December 2, 2012 - National Mutt Day

“In every heart there is a hole...in every shelter...there is LOVE to fill it.” – Colleen Paige 

Today is National Mutt Day

What is a mutt?

It's a mongrel dog.

Um...okay, I'll bite. What's a mongrel dog?

It's a dog of mixed breeds or unknown pedigree. (A pedigree is the record of descent of an animal that proves that it is purebred.)

The dogs that you find at animal shelters and at the Humane Society are generally “mutts.” Although having a purebred dog is very, very important to some people, other people love their mutts! Today is the day to celebrate them.

Some people will celebrate the day by going to an animal shelter and selecting a mutt to take home and adopt into their family. Some will share photos and stories about their beloved pets—perhaps on the National Mutt Day Facebook page—and some people will donate money to shelters.

Some people have started
dog shows especially
for mutts. Here is a dog
that took one of the prizes
at such a show!

Breeding v. no breeding...

Many animals and plants have been carefully bred, with controlled reproduction to select for desired traits such as long floppy ears (beagles) or plump, sweet kernels (corn). Breeding dogs and farm animals and other pets and crops has been going on for centuries. And of course you can see the results in such breeding by the breathtaking variation of dogs with a range of sizes from 4 to 43 inches tall.  

People tend to think that doing the same sort of intentional breeding with people is a bad thing, but of course people do select their mates according to the traits they like, such as honesty and kindness and sunny smiles. 

But sometimes the words bred and breeding are used with people, in sentences like these:

“You can tell that Jennifer has good breeding.”

“Mark is a well-bred lawyer.”

“That boy has no breeding.”

In these cases, we aren't really talking about genetics; instead, we are commenting on upbringing. In other words, we are saying that Jennifer and Mark have good manners and seem to have been raised by good parents, but “that boy” is ill-mannered and probably wasn't raised well.

Also on this date:

Republic Day in Laos 

Liquefy Day 

Atomic News Day