Owner of Oasis-themed dog kennel responds to Anais Gallagher's letter

Monday 4th August 2014 by Alexandra Pollard | Photos by WENN

Tags: Oasis

The co-owner of an Oasis-themed dog kennels has responded after Anais Gallagher wrote him an open letter saying that "breeding dogs is wrong."

Finnish breeder Ville Kormilainen and his partner own the Glory Morning kennels in Helsinkini, which is named after Oasis' 1995 album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, and also expressed plans to name a litter of labrador retrievers after Oasis songs.

Anais, who was recently announced as the new co-host of Friday Download on CBBC, has sent a letter to the breeders in collaboration with animal rights group PETA. In the letter, she highlights the health problems of her Boston Terrier Oscar, as well as the abundance of strays, as amongst the reasons she is against dog breeding, and asks the kennels to promote adoption instead.

"Whenever people buy a dog from a breeder or a pet shop or even accidentally allow their own dog to have a litter of puppies," she writes, "they are practically signing a death sentence for a dog in an animal shelter, who will never get to have a home and a family. It breaks my heart to think that dogs are being euthanised just because there aren't enough good homes for them, while breeders produce more litters."

Responding to the letter via NME, Kormilainen highlighted the difference between his kennel and a "puppy farm."

He says, "Responsible labrador breeding needs to be separated from puppy mills...Of course I am aware of the risks and bad breeding, but in a small scale breedings as we are planning to do, the main focus is on breeding healthy puppies."

Despite Anais Gallagher and PETA's protestations, Kormilainen plans to continue breeding pedigreed dogs. His full letter is below.

"Hi Anaïs!

Thank you for your letter!

Actually my favorite album is also Definitely Maybe. I like the album so much, that I have text Live Forever tattooed in my left forearm.

I am very sorry to hear about your dog Oscar. It is always so sad to hear about sick animals, no matter if they are dogs, cats or wild animals.

I also like dogs very much, no matter if the dog is bred or mixed breed. We founded a website for all dogs last November called Kuono.fi and it has now became one of the biggest dog sites in Finland. So the dogs are part of my work life as well as personal life!

Let me start with a little story. We took our first labrador four years ago. He is a chocolate and we call him Sulo. I wasn’t personally a big dog person at the time, but I approved the dog, if we decided to go with a breed that can be used as a hobby dog. We started our activities with Sulo and he became a very dear family member. One year later we took another male dog, called Mauri and last year we got our first bitch. The girl is called Martta and she also has a companion girl called Noora. So we total four dogs living with us, all healthy happy dogs!

A year ago we decided to start breeding dogs somewhere in the future. Here in Finland you need to take part to a two days Kennel Club course if you want to breed registered dogs. The course gives out the basic information on breeding, such as legal aspects as well as dog genetics. This course is mandatory in order to apply for a kennel name and in order to register dogs. To pass the course you also need to pass an examination on these issues.

Responsible labrador breeding needs to be separated from puppy mills. For example, when it comes to registered labradors as we are planning to breed, we are working very closely with the Labrador Club of Finland as well as Finnish Kennel Club. Both organizations have made very strict regulations on breeding in order to breed healthy dogs. Of course I am aware of the risks and bad breeding, but in a small scale breeding as we are planning to do, the main focus is on breeding healthy puppies. The most important thing in breeding is to try to breed dogs in a way that helps labrador retrievers to become healthier. This is also the main focus of the Labrador Club of Finland as well as the vast majority of breeders in Finland.

Our girls and boys are always tested thoroughly before used in breeding. This includes x-rays of elbows and hips as well as eye control. Besides that, we are taking a certain amount of genetics. I am personally using Finnish testing service called MyDogDNA. It helps us getting a unique DNA profile for Sulo, Mauri, Martta and Noora and test them for inherited disorders and traits. It is also important to discover the inherited characteristics impacting the dog health, such as hereditary disorders and the level of inbreeding within their breed.

Finally, what is comes to PRA [Progressive retinal atrophy], I will have to correct a bit. PRA has almost disappeared from the world since active gene testing. Nowadays it is very, very rare, almost impossible to find a labrador with PRA in Finland.

Of course I understand the problems in breeding and of course I have seen examples of bad breeding. I will do my best to produce litters that are as healthy as possible. This is my biggest responsibility as a breeder.

Sincerely yours,

Ville Kormilainen"

Below: What if Oasis had never been signed 20 years ago?