America Magazine gets it

Dad reads this magazine and some of his good friends work there like Fr Jim McDermott and Fr jim Martin. Here's a good take on the dog shows!

Blessed Are the Pure of Breed

The 133rd annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York’s Madison Square Garden, held this year on Feb. 9 and 10, once again captivated huge and avid crowds. It is the second-oldest continuously running sports event in the United States (after the Kentucky Derby). More than 2,500 dogs representing over 150 breeds were brought from around the world to compete. The 2009 winner is a 10-year-old Sussex spaniel named Ch. Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (aka Stump). He meets one of the many stiff standards put forth by the W.K.C.—no more than seven parts are allowed in the dog’s name. Without question, there is great prestige attached to membership in this club; but it has set the bar so high that winning breeds quickly become the dogs of choice. This leads to over-breeding (including inbreeding), at puppy mills as well as among “backyard breeders,” to meet demand.

Read the rest of what they say here too. And go and adopt a rescue animal like me tomorrow!