I read an article today that really got me thinking about the relationship between humans and dogs. The author, Jonathon Safran Foer, argues that as technological innovation leads humans to take up ever more space on the planet, it is important to respect the space of animals and to allow them room to live alongside us. He points out that allowing dogs to run free and play in open areas leads them to be happier, which in turn leads to fewer dog bites and less aggressive behavior. However, he also points out the difficulties inherent in protecting an animal that can’t argue for itself, especially when dog ownership can sometimes be “a major pain.”

As I read the article, I began to consider the idea that it is not just people who don’t care for dogs or are indifferent that cause these problems; even dog lovers can be at fault sometimes. Apartment dwellers are a perfect example of this conundrum. Foer points out that there are around 1.4 million dogs in the city of New York, and I think it’s safe to say that a majority of those dogs don’t have free access to a yard or open area for most of the day. I have friends and family members whose love for dogs is beyond refute, but who live in apartments and condos. They give their dogs as much attention as they can, and walk them in the mornings and evenings, but the fact remains that their dogs are alone and enclosed from 9 AM to 6 PM five days a week. I would never ask a true dog lover to forego the wonderful experience of dog ownership simply because she lived in an apartment, but I really wonder if these apartment dogs feel lonely and caged in. And it makes me sad sometimes to think that even those who love dogs and want to help them might actually be hurting them.

I think that proper dog care goes beyond having a great affection for animals. It is not enough to appreciate the happy feelings your dog inspires in you or the close bond you feel with your dog; one must always think about what is best for dogs - what inspires happy feelings in them and what they think about their living situation. And as sad as it may be, I think the kindest thing some people could do for their dogs is to give them away; many breeds weren’t meant to be caged, and are utterly dependent on open spaces and a lot of exercise. If you don’t have the time or ability to take your pet out and just let him “be a dog” everyday, you’re doing him a great disservice. Love is not enough.

After a lot of hard work, we’ve released a beta version of our breeder directory.

The directory is designed to help people looking for dogs find rescue organizations and breeders in their area. We also hope the site will help educate potential owners with respect to the breed(s) they are interested in.

As of now, there is an administrator approval area, but since we are currently not displaying contact information in full detail, we are approving almost every breeder that fills out the form correctly. Once we have finished revising the directory and making it fully functional, we will start implementing a process for verifying breeders and making sure they are following the right breeding practices (we hope to garner the support of clubs and rescue organizations in this process, as it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for us to do this on our own).

Right now, the basic functionality is as follows:

• Breeders can submit their information using the “submit breed info” section.
• We can approve, disapprove, or queue the applicants.
• If approved, the applicant appears in the directory. This means the breeder shows up on the maps and in the correct categories based on their location and breeds.
• As a side note: the home page map (scroll to the bottom of the page) is basically just for fun–it will have too many points to be of real use. It is just a neat way for us to see visually how many breeders have signed up and how diversely located those breeders are. If you are actually looking for a breeder in your area, we would want you to use the full directory by either clicking the traditional directory links or using the currently nicknamed “QuickGo” tool.

What do we expect to add soon or in the future?

• A zip code search that will show you the X number of nearest breeders (maybe 5 or 10) for that specific breed and your zipcode.
• A thorough approval process that ensures quality breeders are the ones listed.
• A hosting service for breeds who don’t have or can’t afford their own website. Currently we want to offer this service for free, if we can afford it.
• A new forum template (expect this within the next few days) that is more user friendly and customized.
• New fun tools like the breed selector.
• Connect this blog with the main site once it has a few more posts.
• Improve the photo sharing platform so it is as user friendly as possible.

We have other ideas in mind, but these are the ones that are currently most urgent.

Of course, if you have any feedback at all, just comment or send me an email. We (seriously) work very hard to listen to your advice and do whatever we can to implement your suggestions. We want the site’s direction to be largely guided by what the users and community are looking for.

Well, I guess that sums up my first blog post