Fiona, a three-year-old is descended from a Dalmatian & a pointer. She is competing to take the title as best in her breed this week. But there is resentment because she is a crossbreed. Many believe she is impure as she has brown spots. I think it’s really ridiculous & they are all such breed conscious idiots.
Paul Heaton, a dalmatian breeder said: ‘It is pretty unethical to allow this dog in a pedigree show. As far as I’m concerned it is an illegal entrant and makes a mockery of the dalmatian breed.’
‘This is a dog that is not pure-bred. This is a mongrel. You can’t cross a dalmatian with a pointer and say it’s a dalmatian. This is unethical and I’d be disgusted if the dog won’ said Anne Harcraft - another breeder.
They all believe she shouldn’t be shown with pedigrees. Even in this century, people just go on discriminating. They neither leave animals nor humans.
The good news is…Fiona carries a gene from the Pointer which protects her from a life-threatening condition. I think this is one remarkable quality but they don’t want anyone to taint the breed. It’s okay if the animal falls sick & dies. They are happy with a sick dog but they can’t stand the idea of a healthy cross breed.
Anyhow, The Kennel Club has allowed Fiona to be registered as a pedigree, because she can bring health benefits to future generations. She has won a couple of regional competitions & she’s very active.
Mrs. Evans said: ‘My efforts have been unpopular. Breeders and clubs don’t want impure dogs and they see this genetic modification as interfering with the breed. It is interfering, but it is to introduce a healthy gene. I hope one day I can persuade them it is the right thing to do.’
I think introducing a healthy gene is far better than having sick dogs, but we have innumerable breed conscious folks who are just too stuck up to think about the health of a dog. They have more complexes about what is pure & what is impure. It’s ironic that they are ones talking about ethics. In this case, genetic modification will help dogs in the long run. I’m glad they have allowed Fiona to participate in spite of so much resentment on the part of breed conscious idiots.
