A woman in Columbia, PA claimed she found two purebred stray dogs, both filthy and without tags.

Brandi Anderson told police she kept them for a few days, then decided to sell them so they’d have a good home.

Anderson wrote on her Internet ad offering the dogs for sale that she inherited the dogs from a deceased relative. She told police she fabricated that story because she didn’t think people would want to buy strays.

Or maybe, because no one would want to buy stolen dogs. She has been charged with theft of lost property, since she didn’t take reasonable measures to find the dogs’ owner.

I think the worst part of this story is that she was charged with theft of lost property. Showing, once again, that dogs are just thought of as chattel.

* Georgia isn’t really for sale, mom was being silly.

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I know certain breeds of dogs are predisposed to having certain conditions but I had never given it much thought as to why.

A new study from researchers at Imperial College London shows the extent of inbreeding in purebred dogs and how this reduces their genetic variation.

Inbreeding in pedigree dogs arises because certain dogs, prized for exhibiting the characteristics desirable for that breed, are used to father many litters of puppies. When dogs from these litters come to be mated, some will be paired with dogs having the same father from other litters. Over generations, more and more dogs across a particular pedigree are related to one another and the chances of relatives mating increase.

The researchers’ analysis showed that, for example, Boxer dogs were so closely related to one another and had such little genetic variation between them that genetically, 20,000 dogs looked like a population of about 70. In the Rough Collie breed, 12,000 dogs looked in genetic terms like a population of about 50.

Interesting stuff.

For those of you that get the BBC One, the researchers will discuss the study on “Pedigree Dogs Exposed” which airs on Tuesday 19 August 2008 at 21.00 BST.

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In a pet center near Jacksonville, Fl a special adoption event was held.

About 300 people clustered in front of the building and drew random numbers for their chance to take home a purebred dog rescued from a June 25 puppy-mill raid in Tennessee.

The dogs were saved from undersized cages and filthy living conditions and sent to pet adoption centers across the country. St. Johns County received about 30, 10 of which were immediately available.

It’s heartwarming to see so many people who want to adopt these wonderful dogs.  If only it didn’t take a purebred puppy to get this many potential adopters to open their homes.  There are so many wonderful mixed breeds available for adoption everyday, let’s not forget about them.

Department Manager Paul Studivant said he hoped the clamor for the purebred pups would lead to some of the center’s other animals finding an owner. He tried to convince one of the pet-lottery winners to take home a solid-looking Labrador mix.

All 10 of the available purebreds, including two pugs that still require surgery, were snatched up by the end of the event. An additional eight dogs and two cats from the center’s general population also were adopted.

I give a special kudos to Paul Studivant for treating all the adoptable dogs as equals and not overlooking the importance of all of them getting homes. This story isn’t over yet, there’s a little fella I need to tell you about.

Buster, a 1-year-old,light-brown German shepherd mix pawed at the air as people kept walking past his cage. It looked like he was beckoning each passerby to glance his way. His deep brown eyes looked melancholy as few took the time to get that far.

So, for any one looking for a dog named Buster, or one of the many other adoptable dogs, the St. Johns County Pet Center is at 130 N. Stratton Road.  It is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Prospective pet owners can call (904) 209-6190.

7/17 UPDATE:  I just received a message from Thom W.  that Buster has a new home.  That’s great news, but there are still many dogs there that need forever homes.

In Jacksonville’s newspaper today, there is an article stating that Buster now has a new home. A local doctor has adopted him.

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