The Puffer Forum

I don't doubt that some Amish do very wrong things. There are bad people in every group. There are also some groups that are wrong as a whole. But they're not normally like that.

Questioning authority (e.g., why can't we have bikes in our community but our cousins in another community can have bikes?) is strictly forbidden because it is deemed an act of insubmissiveness, not being content with what God has commanded. Not being allowed to question and seek knowledge to rectify these contradictions actively nurtures repression. There is no room for self-reflection and personal/inner development. The children grow up not being able to express themselves. Because of this inability to express themselves, they take their frustrations out on those weaker than themselves. The children, now parents, physically, verbally and in some cases, sexually abuse their (or others') children just like they were abused when they were growing up. The husband abuses his wife and children and animals, the wife abuses the children, and the children abuse the animals.

Amish communities are supposed to make those rules together and understand them completely. They have meetings and review their community's rules on a regular basis. They propose changes and discuss everything thoroughly. Submissiveness is by choice; in a normal Amish community, teens are not expected to adhere completely to community rules, and they often don't. A friend of mine told me about how the Amish kids in his area "pimped out" their buggies with battery-operated radios and listened to rock music. When Amish children reach a certain age, they are expected to spend time in the outside world, and then they are given the choice to leave with the community's blessing, or to return as a full member and adhere to the community's rules.

There is also no basis for saying that "all areas of Amish society" are abusive. That's like saying that all Christian diocese are dangerous cults - we all know that the majority of Christians are not in cults. Most Amish children decide to remain in the community after their time in the outside world.

I would really like to sound credible and cite a source, but I learned most of what I just wrote at a lecture given by a man who lived for several years with many Amish communities and published a book on his experiences. I don't have any citations for what I heard at a lecture.

Of course I'm not just blaming them. They seem to be the main source of puppymill puppies though.

I used to keep a database of the area breeders advertising my breed of choice (American Eskimo Dog) to help determine a link to where the dogs coming into our rescue originated. I would reverse-lookup the phone number to link it to a name, then cross-reference it to the papers that sometimes accompanied surrendered dogs, many of whom had been pet store pups. Many, really almost all, of the "breeders" whose names came up repeatedly would always have a note in their ads "no Sunday calls". That and the areas the numbers originated in were a strong tip-off that they were mennonite. Most of them also had multiple breeds and always had puppies available. I would call them occasionally posing as a potential puppy buyer and the misinformation and attitude were appalling. ("They're just all out in the barn, you can pick whatever one you want and I'll give you papers").
My breed as a whole are very healthy and don't have a strong tendency to genetic abnormalities. I have kept 3 dogs who came from there and they are genetic messes. One has luxating patellas that can't be repaired because her legs bend the wrong way, AND cataracts, AND progressive retinal atrophy The other has juvenile cataracts. The 3rd dropped dead young of a heart defect
As the title says, don't buy from pet shops! Rescue or if you must buy a pup, buy from a breeder who also rescues!

Carmen and the pack
Pawzie-tively Precious American Eskimo Rescue
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/ON92.html
Ontario, Canada