Queen's Best

and the overall human condition...

It began a long time ago with a wedding and a coffee can on the gift table, decorated with the words: “Corgi Fund.”

Our daughter and son-in-law would marry on the hottest day of the year, August 11th 2012. On their one year anniversary we would meet them at a brewery in Carlsbad, California, near their home of San Diego, and attend a “Corgi and Beer Meetup.” Armed with a little money, yet knowing our history of rescuing dogs, they hoped they might get some information on Corgis for adoption. I was completely entertained, crawling along the floor with my camera photographing Corgis while everyone else chatted with Corgi owners.

On our way home from Oregon this month we did our normal rest stops, refueled, recharged and made small talk with other dog owners. There has never been a time where we haven’t had the treat of running into another corgi owner. Corgis, it turns out, are good travelers.

On our last stop we had the pleasure of meeting a woman who works alongside of a well known Corgi rescue in L.A. called “Queens Best Stumpy Dog Rescue.” She had two very opposite Corgis with her. One was very leery of outsiders and stood behind her legs and one was as friendly as our Jack is. She had told us that the majority of their rescues are in rehab for extreme issues due to the neglect of understanding the breed.

We thanked her for her time and looked up the rescue website as we drove away, excited for the resource. The thought of losing our 11 year old Jack is something we don’t want to face.

As I began to browse Queen’s Best it became evident that the people working there were beyond knowledgeable about the breed and extremely loving and patient.

Although we feel Jack and many Corgis have the inherent characteristics of a good President (my previous silly story), many would fail if the breed was misunderstood or not researched well in advance. This is for any pet, including mixed breeds.

At that Corgi and Beer meetup, our young daughter and son-in-law had the good fortune of being referred to a man that loved and bred his Corgis, on occasion, purely for the joy of giving them to people that would treasure them. His only condition? to bring them back if they don’t work out. This was the contract. They were so excited to call and find out that he had a one year old Corgi, named Jack, that was looking for a good home. Jack hit the jackpot. He was given an amazing life, full of adventure and love.

Initially, Jack had been given to a young family and was returned after one year. Reason? he chewed their furniture. In all the years that he has been with our family he never did that.

Corgis, in general, love grownups, look for a master, and typically do well with other dogs, depending on the temperament of the other dog. For a Corgi to do well with children, it is ideal for children to be five years or older when a Corgi is introduced to the home. It’s also more ideal that the Corgi is young. They are bred to herd, will do things their own way with children, and are very bossy if not trained.

Since the pandemic, shelters are filled, past their capacity, with the very pets that comforted us in isolation. Many now have 3-4 dogs (or cats) per cage. High kill shelters in my area are offering pets for free! Backyard breeders, and breeders in general, who rely on big incomes from their overworked dogs, began to charge less in order to survive the pandemic as well. This is one of the worst times in history for former pets and if you’re a senior pet, in a high kill shelter, you’re the first to be put down.

After our kids had baby no. two, during the pandemic, Jack became extremely anxious, as his family tried to keep up with full-time jobs and children. Trying to change a senior dog, set in his ways, our daughter and son-in-law began praying he could stay being a great dog. He spent a trial month with us and was very calm. This can be an option in extended families. We and our pack knew him well from many visits over the years and we had a lot of respect for him and he for us. We chose to “keep” him in our family. Nothing we take on in life comes without adjustments and sacrifices.

I believe because Corgis are such adorable little dogs many people overlook the fact that they aren’t just for show and attention on Instagram feeds. It was shocking to see so many beautiful Corgis gone bad at this rescue. Yet in a way, it wasn’t. Our “instant” world isn’t set-up for patience anymore. It’s no coincidence that, for several years now, you can also find purebreds and designer breeds dumped at shelters, yet many get lucky, pulled by breed-specific rescues like Queen’s Best.

If we can treat humans as trash, then why should pets be any different? and why should I be talking about them?

In America, approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Each year, approximately 1.2 million shelter animals are euthanized (the majority of these are seniors dumped in their end years). Adopting a senior dog or cat is one of the most compassionate things we can do, yet I digress to the human condition and the senior human shut-ins that die alone daily or die without visitors in nursing homes.

The average lifespan of a dog is 10-13 years. I believe they are God’s short-term gift and a test to us for a reason. Typically unconditional, unlike us humans, loaded down with conditions, God sees how we handle all of his creatures. It is why many of us sob over losing our best friends in the end.

In particular, rescue is hard and rewarding work. Presently, Jack lives with our five year old rescue, Beatrice, a hound dog mix who was left abandoned and tied to a tree at 10 months old. Her hilarious personality and gentle spirit far outweigh her issues from a bad start in life.

The dire situation of abandoned pets is not only due to the domino effect of people making hasty decisions, it is also local city governments that encourage illegal, big money back-yard breeding and the supply and demand of certain dogs. It’s the “business of breeding,” and even the social media platforms for pets that have made recent costs in veterinarian care and medicine skyrocket over the last few decades. Vet care, grooming, supplies, etc., everything has seen an increase. There is big money in becoming a vet. There was a time where vet care was affordable and now it is equal to human care. Who can afford pet insurance? It is entirely unaffordable to the average human, let alone pet owner. To add to it a poor economy and you have a bad situation all around where people are neglecting themselves for their pet’s vet care or vice-versa. Most of us don’t even have dental insurance. Everyone should be able to afford a pet.

There are 20 things to every thing. I don’t have a problem with breeding. I have a problem with people who take advantage of every good and decent thing. They blow the idea of a decent society up., because they can. Every system created seems broken., yet the system itself is full of profiteers…. and who and what pays the price in the end?

I apologize to you, sincerely, in advance, if you own a purebred or designer dog (purposeful mixed breeds). I have no ill-will toward you and would love on your pet as I love on mine… but I have an important background and learning is growing.

I lived next-door to a horrific backyard breeder for 18 years. It was an experience that changed me. I will never stop seeing or hearing those beautiful dogs locked in their cages 24/7 outside in every kind of weather or the theater performances of the breeders, greeting families and buyers in the driveway. It was sickening at best.

During puppy sale season, they openly lied about the mother and father living in the house and how they were “family members.” When we first moved in they had us fooled too. They would take dogs to fellow backyard breeder’s properties so that they were at the “legal limit” and then bring them back. One or two studs were thrown in dirty cages to mate as their sole job every single heat with no breaks for the mothers once her puppies were sold. No potential buyer saw the backyard cages - just the mother’s bed in the garage or front living room. Over the years many older, overused females just disappeared. I was helpless to strike the balance of my sanity and carried the quiet weight of anxiety. They bullied neighbors and the city and they won. Once they started slaughtering farm animals, next to the dog pens, I broke down and we sold our family home. We lived in a normal neighborhood in Southern California.

The hardest and best option for a pet you can no longer keep is “rehoming.” There should be no shame in it, although you will be shamed. That’s the other side of the arena, while you’re down there on the mat. But don’t give up. Rehoming is personally finding the next best situation and not the last. In 37 years of marriage we have re-homed two pets out of many. The reasons were extremely valid.

Bad times and bad economies are nothing new under the sun and I have deep compassion for our individual issues and losses. We can place humans up against this story and weigh it against our government’s social system.

6.3 million, to me, reflects something much more disturbing about the human condition… and the 20 things we don’t think about. I ask for everyone to keep thinking despite the power to shut that down all around us.

"Animal protection is education to humanity." - Albert Schweitzer