I like to get high. I get high often. A soft belly rub is one of my favorite highs. Playing with toys is a medium high while hiking with people I trust is off the charts high. Yes, fun living is my recreational drug and I write today to encourage you to keep the other types of recreational drugs away from me and other pets. We just don’t know how to say no – especially if it tastes good.

I am a mutt and proud of it. I don’t intend to trash talk the purebred dog but for this week’s Pet Column topic I thought you should be aware of the impact that the demand for designer dogs (crossing purebreds with other kinds of purebreds) is making upon all dogs. From overcrowding shelters with unadoptable “designs” gone wrong to dogs living a life of suffering because of their failed “design”, I can help you avoid these pitfalls.