Illegal Immigration - the Canine Version

The problem

News media is full of reports about immigration issues and smuggling of humans from Mexico into the United States.

You may not be aware, however, that this problem extends to our canine population.

Dogs are being smuggled into the United States from Mexico at such a growing rate that both the federal government and several states are enacting legislation to curb the problem.

The problem is so acute in California that the state has a task force on this at the border crossing near San Diego.

Here are some articles from the Associated Press:

--More than a dozen puppies were seized from a motorist who tried to smuggle them into the United States from Mexico in his minivan, authorities said.

--Many of the 28 puppies were infested with parasites, dehydrated and too weak to stand, said Dawn Danielson, director of the San Diego County Department of Animal Services.

--Mark Goldstein, a veterinarian and president of the San Diego Humane Society, estimated that 10,000 puppies are brought into Southern California from Mexico each year and that more than 8,500 of them die.

--Sometimes the animals are hidden in car trunks or inside car doors. Recently Border Patrol agents discovered 26 puppies in a pillowcase.

If this wasn't bad enough, drug traffickers are using puppies to smuggle heroin and other drugs. The illegal substances are implanted in the puppies’ stomachs and removed by crude operations once they reach the United States.

Eastern European smuggling is increasing not just for puppy sales or drug smuggling but also to breed dogs to strengthen dogs used for dog fighting. Repulsive as it is, dog fights remain popular in many areas of the world.

Why this problem exists

There are several reasons why puppy and dog smuggling continues.

--Demand is high. Many people want puppies, small dogs and chic designer dogs (poodle crosses such as Maltipoo). U.S. spaying and neutering campaigns are so successful; there are not enough puppies available at shelters. Individuals and shelters are willing to sell imported dogs to meet demand.

--It pays well. A smuggler can generate profits of more than $10,000 a month, the California task force reported. Puppies sell for $300 to $500 and sometimes more apiece.

--Mexico doesn't stop it. As with human smuggling and illegals working in the U.S , the only policy the Mexican narcoacracy has is to dump its problems on the U.S. Plus the money made in the U.S. comes back to Mexico.

--U.S. federal government is weak on all immigration enforcement. It's not illegal to bring dogs from Mexico into the U.S. but the law requires the puppies to be isolated until vaccinated for rabies at four months of age. Since there is no animal-quarantine facility at the Mexican border, however, the honor system is used. You can imagine how well that works.

--States have only awakened the last couple years. Although initially a California problem, sick smuggled dogs are now appearing in many states. Massachusetts enacted legislation after six residents had to take rabies shots because a shelter imported a puppy too young to have completed its rabies shots.

--Some shelters and animal activitists will peddle any canine. When dogs are imported from one area to another, you have no idea what problems they carry with them. There are parasites that the U.S. may never have seen that come into this country from dogs. A shelter with its many dogs is an ideal breeding ground for every illness.

There's also the question on dog temperament. Often the same people who champion dog socialization will take any puppy or dog from a foreign country no questions asked. Unfortunately, the stray living on the street in a foreign country may exemplify survival of the fittest and breed puppies but those survival skills are not necessarily the ones you want to transfer to puppies who wind up in a U.S. family home.

Some people who smuggle canines into the U.S. from Mexico are so arrogant and self-righteous, they believe they are doing a good thing. What diseases they may be unleashing on other dogs or humans is not something they consider.

Unlike commercial pet stores, not-for-profit shelters are relatively unregulated and the individuals who sell puppies from cardboard containers at parking lots have no constraints.

What you should do

--Use your head. Many of the complaints the California task force had were from people who bought puppies from a stranger operating out their car at shopping malls. The seller claimed the puppies were purebreds and healthy. They weren't.

I don't know what these buyers expected but use common sense. Don't pay hundreds of dollars for a puppy from a stranger. (Especially one with a car with a foreign license plate.)

--Visit the websites of organizations that import canines from foreign countries. Use Google or Yahoo to find them. Look for the names of shelters who accept their dogs. Then AVOID THOSE SHELTERS like the plague.

Also check the website of any shelter or other group you might consider. Many of them boast of the imported dogs they offer.

Ask any shelter or rescue group about the source of their puppies and never buy or donate to a shelter that imports foreign dogs.

--Support legislation to ban imports. Sadly, importing dogs only encourages the irresponsible breeding of dogs in foreign countries and ensures the problem will continue to grow.

Shelters are full of adult dogs. If you're an experienced dog owner and have the time to deal with any dog problems, adopt an older American dog from a shelter. That's a sensible act of charity.

Importing dogs with unknown diseases and unknown temperament strains is not an act of charity; it's an act of irresponsibility.

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