My dog has cancer -- a genetic disease.
Actually, not to split hairs, but cancer isn't really a genetic disease, per se. A genetic disease is one in which a gene is passed down directly from parent to offspring, and that gene is responsible for the disease, specifically. A classic example of a genetic disease is hemophilia, where the gene responsible for the blood's inability to clot is stored on the Y chormosome. While certain types of cancers do tend to certain genetic dispositions (i.e., if your close female relatives all have breast cancer, you will be more likely to get it than someone whose family has no history of the disease), cancer has not been shown to be directly genetically passed from one generation to the next. And, of course, there is absolutely no way to tell which dog - or human - will get cancer later in life.



In my book, a someone who is responsible doesn't kill someone because they are ugly or don't look right.
I never said that. Are you referring to my posts? If so, I think you should re-read them. I said instead, "responsible breeders also kill puppies that have defects so severe as to affect their quality of life. As they should. It is NOT always the most humane alternative to let a creature live no matter what, sometimes death is a much kinder fate than a severely curtailed life." I said nothing - ever - about killing an "ugly" puppy.




she doesn't intend to breed homozygous merles, but in a merleXmerle breeding, sometimes they pop up. Does she kill them? Nope, she finds a good home for them.
Oh my. Your breeder intentionally crosses merles to merles? What breed is this? I agree with Shelteez2, I've NEVER heard of ANY breed where merle to merle crossing was acceptable. Most, if not all, breed clubs I have heard about can and do ban members who breed merle to merle intentionally. I've seen first hand the excessive number of deaf merle Australian Shepherds that wind up in animal control or shelters, because an irresponsible breeder bred merle to merle to get "pretty" dogs, and ended up with "pretty" deaf dogs, which of course they sold anyway ... and of course, most owners can't handle. I would strongly advise you to look into this for yourself, IMO it's quite a serious thing.