This was never a rescue/breeder issue. It is about an uninformed person making a blanket statement to be hurtful. Sue's comment was about that blanket statement not about breeders and rescue.  I posted on the rescue board, you going to ban me from there?

I know you mean well, but you are not helping things at all by doing this. This forum should and needs to be wide open. Put a disclaimer in stating flame suit required.
You made a statement that I find most vile. No one would ever post on a rescue board to sell pups, thats offensive to me. Most good breeders will ask someone looking for a pet if they have looked into rescue first. You cannot separate the two, it's our double edged sword we carry. If they can't take the heat, get out. A true breeders board needs to be open for anything.

I think that this site should be wide open also. When I post I expect to get feedback whether negative or postive. When all these "rules" go in place it no longer becomes fun to post because now you have to monitor everything you say and make sure nobody's feelings are hurt by honesty. The thing I have seen here are some people coming on to purchase puppies and they do end up adopting through Ratbone, it is a shame noone will be able to enlighten them to that option any longer and vice versa. I don't agree with this rule but it isn't my site but I have to say it does discourage me from spending time here, people need to realize we live in a world of free speech it's what makes this country great. If some are offended by things on this site they better get some thicker skin. My 2 cents.

excerpt from above -   "'t is the belief that all people are well aware of the horrible numbers of dogs languishing in shelters and being killed everyday, and if they were so inclined they know where to look, and we have a whole forum dedicated to rescue, so we needn't bring it up in the breeder forum as if they wanted to hear about rescue, they know where to look'. 

Tracey-  while I greatly respect your opinion,  I wanted to share that I honestly believe that many people are NOT at all aware of the horrible numbers of animals languishing n shelters and being killed every day.  I for one wasn't until I joined this site!!!  I made the mistake of getting my first rattie from the pet store last year and up until then thought I was fairly educated about pet overpopulation.  I was W*R*O*N*G !!!  So, that's why when I see these kinds of posts (and I'm referring to the original post) that I ask if they've considered rescue & adoption.  

IMO both threads,  Breeders and Rescue, should be open to any sort of discussion.  Afterall, isn't that why the majority of us post in the first place?  To discuss and get other people's opinions and suggestions?  It saddens me that the RT moderators felt it necessary to change the posting rules based on (and perhaps I'm wrong again) one young member's determination to do/say what she wants.  I truly hope this might be reconsidered.

Guys - this ruling came from the owner of the site. Not Tracey. She is just reiterating the site owner's wishes.

Tracey, my post was not in any way, shape or form directed at you. Just my opinion. Even though your a Steelers fan I still love ya!!

I think Teri's message (RatsRule!) wasn't meant at Tracey either. Just to point out there are good sides to cross posting rescue and breeding, it does educate some and she is an example of that.

The statement about hating mixed breed dogs is without merit...

My best hunting dog was mixed, BUT it had a job to do and did it well. In the hunting world its common to mix breeds.

A chi/rat cross is for one thing only MONEY. The only thing it brings to the table is posible health issues. So if a person propses such a breeding they need to know that it is wrong on many levels. Including the issue of the quanity ofthem already in shealters. It is a bad cross.....

By trying to make things PC you are accually doing harm. You are defintaly backing this kid up

The sad reality is that pet store dogs need homes, also.  I'm not going to say what's better - rescuing, buying from a pet store or buying from a reputable breeder because ALL animals need safe and loving homes.  But when I see someone like this – a 17 YEAR OLD GIRL, a backyard breeder.... looking to breed her dog, it hit a nerve with me…. what is her motivation behind it?  That’s MY major issue… cuz puppies are cute?  Cuz she can make money?  Give the dogs to ANYONE?  That's when dogs find their way to shelters.....

I think Teri's message (RatsRule!) wasn't meant at Tracey either. Just to point out there are good sides to cross posting rescue and breeding, it does educate some and she is an example of that.

Yes, thanks Val.  That is exactly what I meant!  Sorry Tracey - nothing personal!  I swear I wasn't shooting the messanger.   I was, however, making a plea to the moderators to possibly  reconsider this new rule since I was unaware that only one person made the decison.   

Thank you Sue

Hugs from the West Coast.

Go look at the ResQ quilt, the one in the middle bottom is my baby Sheila. Suzanne was her foster mom.

Please refer to this thread (created by Lance):

http://www.rat-terrier.com/Home/tabid/37/forumid/8/postid/350223/view/topic/Default.aspx

Jeff, you're exactly right.  It was an uninformedperson making a blanket statement to be hurtful.  Such statements don't deserve my time, your time, or Sue's time.  In fact, such a post *should* have been ignored.  Such posts are called Flame bait and should be ignored other than clicking the "Alert" button so that a moderator can take appropriate action.

Also, your sarcastic comment to Tracey is unnecessary, disrespectful, and not funny - particularly in light of all the work she has done to try to prevent the type of behavior that you are objecting to in the first place.

If you would like to discuss this further, please do so privately over PM or email, as it does not belong here.

Threads like this one are exactly the reason why I posted the Flame bait message, and why I created the rule about keeping rescue and breeding posts in their respective forums.

Keeping them separate does not in any way make the site "closed". In fact, if you haven't noticed the "Volunteers needed" link at the top of the site, I am looking for people to write educational articles about rescue/adoption and breeding, so that instead of insulting someone or pointing out for the 9,995th time that someone should adopt rather than breed, you can feel free to simply point them to those two informational articles. This way people aren't "accidently" insulted or can't over-react to a post that was not intended to be insulting or accusatory.

If you don't like the rules of the site, there are two courses of action you can take:

1. Leave. Its a free world, but this is not a free site (unless you want to start paying the bills that I currently pay - and no, the advertising does NOT cover the hosting costs NOR my time spent babysitting for ignorant, disrespectful, or aggresive people who call people stupid or bitch or pottymouth because they are passionate about saving animals who are effectively on doggy death row or because they feed raw diets or because they are trying to make this forum a peaceful site where people can find useful information without having to filter through a bunch of bickering by people who should know better). Sorry, that was a bit of a run-on.

2. Email me and complain. If you give me good, respectful, well thought out reasons and are willing to discuss alternative ways of accomplishing an information rich site without a lot of noise, you'll find I'm a good guy who is just trying to make the best site he can. If you come at me (or Tracey, Morgan, or any other members of the site) with disrespect, or a more-holy-than-thou attitude, you will find me too busy to deal with you.

I am locking this thread.  If the original poster would like to try again, like an adult, she can start a new thread.

Lance