[stlouismom]

Hello Everyone,

My son's school in the Ladue school district in St. Louis is having an online fundraiser auction in one week that includes a Golden Retriever puppy "donated" by a local breeder, Sievers Retrievers.

Place Bid - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

I have written to the head of the Parent Association and the principal, who have decided that the financial benefits for the school in this affluent community outweigh the singular and extreme views of apparently one parent. Me.

I think this is an atrocious way to add a dog to the family and would like to have a credible argument with which to have it not happen instead of ranting unintelligibly about the immorality.

How do I go about this? I have little time and I don't want the circus of having PETA involved. This is not illegal in Missouri (nothing is apparently). Breeder is not AKC so I can't go that route.

Thanks.

 

[Karen519]

Bumping

Bumping this up!

 

[Pointgold]

I have been asked on numerous occasions to donate a puppy to some fundraiser or another. My standard response is:

While I thank you for your interest in my dogs, I cannot in good conscience donate a puppy to such an event. It is against the Code of Ethics for the Golden Retriever Club of America, as well as my own personal beliefs. As a breeder, I must know who, and what sort of home, any of my puppies will be living with. It is an extensive process determining the right home for a puppy, as well as the right puppy for a particular family. This cannot be accomplished when a puppy is auctioned off. I would discourage ANY organization not to use a puppy as an auction item, and no good breeder would allow it.
As I have great respect for you cause, please find enclosed a check in the amount of $_____.

Thank you.

 

[Bender]

You could always do a facebook group/page with information on goldens, why they shouldn't auction a puppy off to the highest bidder. The 'breeder' is not a good one and I don't think does clearances on the dogs, something you should include on the page as a warning to those who might bid on the puppy.

You can also include email addresses for the school board in question and encourage people to email their thoughts to those in charge.

When you do that, post the link here and contact the local spca and rescue groups as well to let them know about the situation and they can also go to the facebook page and raise awareness.

 

[Maggies mom]

Can you send me the Principle and Administrator, Parent Association contact information? This is going on Dirksfund's web page and mass mailing list...This is just sooooooooooo wrong. They will call and write in on this.....

 

[Maggies mom]

You could always do a facebook group/page with information on goldens, why they shouldn't auction a puppy off to the highest bidder. The 'breeder' is not a good one and I don't think does clearances on the dogs, something you should include on the page as a warning to those who might bid on the puppy.

You can also include email addresses for the school board in question and encourage people to email their thoughts to those in charge.

When you do that, post the link here and contact the local spca and rescue groups as well to let them know about the situation and they can also go to the facebook page and raise awareness.

We have had and have now a Sievers dogs in our rescue, People have no idea what there getting into.....

 

[nixietink]

We have had and have now a Sievers dogs in our rescue, People have no idea what there getting into.....

Wasn't Apple (we all remember poor Apple) a Siever's dog? We remember the heartbreak her family went through with her issues.

On the auction website it says something about all of the breeds Siever's raise being free of hereditary problems...which is obviously a false statement. Can something be done about that?

 

[Tahnee GR]

The GRCA has a statement regarding auctions at

Golden Retriever Club of America - All About Goldens

Not sure if it's true now but I thought at one point that puppies bought at auction could not be AKC registered.

 

[Ninde'Gold]

I hate hearing about this kind of thing...

There's a lot of good suggestions here. Hopefully this will help this auction not happen.

 

[mylissyk]

Starting a Facebook page would get the most eyes on the situation and result in a lot of people contacting the school board.

 

[Maggies mom]

Yes , Apple was a Sievers...The one we have now in our rescue is Beautiful, so far NO health issues, but man is she a handful...etc

 

[Maggies mom]

And it will be posted on the Dirksfund Face Book Page

 

[CAROLINA MOM]

This is so not right, if there's anything I can help you with, please send me a PM.

 

[Tahnee GR]

Here is the sample letter from the GRCA site:

Golden Retriever Club of America - All About Goldens

Auctions

Sample Letter in Response to a Request for A Puppy to Auction:

Dear:

We understand your group is seeking to obtain a Golden Retriever puppy for fundraising purposes. We would like to share our grave concern about this practice.

Year after year, 10,000 Golden Retrievers are surrendered to rescue programs, with the most common reasons being “no time for the dog” and “we didn’t know the puppy would be so large and so active”. Though a person might purchase a raffle ticket, often out of generosity, good will and impulse, the decision does not reflect the careful planning that we believe is necessary for responsible dog ownership. This decision should be arrived at after careful thought, research, and planning. It should also include an honest appraisal of one’s ability to care for, train, socialize and afford the expenses of such a family addition.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) position is that “auctions and raffles are not reasonable and appropriate methods to obtain or transfer dogs. Dogs sold at auctions, regardless of age, must be permanently identified by either readable tattoo or microchip prior to being sold at auction. Dogs sold at auction without the required identification will become ineligible for registration and shall be placed on permanent referral.” The Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) supports this position and considers providing a Golden Retriever to an auction or raffle a violation of its Code of Ethics.

Reputable and ethical breeders will not make a puppy available to you for such purposes as your group has in mind. Certainly your group would not intend for a person demonstrating the good will of supporting your fundraising to receive a puppy of questionable heredity, health, stability, and temperament. We strongly caution you to avoid other than reputable and ethical breeders.

We urge you to seek other fundraising venues.

Thank you for the support you may give to the value of carefully selected homes for all puppies, and especially for Golden Retrievers. We encourage you to contact us for further information about this wonderful breed.

Sincerely,

 

[Enzos_Mom]

Can a mod maybe change the name of the thread so that it includes the name of the kennel in it?? Even if we can't stop this poor puppy from being auctioned, it could at least stop potential puppy buyers from supporting a breeder that goes against the code of ethics. Also, maybe someone thinking of placing a bid will google the breeder first and this could pop up. It doesn't look like there have been any bids on the puppy yet so maybe...

 

[Maxs Mom]

This is HORRIBLE on so many levels.

I did some internet searching and found these sites.

School offering the auction starting 2/28:

Untitled Document

Here is the full list of auctioned items pups are a few pages in....

Reed School Association - Auction Home Page - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

Should I someone out of district email the school and ask them what they are thinking? This is just nuts.

 

[cubbysan]

There have been a few "elite" schools in Mass that had planned on having a puppy auctioned off. Once mailings were sent to them fropm animal lovers, and a few letters to the editors, all the ones I can remember cancelled that auction item.

If there is an addres, and the chair person in charge of the auction, along with the school principal - I will definitely send a letter, and even have my kids send letters.

I think in the past, many of us even called the schools.

 

[Ninde'Gold]

There was an option on the bidding page to "Ask the seller a question" so I copied and pasted that letter Linda posted and e-mailed it.

Hopefully it'll get read by someone important.

 

[Ninde'Gold]

Here is the school's e-mail

[email protected]

This is the principals e-mail

[email protected] (Dr. Chris Schreiner)

District School Board e-mail

[email protected]

Ladue Education Foundation e-mail

[email protected].

 

[LibertyME]

I was just at our local Sams Club...the Multiple sclerosis Society is auctioning off a Labrador puppy!
I have no idea who to approach...The MS Society?...Sams Club?