Paris Hilton, This is All Your Fault

Since the Tinkerbell days, I've seen more little doggies riding in purses or being tucked under an arm while their owners walk about. This annoys me as I think it fuels the "trend" that small dogs are accessories instead of animals that have been bred over centuries with specific working purposes, ergo they were designed for activity, not as clothing coordinates.

This morning I watched an episode of Judge Joe Brown (it happened to be on, don't judge me!). Two sisters were suing the dog breeder they got their dogs from because...the dogs grew too big and were not considered "teacup" anymore! According to the sisters, they bought two Maltipoo dogs from this breeder and she assured them they were "teacup" dogs. So they paid $2000 for the dogs, and bought all these tiny little outfits for their new puppies. However, the dogs kept growing, and as the sisters laid out all the tiny clothes in front of the judge they angrily cried that the dogs won't fit into them anymore. They claimed the breeder assured them they were getting teacup dogs, and that she ripped them off because instead of being under 5lbs like most teacups are, their full grown dogs ended up being almost twice that weight. They were suing the breeder for their money back.

The breeder contended that she had sold them teacup dogs, and asserted that the term "teacup" can only apply to puppies, as a full grown dog by those standards usually mean an unhealthy dog (Actually, according to the official registry of dog breeds, there is no such thing as a "teacup" dog. This term applies to toy dog breeds of certain sizes, but there is no official category). Judge Joe Brown seemed slightly amused by the whole thing, but brought in a court animal expert to assess the dogs. Her verdict? The dogs were overweight! No doubt because their shallow-minded owners didn't walk them enough and probably fed them table scraps. She also stated that the Maltipoo, as a breed, is a combination of two breeds and therefore size will vary and can't be predicted due to genetics. Judge Joe Brown agreed, calling it an example of buyers remorse, and dismissed the case.


Similar to the Maltipoos the sisters had.

In the context of the case, I thought the whole thing was stupid and a prime example of why people need to do their research when thinking about getting a dog. I also wanted to smack those two girls upside the head for their superficial arguments, especially as those dogs were so cute and friendly, and the breeder stated earlier that they wanted to give up the dogs for their money back. They don't deserve idiot people like that as owners. However, I think they were ripped off by the breeder, not because she told them the dogs were teacup dogs and they weren't or whatever, but because paying $2000 for a pet is way too much, especially as there are so many dogs at shelters that need a good home for less. If they had the intention of getting a purebred and showing it a dog shows, then I could understand the price tag, but since the Maltipoo isn't even a purebred breed, what's the point?

I don't blame the breeder, though, I blame the idiocy of those two dummies.