The truth they don’t want you to see

Some people toss around “Adopt, Don’t Shop” like it’s a warm, fuzzy blanket.

But peel the layers back, and underneath is something more like a cave bear’s den - dark, cold, and full of things you don’t want to stumble into unprepared.

Yesterday’s Inner Circle email ripped into dog trafficking like a dire wolf pack defending its fresh kill.

Apparently, two loyal Inner Circle members couldn’t handle the ugly truth, because they chose to leave our cozy den where the fire lights up the truth like the gleam of ice under a blood-red sunset.

That’s fine.

This pack isn’t for everyone.

But if we’re going to stand for something, it’s going to be for truth, transparency, and the right to make decisions with all the facts in front of us.

Yes, it shreds our human hearts to know dogs are treated like this.

But let’s be clear:

The “Adopt, Don’t Shop” crowd points their claws at American breeders for something that is not our doing.

If Americans knew exactly where each shelter dog came from and how it moved around the country, the truth would change the whole game.

Families could choose their next companion with full clarity and understanding.

They’d be ready for the cultural instincts, scars, and needs that come with a dog forged in a different world.

But instead, there’s a massive cover-up.

And individual shelter dogs’ origins are not tracked.

Many facts about a dog’s movements are buried deeper than a wooly musk ox in a snowdrift.

And in that darkness, the guilt is shoved onto breeders while the real predators, the international dog trafficking machine, keep fattening their bellies.

And if, like our two packmates who unsubscribed after yesterday’s email, you find it hard to believe, one of our loyal Inner Circle members lived for years in a third-world country where street dogs are often “rescued” and has seen the truth firsthand.

Her account isn’t just a sad story, it’s the rawness of a lived reality.

“Thank you for drawing the Inner Circle’s attention to what happens with the animals in shelters. It is “grotesque”, using your word from the newsletter. I appreciate you letting people know how they come from the literal garbage dumps in other countries. I’ve seen those garbage dumps with the poor dogs and puppies dumped there with the trash, sometimes in literal trash bags. The state of those poor creatures is deplorable. They are so diseased ridden, too. It would be more humane to euthanize them, but people don’t understand that. My previous pastor’s family constantly brought back puppies from there when I lived on the island of Yap. Several had mange, they all were covered in ticks so badly and when I’d take the ticks off the blood would run in rivulets off of them. Their ears inside and out, their eyes, all around their genitalia, under their legs, between their toes, and many other places would be covered in ticks. It would be ticks upon ticks engorged with the blood of their victims to the point the dog/puppy would become lethargic from lack of iron as shown in their almost white gums. Then there are all the diseases ticks carry to worry about. Plus, mosquitoes carry heart worms there. Not to mention intestinal worms. To make matters worse, there is no veterinarian on the island. None whatsoever. No vaccinations, no simple deworming, no way to take care of mange, no treatments for heart worms, no neutering, nothing. The only positive thing there is there is no rabies on the island. People don’t see dogs and cats the same we people in the US do. Dogs are there just to protect their property. Dogs run loose or are chained. They are not pets. There is dog fighting even though it is illegal. And some people eat the puppies because on their island it is culturally acceptable and food is food. Still….the Inner Circle needs to really understand where some dogs in shelter come from. And when they buy a dog from there, it is like getting a dog from a backyard breeder or a puppy mill. You are just perpetuating the cycle. It makes me ill.”

What a sad and tragic life some dogs endure.

Believe it or not, I’ve also lived in an impoverished country far from our modern Western culture.

In the fall of 1998, right after graduating from Oregon State University with my Bachelor of Arts degree in French language, I was accepted into the Peace Corps and assigned a two-year teacher trainer position in the African savannah of the Caprivi Strip in Namibia just north of Botswana.

Talk about the wilds of the African jungle!

The little traditional village of Bukalo, where I lived in a mud hut with a thatched roof, sat between Etosha National Park, one of the world’s foremost African wildlife sanctuaries, and Victoria Falls, the world’s largest waterfall.

There, I raised an African village dog.

I named him Pinocchio because he wasn’t a real dog when I first laid eyes on him, although he wanted to be.  

He was all bones when I saw him squirming around in the dirt near his mother.

He was covered in thousands of ticks from head to toe, just like our Inner Circle member described above.

He had a wild heart ready to roam, and an instinct for survival.

I raised him alongside elephants, lions, and drums echoing through the night.

Pinnochio was as wild as the land itself… and somehow, even though back then my dog skills were very limited, he made it to adulthood.

When it was time for me to return to modern life in America, I gave Pinnochio to a prominent teaching family who knew how to treat dogs the African way.

So no, I don’t blame most shelter workers.

Many are doing their best with the information they have available to them.

But I will bare my teeth at the system that hides dog origins and sells the public a fairy tale in place of the truth.

This is not a time for silent tail-tucking.

When I receive a challenge from ignorant members of our pampered society, It’s time to howl.

We must demand mandatory reporting and tracking of every dog in the shelter system.

Without that, the cycle of lies and suffering will keep spinning.

But here’s the good news…

There’s a better way.

You can work directly with dedicated breeders you know personally.

Breeders who care deeply for every puppy they raise from the moment of conception until they reach your loving arms.

You will know your dog’s ancestry and exactly how they were raised.

No concrete cells.

No endless echo of barks in an expansive room without the sun.

No pacing in circles under fluorescent lights.

Sensitive dogs, like our own American Dirus™ dogs, deserve the peace and protection of a stable, loving home from day one.

This is the trail we choose to follow.

And we’ll keep running it until the truth runs free beside us.

If you’re ready to meet a young, vibrant American Dirus™ dog raised with love, care, and transparency, take a look at our older puppies who are ready for their forever homes:

https://direwolfdogs.com/dogs-for-sale/puppies/

Here at Dire Wolf Project™ headquarters, every tail wag, playful yip, and careful step has been nurtured to create a confident, well-rounded companion.

Exactly what a sensitive pup deserves.

The chaos of the unknown is left behind, and the adventure with a true American Dirus™ begins.

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P.S. Remember, every dog deserves a life where they are understood, protected, and cherished. The shelter system may hide the truth, but you don’t have to. By choosing a puppy from a dedicated breeder, you can be proud of your pup’s unique story. Empower yourself to stand up to the “Adopt, Don’t Shop” bullies. Let’s be the pack that stands for transparency, compassion, and the well-being of every sensitive, intelligent dog who crosses our path.

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.