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BY
BOXERKATE
Little
White Lies
I've been
thinking a lot about one of our "favorite" issues -- the fate
of white puppies born into boxer litters over the course of the past
century. In my stud dog’s third litter, there were two stark white
girls. Not a hint of color to be found. Instantly, my blood ran cold at
the thought that one or both might easily turn out to be deaf. In spite
of the fact that I'd seen a scientific study that proved that the trait
of bilateral deafness -- even in Dalmatians -- is rare, still, the
specter reared its
head, and I shivered at the thought.
No amount of
scientific proof was going to help me shed my preconceived notion and
spare me grief. What would *I* do, were these puppies mine, and if they
turned out to be unlucky? I worried for weeks, and queried the breeder
until I got the answer I'd prayed for. The girls can hear just fine.
Now... Will
I be able to internalize that reality the next time? Or will I continue
to sweat if it happens again? Chances are that the latter possibility is
the likelihood. That's because I'm a human being.
I had a
recent private e-mail exchange with a Showboxer List member whose
personal anecdotal evidence suggests to her that white puppies are
indeed enormously flawed. Her account of multiple deformities would make
anyone pause and think -- just as I had thought about deafness when I
discovered that Jackson had sired the two white girls. But I couldn't
get her to examine the concept of coincidence -- the possibility that
her tiny sampling of boxerdom just might be leading her to erroneous
conclusions.
She's not
alone, as we all know. When we've been taught something, and believed
it, it's hard to shake it loose. Sometimes, it's downright impossible.
I pointed
out to her that I'd had three pet boxers before I became a breeder.
Here's what happened to them: A fawn dog died at twelve weeks of SAS and
mega-esophagus. A fawn bitch died at six and a half years of cardio-
myopathy. And finally, another fawn dog line bred on arguably the
most famous stud dog of the late '80's died at six and a half, too. He
had lymphosarcoma. All of these are genetic traits. I could conclude --
as easily as my correspondent had about her small sampling -- that my
three dogs died of genetic illnesses that are clearly linked to the
color of their coats. NEVER, I should then admonish the public, should
one purchase a fawn boxer. It's flawed, and will not live to see old
age.
Her position
on white puppies is no less devoid of good sense.
I found the
following in the signature line of a recent post to a mailing list. I
believe that anyone who's truly got an open mind will consider its
message -- especially in terms of the honest, scientific proof that's
been offered on the particular subject of the white gene:
"Prejudice
saves a lot of time, because you can form an opinion without the
facts."
What I can
NEVER understand is why people actually PREFER to hold on to antique
concepts when they've been shown conclusively that their belief system
is flawed. Why they don't simply say "Wow! Okay. I'm glad to know
that" is totally beyond my comprehension.
When we're
offered good news -- such as the fact that white boxer puppies are
identical in genetic material to their flashy littermates (that the gene
that produced flash IS the gene that produces what could be called
overly flashy puppies) and that, therefore, they are at no increased
risk of dangerous illness or early death -- why is it that we resist?
Oh, I
forgot. We're human. In some instances, of course, that's not something
of which to be all that proud.
Katherine
Nevius, Minstrel Boxers |
