F. I will not breed my Australian Shepherd to non registered Australian Shepherds, dogs of other breeds or mixed breeds. Puppies resulting from such accidental breedings shall be euthanized at birth. ~ I then asked to my readers to send 'feedback' to the board itself. I'm not sure how many did - but what I DO know is that the page has changed! No longer does the page call for CULLING of puppies. I'm glad they changed their written practices and hope their physical practices have changed as well. I wish the AKC would stop recognizing merle-to-merle offspring - and maybe then and only then - this practice of breeding 'double dapples' or 'merle-to-merle' would stop. I know it wouldn't take care of every aspect of health issues regarding the Australian Shepherd - or any other breed - but it would certainly slow down the purposeful breeding that often results in production of 'lethal whites' - which in turn results too often in the culling of these puppies. If a breeder breeds two merles, the chances of merles being born (normal and healthy merles) is no better than if a merle was bred with a solid. So why the merle-to-merle breedings when the 'money making merle pups' aren't any born at any higher percentage? I blame it on ignorance. And I hope I'm right. I'd hate to think that people actually breed merles to merles - KNOWING THE RISKS - just to have the 'whites' culled at birth. I hope many of you DID contact the breed association. I hope that somehow, we've been responsible for the changes that have taken place since my first article was submitted and posted. I hope that responsible breeders outnumber and outshout all the irresponsible breeders out there! If this site honoring the Magical World of the Lethal Whites contributes anything to the rest of the world, I hope it teaches us that LIFE is precious. ALL life. And the lives of animals are to be respected, protected, and revered as a gift and a creation by the same Hand that made all living creatures. | 
