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Well, here it is guys! The first, of hopefully many, editorials written by me, Kenn Bell, the guy that came up with this whole Dog Files thing.

– Kenn

A Vote For Sanity

By Kenn Bell, Creator Of The Dog Files

Human beings are more important than dogs.

There… I said it. On a dog site no less.

And guess what? That doesn’t mean that I don’t love dogs. That doesn’t mean that Max, my oldest hound, didn’t change my life for the better. It doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t do everything possible to care for Max and Remy. And it certainly doesn’t mean that my heart doesn’t break and my blood pressure doesn’t boil when I see a dog being abused.

The Dog Files will never be an extremist, militant animal rights activist site. That’s what PeTA is for. The Dog Files likes to celebrate all that dogs are and do, so kindly, for us. Our mission is to let the world know that dogʼs deserve our love, our care and our respect.

What it does mean is that we will never look the other way when we see abuse or mistakes being made. We realize that every area of the dog world has the potential for the mistreatment of animals and we aren’t afraid to call them out on it. When we see it.

But we will always be careful to not condemn an entire organization or hobby because of one act, policy or belief.

An example you ask? Okay, how about the euthanization of Oreo the Pit Bull by the ASPCA. The Dog Files thinks they were wrong. We think Oreo could have lived out her life at one of the animal sanctuary’s that offered to take her.

Did we condemn their entire organization? No. Did we vow to never donate to them again? No, they are not evil. In fact, the ASPCA has done amazing amounts of good for animals. We just think they made a mistake this time and called them on it.

Many times on The Dog Files someone will message me with a link that they swear proves that so and so “organization” or “person” is evil and is doing no good.

The latest one was that there couldn’t possibly be any stray dogs in Haiti and that Animal Rights Organizations were just using it to make money.

A good friend of mind is a filmmaker that travels the world with the United Nations. He went to Haiti after the earthquake to document the damage and the recovery. When he came home a week later, I asked him if he saw any street dogs. His answer? “Hundreds… every day.”

I have spent an incredible amount of time on the internet and if there is one thing I’ve come to learn, it’s that there is a site, post or comment that backs up every single point of view a human could possibly ever have.

Let me tell you a story. A few years back I was having trouble sleeping and my doctor prescribed a drug for me. When I went home I went online and found a few posts of people complaining about the side effects of said drug. It scared the hell out of me. When I called the doctor and told him, he said, “The internet is a great thing but it also fuels unwarranted fears. This drug really helps people who have trouble sleeping. It’s the one I always recommend and I’ve never seen that side effect, ever. Don’t be afraid because two people out of millions said they had a bad side effect.”

And I guess that is my point. They call it the World Wide Web for a reason. You can send me links all day and that does not prove you’re right anymore than it proves me wrong.

And on that note, I present my “non-evil” list. Everybody likes lists, right?

Just because your dog is an ”inside the house” lap dog (mine are) it doesn’t mean that someone who has a working dog and works them is evil.

Military Working Dogs think they are playing a game when they sniff out explosives and, in the process, save thousands of lives. And yes, some of them will die performing their job. It makes me sad, but that doesn’t make having Military Working Dogs evil.

Cesar Millan is not the anti-christ. Though Michael Vick might be.

Not everyone who goes dog sledding is evil.

Not everyone who breeds dogs is evil.

Not everyone who shows dogs is evil.

Not everyone who eats meat is evil.

Not every animal rights group is evil.

Yes, there have been past, present, and probably future transgressions from people within these communities and believe me, they should be taken to task. But let’s be careful to not throw the puppy out with the dishwater.

With all the news about dogfighting and hoarders and horrible animal abuse you’d think that things have never been worse for dogs.

You’d be wrong.

In the seventies, people kept their dogs in their backyards. Now, while it still happens, it’s certainly frowned upon.

We now have an incredibly diverse choice of what we can feed to our dogs.

We can find out through DNA tests what breeds our mixed breed dogs are so we can work to prevent future complications of common breed ailments.

We can find our lost doggies through a microchip implanted between their shoulder blades.

And because of massive Spay/Neuter Programs and Shelter Adoptions the number of dogs euthanized in the Northeast has dramatically decreased.

Yes, there is a long way to go. And everyone one of us should do our part to help. If you told me seven years ago when I adopted Max that I would one day be a sort of a doggie evangelist that spreads the value of caring, nurturing dog ownership, I’d have thought you were crazy. But here I am.

Extremist, militant-like judgements didn’t get us here and they won’t get us where we want to go in the future. They only create a wall of division, anger and resentment between you and the person you’re condemning, one ugly brick at a time.

What does work? Spreading words of encouragement to friends, family and strangers. Making them aware of how bad it is to tie their dog up in the yard. Letting them know that their unneutered dog could literally create thousands of unwanted pups that will eventually be destroyed. In fact, keep the phone number of a local, low cost spay/neutering program in your pocket, so you can always give it out. And don’t forget to check up on them in a few weeks to make sure they go through with it. A little guilt can go a long way. ; )

It’s these seemingly little steps that will change the future for this incredible creature we are blessed to call man’s best friend. Your compassion, knowledge, and passion for dogs are contagious to all who know you. In the seven years I’ve had Max, my parent’s reaction went from, “Why would you get a dog?!” to “When are you bringing our furry grandkids down to see us again?!” Heck, they’ll even sit though Dogtown and Pit Boss with me. Though my Dad draws the line at the Puppy Bowl.

Once in awhile, I’ll get an email asking when I think people will stop dogfighting or creating puppy mills or mistreating their dogs. My regrettable answer is, “Not until people stop killing other people, robbing other people and abusing other people.”

And that shows no signs of going away.

But that won’t stop me from trying to make a difference. And I know it won’t stop you.

Working together will make us successful.

Building walls won’t.

Kenn Bell

After adopting an American Foxhound/Pointer mix named Max from a local shelter, Kenn Bell decided to combine his skills as a filmmaker with his immense love of all things Canine to create the very best Dog Video Series and Website on the web.

Next, he christened it The Dog Files, made Max its mascot (thatʼs him in the logo) and began traveling around the USA documenting how involved dogs are in all our lives.

From ice cream socials to rescue groups to military working dogs, Kennʼs hope with the Dog Files is to let the world know that dogʼs deserve our love, our care and our respect.