Blind Puppy Love

Most people know enough not to buy a cut-rate “Rolex” from a guy with a two-day beard who’s selling them from his pocket. Why, then, would fiscally skeptical people lose all common sense when buying a “purebred” puppy from a guy on the street?

Monday’s Times story on sick or too-young puppies smuggled from breeding mills in Mexico was filled with quotes from grieving, angry owners whose purchases died within days or ended up being dumped in animal shelters and nursed at taxpayer expense. It’s hard not to be sympathetic. Wannabe pet owners can fall in love in seconds. Once held, a puppy is hard to hand back. The same people, however, probably would not spend hundreds of dollars on a stove or a refrigerator without doing some basic research. They wouldn’t expect a Maytag at the price of an off-brand. They wouldn’t hand cash to a seller who offered no warranty.

The acquisition of a pet is a commercial transaction, even if the animal is adopted from a shelter. Warranties matter. The seller should have a permanent address.

People who torture a pet or dump a dog they can’t handle on the streets are about as reviled as child abusers. So what is it that stops potential buyers from seeing that puppy-mill breeders, on either side of the border, are no better?

One is a desire for purebreds and their sometimes predictable traits. Never mind that most border collies will never see a sheep and most golden retrievers will never fetch more than a Frisbee. Unfortunately for ordinary pet owners, popular breeds tend to be overbred and inbred by the unscrupulous, leading to genetic structural defects and susceptibility to diseases. By the time hip dysplasia is diagnosed, the family is ripe for a veterinary wallet-ectomy.

Animal shelters used to be full of bargains, with all sorts of dogs available, checked by a vet, given shots and, if old enough, spayed or neutered. Now, particularly in urban areas, “protection dog” mixes, like pit bull and chow, are more common at shelters. It does take work to find a family dog. For those who must have a particular type, there are earnest “breed rescue” organizations that offer goldens, shelties, teacup poodles, Pekingese and on and on. Those willing to pay hefty money can, with a little research, locate good breeders whose reputations can be checked out -- usually through breed clubs.

Those who illegally sell sick young animals should be prosecuted. But the heedless buyers shouldn’t get off scot-free, either, at least in terms of public opinion. This is a case in which the animals deserve all the sympathy and the humans none.