𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 “𝗝𝗼𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰”?
Is it because…
They haven’t researched the breed?
They believe they are “rescuing” the Akita?
They saw an Akita that was stunning, exotic and, perhaps, a bargain?
They’ve taken home an unassessed Akita into a home with children, only to find themselves facing serious concerns and, in some cases, intervention from Social Services?
They’ve introduced an Akita with typical breed traits into a home with other animals without fully understanding the risks?
They’ve taken home an unassessed Akita when their fencing isn’t suitable to safely contain a large breed hunting dog with a high prey drive?
They’ve put members of the public, their pets and wildlife at risk because they cannot safely control the Akita they have acquired when out in public?
𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 “𝗝𝗼𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰” 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴?
That the dog’s temperament wasn’t as described?
That it had lived alone in a backyard for years with little or no socialisation or training?
That there were expensive health issues?
That once the money changed hands, “Joe Public” was no longer contactable and had no intention of being held accountable for false advertising or taking the dog back?
This type of decision, made without fully considering the consequences or having a realistic back up plan, often leads to something we in rescue unfortunately recognise as a 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
The expectation that the police, council dog warden or rescue will step in and resolve the situation, often at the cost of the taxpayer.
The expectation that a rescue will simply collect the Akita, despite the owner knowing very little about the dog’s history, temperament or needs.
“𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲”
That is what we so often see.
And sometimes, those trying to offer advice or assistance are met with anger or verbal abuse because they aren’t prepared to simply make the problem disappear.
𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗔𝗸𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘀?
We see them re listed online, passed on to the next naive, unsuspecting person looking for a bargain.
We see them dumped illegally as strays.
And, more often than anyone would like, we see them euthanised at a cost to the taxpayer, through no fault of their own, because their behaviour and perfectly normal breed traits have been misunderstood or cannot be safely managed.
We often come across owners who were willing to drive for hours and hours to acquire or buy their “bargain” Akita for hundreds of pounds, but are suddenly unwilling to take any responsibility for getting that same dog to safety.
They won’t travel.
They won’t contribute.
They won’t wait.
They simply want someone else to fix the situation they created.
There are, thankfully, a lucky few who escape this madness and are placed into appropriate homes by well meaning rescues.
But we have to ask ourselves…
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱?
Every irresponsible sale, every unsuitable placement and every preventable crisis makes our job harder and potentially makes life harder for the next Akita.
An Akita should never be a bargain.
An Akita should never be an impulse purchase.
And an Akita should never be acquired without understanding exactly what you are taking on.
𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲.
Because when it goes wrong, it is usually the Akita who pays the price.
