.