Humane Societies and animal shelters across the country are bracing for another influx of unwanted dalmatian dogs in the coming months as the new movie, "102 Dalmatians," is expected to make this generally high-strung breed of dog more popular than ever.
The new movie opened Wednesday.
"People need to think about what they're getting into when they adopt a dalmatian. It's more than just a spotty face," Gene Baierschmidt, executive director of the Humane Society of Utah, said. "They're extremely energetic and aggressive dogs."
He said his shelter experienced a 50 percent increase in dalmatians about six months after the release of "101 Dalmatians" in November of 1996.
"As a matter of fact, we're still seeing more than we did before."
He said people should, by all means, go and enjoy this new Disney movie.
"But make sure you can separate reality from fantasy. Real dogs require day-to-day care, responsibility and time," Baierschmidt said. "If you're willing to make that investment, fine. But bear in mind that keeping dalmatians safe from Cruella de Vil is simple in comparison to keeping the real thing (as a pet)."
He said dalmatians require lots of attention, can't be locked indoors alone for long periods and the breed is particularly susceptible to kidney stones and skin diseases.
Michelle Van Sickle, adoption manager for Wasatch Humane in Bountiful, agrees with Baierschmidt.
She advises that someone who is really willing to take on the special responsibility of a dalmatian should at least get one from a shelter and not from a breeder.
"They're very hard to place," she said.
Van Sickle said she's raised a dalmatian herself and although there are always a few exceptions, they are basically high-strung, aggressive dogs, who do not usually mellow out, as Labradors do, with age.
She said the Disney movies inaccurately portray dalmatians as house dogs.
"It's really not happy lying quietly in the front room," she said, explaining many of the dogs will end up outside. But because of Utah's cold weather and a dalmatian's short hair, they are ill-equipped for the outdoors.
"They don't become mild house dogs who will settle down into a subdivision routine."
Van Sickle said many shelters, like hers, rarely saw dalmatians until the 1996 movie came out. Now, every shelter has too many.
She said dalmatians almost always need obedience school and about one out of 10 of the breed are born deaf. They're bred as work dogs and have a high metabolism.
Temma Martin, spokeswoman for Salt Lake County Animal Services, said the 1996 movie fueled a big increase in dalmatians at that shelter as well.
"It's made a huge impact."
"Dalmatians are a high-strung and stubborn breed," Martin said. "They're not for every family."
She especially dislikes how Hollywood never shows spayed or neutered dogs.
Don C. Woodward of Bountiful has raised a dalmatian, Tosha, age 10.
"They're a sweet dog," he said. "But people don't realize they're bred to be kind of a running dog and they need lots of exercise. They also shed like crazy," he said.
The Woodwards keep their dalmatian indoors and believe they now have a pretty even-tempered dog and one that's good around children.
Still, Woodward advises not getting a dalmatian if you don't have time to spend with the animal.
A special Web site, savethedals.org, examines the effects of mass marketing on the dalmatian population.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com