Many animal lovers find it difficult to understand the owners of purebred dogs. This confusion sometimes even turns into open hostility: How could someone pay so much for purebred puppies, they ask, when 100,000 dogs are abandoned in Israel annually? About 25,000 of these are put to sleep, while animal associations take in others in the hope that someone will adopt them. Given such conditions, there is no justification for breeding purebreds, say detractors.

On the other side of the debate are the purebred enthusiasts, who fail to comprehend this argument.

"How can anyone claim that purebred dogs are raised at mongrels' expense? The truth is just the opposite," says veterinarian Miri Abramson. Dr. Abramson is secretary and treasurer of the Saint Bernard and Newfoundland Club, and breeding coordinator for the Poodle Club of the Israel Kennel Club.

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"The unwanted dogs are born because irresponsible people do not bother to neuter their mixed-breed dogs. Instead of fighting pedigree breeding, they should first work toward neutering all the mixed-breed dogs that are flooding this country with puppies whose genetic, personality and health backgrounds are totally unknown," she says.

Yotam Feinstein, chairman of the Spitz Club of the Israel Kennel Club, concurs.

"There is room in this world for both purebreds and mongrels," he says.

Still, purebreds have a greater chance of becoming an integral part of their owners' lives, the two say.

"When we buy a purebred dog, we know what his nature will be, how big he will be, the texture of his fur, his temperament, whether he will be good with children, etc.," says Feinstein.

On the other hand, when someone adopts a mutt, "sometimes the cute little puppy grows up to be a dog unsuitable for its adopted family." As a result, most abandoned dogs are mixed breeds, Feinstein says.

The enemy: Fakes

Still, mongrels are far from the top of purebred lovers' priority list. What bothers this group most is the fake purebreds.

"In a country rife with copied software, music and movies, people also try to find an alternative to the purebred dog," says Feinstein. "This led to the invention of the 'purebred without papers.'"

Such dogs lack pedigree certificates. They are sold by Israeli breeders who do not meet the Kennel Club's criteria, and by puppy importers who buy mainly from Eastern Europe. These breeders are known as "puppy mills" - for churning out puppies that are more or less purebred under harsh, unsupervised conditions. These facilities are motivated primarily by financial gain. The females are bred nonstop, usually with male relatives, which increases the likelihood of genetic diseases. The puppies may also suffer from behavioral disorders, due to the living conditions and the neglect.

Purebred lovers and animal rights organizations are in unusual agreement about these breeders.

"Many countries have farms for intensive dog breeding," explains one article on anonymous.org.il, an animal rights Web site. "The breeding conditions are similar to those at beef or fur farms. A typical farm has 75 to 150 dogs, often of several different breeds. The dogs usually spend their entire lives in small wire mesh cages with no bedding. The pups are taken from their mothers at about eight weeks, and the females are mated again as soon as possible, until their bodies wear out and they are killed at about age five."

The right to import dogs

Some of the dogs imported to Israel probably come from such farms. Why, therefore, are puppy imports not restricted?

The Agriculture Ministry responds that the right to import dogs is anchored, among other things, in individual freedom and in the Basic Law on Freedom of Employment.

"In order to infringe on this basic freedom, a special law [not an amendment] would have to be legislated," says an Agriculture Ministry official.

The ministry recently discussed restricting canine imports, but decided that the quantity of dogs imported - about 1,200 per year - "does not justify tampering with a basic law." In 2005, for example, 1,046 dogs (and 88 cats) were imported. "The number of dogs imported is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of dogs put to sleep or abandoned," the spokesman says.

The Agriculture Ministry Veterinary Services ensure that imported dogs are at least four months old, healthy, vaccinated against rabies and implanted with an identifying microchip in the scruff of the neck. Dogs that do not meet these criteria are returned to their country of origin. The government does not supervise dog pedigrees.

The Israel Kennel Club, which was established in 1972, is composed of some 25 clubs for different breeds, all of which are run by volunteers. It has no way of blocking "pirate" breeding.

The Kennel Club can supervise dog breeding only when the owners are interested. It confirms pedigree certificates and arranges matches.

Abramson explains that in controlled breeding, the supervising organization ensures that both potential parents meet their breed's standards.

"If they don't meet the standards," continues Abramson, "neither will their offspring, and the features of the breed will slowly disappear."

Pre-breeding medical tests are designed to discover potential hereditary illnesses. Uncontrolled breeding, on the other hand, can lead to defective offspring. The kennel club also dictates minimum and maximum breeding ages, and limits the number of litters per animal.

"Purebred dog breeding is more than just a hobby," says Abramson, who herself runs a small Newfoundland breeding kennel. "It also involves a large element of respect for history and tradition. In the countries where sheepdogs, such as Shelties and Border Collies, originated, for example, these dogs are still used as work dogs, and their breeding lines are strictly preserved from one generation to the next.

"If a dog like that were to be imported to Israel, the next generation would no longer require a pedigree certificate, the female would mate with the neighbor's male, who somewhat resembles her at best, and the breed would be lost."