longreads: Serpell told me that those handicaps... | Claire Vo

Serpell told me that those handicaps can be easily masked by an outgoing, playful personality. “Bulldog breeders will insist that their dogs are happy and have a very good life,” Serpell said. “But a dog can love its owner and be happy at times, but that doesn’t mean his life isn’t needlessly compromised. In many ways, dogs are their own worst enemy. They don’t complain. They just kind of plod along, trying to make the best of things. That’s how I see many bulldogs. They are severely handicapped because of what we have done to them, but they still have these amazing personalities that shine through despite it all.”

“Can the Bulldog Be Saved?” — Benoit Denizet-Lewis, New York Times Magazine

See also: “Gary Francione: Animal Advocate.” The Believer, Feb. 2011

“Inbreeding and other reckless breeding practices may not be as bloody as dogfighting or as painful to look at as puppy mills, but they may ultimately cause even more harm to the well-being of dogs,” he said

Seriously great article. (P.s. Mutts for life.)

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Reblogged from longreads