Save the White Boxer Puppy

Feed

Image 1 of 5

Author: NYMfan

Started: March 8, 2009, 4:11:10 pm

Target: Boxer Breeders & the American Kennel Club (AKC)

Category: Uncategorized

Supporters:

279

Goal:

Goal Progress:

Status

Goal Met!

This petition is intended to 1.) educate the public on the plight of the white Boxer puppy and what is a horrific yet common practice of killing them at birth and 2.) to convince the American Kennel Club and the American Boxer Club to change their standards and forbid AKC approved Breeders from euthanizing white Boxer puppies.

The white Boxer now makes up 25% of all Boxers within the United States and there are still many misconceptions about this color of Boxer. The color of a Boxer's coat has nothing to do with the wonderful Boxer personality we all have grown to admire and love. The white Boxer has the same wonderful traits of character that are typical of this truly special breed. They are especially good with children and have a joyful disposition. Their capacity to give you unconditional love is unlimited, especially if treated well with kindness, consideration, and fairness. White Boxers are exactly the same in temperament and structure as their colored litter-mates. After all a Boxer is a Boxer, no matter what color they are.

From the very beginning, white Boxers have been a part of the Boxer breed. The registration and breeding of the white Boxer were excepted by the German club up to 1925. Boxers were then used as guard dogs/police dogs and white was considered unacceptable for that work. Naturally the white color compromised the breeds ability to not be seen at night. In 1925 the white Boxer was no longer eligible for registration in Germany to help rule out the white gene. This led to many breeders killing any puppies of the white color and is where a lot of debate about the white Boxer begins. This practice is still very common today, as the white Boxer is considered by many breeders to be substandard.

Many people have common misconceptions regarding white Boxers, thinking they are albinos or some sort of genetic mutation. The White Boxer is not an albino. An albino is an animal that has no pigment whereas the white Boxer’s coat is simply white and the animal does not lack pigment. About 25% of all Boxes are born white, and this is due to the breeding of two "flashy" dogs. That means that for every litter there is a 25% chance or 1 in 4 puppies will be born as a white boxer. White Boxers are not caused by genetic birth defects. Just as human hair color is the product of the combined genetics of the human parents so too is the color of a Boxer's coat a product of the genetics contributed by both the father and mother. The exclusively white coat is created when both the mother and father are carriers of the gene that makes up the white coat and the offspring inherits the white coat gene from both the father and the mother. In every way the puppy is the same as all of it's siblings, with all the energy, personality, and spirit that make them boxers.

One main issue associated with a white Boxer is of health concern. Contrary to popular belief no clear evidence has been presented showing the white Boxer is more susceptible to diseases. The one area of health, which occurs highly in the white Boxer, is deafness. This can be a major obstacle, but one that can be handled and by no means should discourage one from choosing a white Boxer. If you were to give birth to a baby that was deaf would you kill it? Would you decide that because the baby has a greater chance of being deaf it didn't deserve life? The idea that the white Boxer always had all sorts of genetic and health problems is a myth. Many whites are born without health problems and stay trouble free for the duration of their lives. When problems occur, they can occur in non-whites as well.

The problem exists that many breeders still believe that white Boxers are not "the same" as fawn or brindle ones. Often these breeders, the very people entrusted and approved by the AKC to care for the puppies are the ones who are also their executioners. At birth, many white boxers are taken immediately from their mothers and killed. Some are simply suffocated, or put in a freezer to die a slow and painful death from hypothermia. Think of it this way, after more than a century of breeding, knowing that every time 2 flashy Boxers breed (2 fawn boxers with white on their bellys) there is a 25% chance or 1:4 chance that a white puppy will be born. How many times have you seen a white boxer? Hardly ever if it all... think of how many puppies over the last 100 years have been killed simply because they are white. The sad thing is that the AKC knows this is a common practice yet has done nothing to penalize or dissuade breeders from doing this.

Please sign this petition, pass it on to your friends and ask them to help us save the white boxer puppy. Also, there are many wonderful Boxers in need of good homes please check out your local Boxer rescue organization and consider opening up your home to a Boxer.