IAR on Teacup Animal Tragedies
Imagine that you were born significantly undersized. If it does not sound like a big deal yet, then how about being informed by a doctor that you should never expect to outgrow that size and that you are doomed to suffer from endless diseases throughout your lifetime? Couldn’t be worse right? Now what if you find out that this miserable situation was not caused by any uncontrollable sheer misfortune—rather, someone has deliberately planned all the sufferings for you, leaving your life a million times more pitiful than it should be?
If you are irritated by the imaginary scenarios above, you might want to object to the concept of teacup animals as well. The package of ceaseless challenges is not a nightmare to those cute little furry creatures; it is LIFE.
In recent years people have developed a special taste for teacup animals, namely, pets small enough to fit into places such as cups, purses, pockets, or even palms. It is no surprise that those mini dogs, cats and pigs possess irresistible cuteness to pet lovers. And a series of advantages seem to follow: Because of their sizes, they are portable and eye-catching, and can save owners considerable costs on food. But the point is: they are not naturally sized that way.
Take dogs as an example. Chihuahua is known as one of the smallest existing breeds. A healthy, fully grown adult Chihuahua weighs as little as 4-6 lbs, but a teacup dog can be way lighter than that. In order to get an undersized dog, a breeder may use means such as mating two exceptionally small dogs (often inbreeding), facilitating immature birth, or starving the puppy to retard its growth.
The results of such manipulation are obvious. Immature birth can lead to various health problems, which leaves teacup animals more vulnerable than their normal-sized peers. Some common health issues shared by teacup animals include liver shunts, low blood sugar, and heart diseases. But the worst condition lies in their bones. The fragile bones of teacup animals put them under constant threat of fractures, thus preventing them from performing everyday activities from rolling to chasing freely.
