The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, should have adopted a rescue dog rather than an eight-month-old black female cocker spaniel, a gift from the Duchess’s brother James Middleton. It would have been so much better if they had adopted a dog from a rescue centre. Strip away all the glamorous purebred dogs and go for an unwanted dog who has been at a rescue centre for a long time and provide that dog with a good home. Think how fantastic that would look in terms of encouraging other people to do the same thing. And think how effective the public relations would be between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the general public.
There is certainly a strong argument for not breeding new puppies to be adopted by wealthy individuals who can afford the pricetag but doing the morally correct thing in ensuring that all unwanted dogs are rehomed first and then if you must you can start breeding purebred dogs. The philosophy is that you do your work before you play. In terms of dog adoption you provide homes for unwanted dogs before you create new dogs through selective breeding. That’s the argument and I would like to see such high-profile people as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge promoting that concept. It appears to me that they have been careless or thoughtless in doing what they’ve done.
I know it’s a very nice family thing to do, to receive a dog from your brother but it does also beg the question as to why the Duchess’s brother James Middleton is breeding dogs. There is a picture of him in the Times newspaper smiling with an armful of dogs. It appears that the underlying point about animal welfare has totally missed him.
For every dog bred and adopted there is another dog at a shelter who has not been adopted because their place has been taken by a purebred dog. In a more perfect world there will be far less unwanted dogs and cats at shelters. Indeed, there should be no animal shelters. Their existence is a symptom of failure. A failure to act responsibly in discharging one’s responsibilities in caring for a companion animal.
The reason why the Duke and Duchess adopted this little cocker spaniel is because their previous beloved dog died two months ago. The family was devastated. Mr Middleton originally bred a litter from his dog Ella in 2011. He kept one, Luna, and gave Lupo to Kate in 2012. Lupo is the beloved dog who died two months ago. Mr Middleton bred a litter of six puppies with Luna as their mother. The Duke and Duchess had the pick of the litter. The female puppy has not been named to the best of the public’s knowledge. The picture you see on this page comes from the Instagram account of Mr Middleton. He says that dogs have helped him with his mental health.
