You make some good points, I just hate to see all those dogs & cats killed every day.
"ethical breeders?" is that like "ethical lawyers?" LOL
Everyone hates to see all those dogs and cats killed everyday. But would you rather see all dogs be only the product of the irresponsible that ~dont~ give a damn about breed? Just the ones who let their dogs run the streets full of hormonse and see what happens?
Dogs aren't only some charity consequence of the irresponsible. They are the valuable, well cultivated workers, hunters and companions people have worked hard to refine. And if they weren't.... you wouldn't see the money and research spent on genetics, veterinary science, animal health, and training that you see now.
The best thing that ever happened to the life of a dog is that the role of the dog has high value to someone.
You are a Marine, right? Did you never see a K9 in action? And just where do you think the dogs come from who serve our country? Do you think those characteristics that make those K9's what they are come out of thin air????
You had a "dumb" Alaskan Malemute. Did you ever bother using the dog for what it's genetic programming specified (that's pulling a sled, btw). Is it just possible that that "dumb" dog may well have done its job very well?
Diffent breeds are designed for different skill sets. A shepherd has to be far more intelligent (at least what we think of as intelligence), than a sled dog. The sled dog has to have brute strength, and capability to pull that sled for hours, for miles, at a time. A Beagle has to be able to find a track and follow it, regardless of what is going on around him.
People get dogs all the time, without the first clue as to what the dog's skill sets are. They expect a bulldog to act like Lassie, and when he doesn't, they blame it on the fact that he's "Dumb".