12-28-2010, 08:42 AM
I recently acquired Hamish, a Kea'au Shelter rescue. He's wonderful, and I plan for all my future Big Island canine aquisitions to be rescues, too. That doens't mean that I can't appreciate people's need for purebred animals. For years on the Mainland, I raised and showed AKC Saint Bernards. Certain breeds do exhibit behavioral and emotional characteristics that go way beyond the physical similarities that members of a breed have, and people are willing to pay for that. Of course there are exceptions to the stereotypes such as my neighbor's "I-love-everybody-no-matter-how-mean-to-me-they-are" pit bull and my rancher cousin's "utterly-untrainable-for-herding" border collie. In the end, it's all about freedom of choice and being willing to pay for what you want.