<3 kitties

this is an excellent idea

all of my pets have been street finds. shelters are very important too.

i wish i could shut down pet stores and breeders though =/

These are so cute!

I'm currently in HS, and I'm going to open a shelter when I get older.

Shutting down all pet stores and breeders wouldn't be a good idea, though. Puppy mills need to be shut down, it sickens me that they're allowed to function. I think people should have pets, though. Only licensed breeders should be allowed to operate.. people that won't inbreed, and will allow females plenty of rest between litters - things puppy mills don't care about. All private owners should be forced by law to have their pets fixed. Cats, though, are another story. They are in desperate need, and all breeding of cats should stop until the situation is under control.

Animals manage to hump each other just fine without humans making a commercial enterprise of it.

Dog breeders, even those not operating puppy mills, have managed to bring about a situation where almost every breed has its own package of medical disorders: the rottweiler's hip dysplasia, deaf dalmatians, etc.

Intermixing many of the breeds could solve many of these problems quickly. You'd end up with a reduction in the number of breeds though, and less stringent expectations of phenotype, both of which are contrary to breeders' commercial interests. They have a vested interest in the status quo.

Lest I take this thread too far off the topic of Meg's art, perhaps we should continue this by PM though.

Perhaps you misunderstood. I have no interest in maintaining pure breeds. In my humble opinion, licenses to breed would be required to even possess an unaltered animal. These licensed breeders will have strict regulations, including intermixing breeds.

oh, okay. i did misunderstand.

in that case i'm partial instead to the rpg device wherein one dog owner seeks out another dog owner, and then performs a series of quests before the dogs can mate.

"Yes, your Medium Shorthaired Mutt may bonk my Large Fluffy Mutt, but first, you and your party of adventurers must bring me the Gem of Arbitrary Delay!"

Since you've decided to rely on sarcasm instead of intelligent debate, I'll spare meglyman and continue this in PM.

not sarcasm, just silliness. ;) don't fret it. i was listening.

Yay for shelter pets and street kitties!

Breeders make me uncomfortable, and puppy mills make me hurt. Shutting them down would probably just open up a black market, because people still want designer pets. *sigh*

Another problem is irresponsible pet owners. If you aren't going to neuter your pet, you probably shouldn't let it wander around unsupervised.

Nice design on both!