Emily Andrews

To the editor:Why is irresponsible breeding wrong? Ask me and I will tell you. In the 10 years I have worked at Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, eight of them have included taking home orphaned kittens. How many? you ask. I lost count after my fifth litter. A year did not go by before the next litter came along home.Almost two years ago, a call came in. A basset hound was sick and could not feed her litter of seven puppies. The mother dog had pyometra and needed emergency surgery, and her owners could not afford it. After they surrendered her and the puppies to the shelter, the shelter did the surgery. I kept the puppies at four days old to bottle raise at my house. Underweight and malnourished, only two survived. Now, January 2006, a pitbull in Lewiston had emergency surgery to deliver her four puppies. Guess what? She rejected them at three days old. They are now at my house being bottle raised. They are doing well and gaining weight every day, but it's a tough job bottle feeding every two to four hours, stimulating them to go to the bathroom and cleaning up after them when they have messed themselves (just like mom would do).So please check your bank account, and if you can't afford emergencies or don't have the time to bottle raise a litter, by all means don't let your pets breed. Spaying and neutering is much cheaper and less time consuming than having a litter, not to mention better for the animal.