I'm a Director of Gulfstream Guardian Angels Rottweiler Rescue and I'm also a Rottweiler Breeder. Folks come to me asking for a puppy when what they really need is an older dog and we place our rescues with those families. We use the same criteria for placement of the rescues as we do for the placement of our puppies.

Julie's comments about PETA are dead accurate. They are a public relations engine for "freeing the enslaved" and they've hoodwinked a lot of otherwise caring people into thinking that they really care for the animals' welfare. They don't. They are a terrorist organization so lies and other forms of terrorism are their best tools.

I used to work at a no-kill shelter. You have to place those animals quickly or you become overrun and, especially here in Florida, you get disease running rampant. The governing body is Animal Control and if they're not doing their job, go to the boss -- the mayor or other head of the community. If that doesn't work, go to the press. Nothing gets politicians moving like bad publicity.

When we take a Rottie out of any shelter -- whether it's Animal Control or private -- we have to foster that dog for 60 days before we can take it to our vet for boarding. And that's all because no shelter can control things like Kennel Cough and no private boarding facility can afford to infect it's entire kennel.

All of this because there are too many animals and not enough good homes. Our pet contracts for puppies we breed requires spay and neuter at 12 months of age. We will only place spayed and neutered rescue dogs. But the real problem is with feral cats. We have a friend who rescues feral cats, inoculates them and has them spayed and neutered at her own expense. It's a tough job and I've been drafted several times for cat wrangling. But ultimately if you let intact cats roam they will reproduce. Every cat we've ever owned has been fixed and has remained an indoor cat for the rest of it's life. And they've been very happy even in a house full of dogs.

Hang around a shelter long enough and you get really down on people. All those animals deserve better than they get.

Jim