Cheer Up Charlies
Regarding Waterloo Doodles
RECEIVED Mon., Dec. 6, 2021
Dear Editor,
I was appalled to come across an ad for “Waterloo Doodles” in your December 3rd edition. This is either a sign that The Austin Chronicle cares more about money than the welfare of animals or that the folks approving advertisements are woefully uneducated on the subject of puppy mills and responsible breeders.
Among other things, the Humane Society’s responsible breeder checklist states: “Responsible breeders breed sparingly. They specialize in only one or a few breeds and don’t always have puppies available.”
Waterloo Doodles purports to have puppies available “year-round” and are open 24/7 according to their website. They are breeding FIVE different types of puppies. Could you fit more red flags into a 3-inch ad?
In addition, internet-based breeders like Waterloo Doodles most commonly sell puppies obtained from puppy mills where profit is the only priority. The horrors dogs experience in puppy mill operations are too many to list here – suffice to say, puppy mills are nothing anybody should be promoting.
On top of the obviously questionable nature of this business, promoting the sale of puppies as Christmas gifts is appalling, especially at a time when the Austin Humane Society and Austin Pets Alive are bursting at the seams as animals given as gifts are much more likely to end up in a shelter. Maybe the Chronicle can donate the money received from this ad to a local rescue group to help cover the costs of all of the unwanted “doodles” that will end up homeless in the next year.
If the Chronicle is committed to representing the values of Austinites, they should be launching an investigation into this puppy mill, rather than running an ad that promotes their business.
I was appalled to come across an ad for “Waterloo Doodles” in your December 3rd edition. This is either a sign that The Austin Chronicle cares more about money than the welfare of animals or that the folks approving advertisements are woefully uneducated on the subject of puppy mills and responsible breeders.
Among other things, the Humane Society’s responsible breeder checklist states: “Responsible breeders breed sparingly. They specialize in only one or a few breeds and don’t always have puppies available.”
Waterloo Doodles purports to have puppies available “year-round” and are open 24/7 according to their website. They are breeding FIVE different types of puppies. Could you fit more red flags into a 3-inch ad?
In addition, internet-based breeders like Waterloo Doodles most commonly sell puppies obtained from puppy mills where profit is the only priority. The horrors dogs experience in puppy mill operations are too many to list here – suffice to say, puppy mills are nothing anybody should be promoting.
On top of the obviously questionable nature of this business, promoting the sale of puppies as Christmas gifts is appalling, especially at a time when the Austin Humane Society and Austin Pets Alive are bursting at the seams as animals given as gifts are much more likely to end up in a shelter. Maybe the Chronicle can donate the money received from this ad to a local rescue group to help cover the costs of all of the unwanted “doodles” that will end up homeless in the next year.
If the Chronicle is committed to representing the values of Austinites, they should be launching an investigation into this puppy mill, rather than running an ad that promotes their business.
Ashley Opyt, DVM
