My vision starts a bit smaller to one of the problems the Obamas face sooner than later. I'd be willing to bet the President-Elect never imagined the amount of input and discussion that would be had over getting a dog, but here we are.
My concern is the pressure that massive lobbying groups, including HSUS and PETA, are able to put on Congress and state legislatures in order to impose their views on Americans who don't understand their true position. I want Mr. Obama to realize that HSUS is indeed nothing more than a lobbying body, that is run by a non-pet owner who is a vegan and thinks that everyone else should be like him. They recently spent millions of dollars - dollars that were donated by unsuspecting Americans who *thought* they were helping animals, not influencing an election - to pass Proposition 2 in California, which will increase the cost of food in America (which we can scarcely afford) and will increase the risk of food-bourne illnesses when we start importing chickens and eggs from countries that do not regulate their food and health as stringently as the U.S. does.
I want to make sure that Mr. Obama knows all this, and does the smart thing for his daughter, as well as helping "the little guy" who put him in office. Visit home hobby breeders. Learn exactly what breeds Malia will and will not have a reaction to. At the same time he and the public will learn that the majority of our pets - and we do love pets in America - come from people who lose thousands of dollars a year just for the love of a breed. They choose an animal that they work to perfect and improve and continue, so that any American can have the choice of whatever pet we want. The vast majority of home hobby breeders have animals raised underfoot, in scrupulously clean conditions, with genetic and other health tests run as the general rule. Shelter adoption is wonderful if you have no concerns about behavior or health; that is not the case here.
Home hobby breeders live in fear of anyone who comes to their home - not for fear of their conditions, but fear of who will be at the door, trying to stop their breeding programs. Extremist members of groups like HSUS and PETA target breeders by damaging their property, filing false complaints, and trying to gain access to their homes through deceit. I am a cat breeder; NOT a business owner, but a home hobby breeder with a small breeding program that costs me thousands of dollars every year in money I will never recoup. I do this because I love this breed and I want to see it continue in good health. These extremists are causing Americans who are breaking no laws to live in fear. I want Mr. Obama to know that he does not want one of his first acts to be to align himself with these groups, who have been lying to Americans for decades to line their coffers and now are pushing legislation around the country (including Chicago and Illinois) to legislate the home hobby breeder, and indeed all breeding, out of existence.
My vision is one without radical Animal Rights activists telling Americans that they cannot or should not have a certain pet. My vision is one where HSUS and PETA are forced to change their 501(c)(3) status to recognize that they are lobbying groups, rather than traditional non-profits. My vision is one where all Americans have their Fourth Amendment right to security in their homes, and their Constitutional right to privacy, respected and are not legislated into giving up things they love that violate no laws. My vision is not an America that has only feral and stray animals to choose from for pets, or worse imported animals from countries that have uncontrolled communicable diseases (which, if he did not know it, is happening *now.* "Overpopulation" is a myth created by these activists - the "overpopulation" problem is actually a feral problem that cannot be touched by legislation against breeders or even legislation against substandard commercial breeders [in common AR parlance, "puppy mills"]). In short, my vision is one where on this issue, the people on the ground are heard, not those with the most money.
I hope the Obamas will find the perfect dog for their family, be it pedigreed, purebred or mutt - but I also hope the President-Elect will consider the above information when HSUS-led legislation (like "Baby's Law") come to his desk. The AR folks may scream the loudest but there are many more of us out here who are watching and who do not agree with their extremist views on how we should or should not have animals in this country, but we can't compete with their budget. We the people are the ones who elected you, not the animal rights lobby, and I hope that will be remembered.
