A Breeder's Story

 

A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment.

 

A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting!

 

A Breeder gives up the dream of a long, luxurious cruise in favor of turning that all-important dog event into this years "vacation".

 

A Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee or hot tea!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry.

 

A Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due, or the babies have to be fed at eight.

 

A Breeder disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping newborn, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.

 

A Breeders lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed.

 

A Breeders hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.

 

A Breeders back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to help the next generation.

 

A Breeders shoulders are often heaped with abuse from competitors, and people lacking common sense but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations, for the love of their dogs.

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A Breeders arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.

 

A Breeders ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a puppy.

 

A Breeders eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.

 

A Breeders brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than any computer.

 

A Breeders brain is so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogs thousands of good boning, fine ears, and perfect heads...and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out.

 

A Breeders heart is often broken, by those people that can not be reasoned with, some that did not have the right home for a puppy or ones that turned out to lack common sense and ruined one of the precious babies.

 

A Breeder has to keep a level head and deal with these people bad mouthing them because that is what a good breeder does, even though it breaks their heart (and sometimes they want to break something of theirs)

 

But it beats strong with hope everlasting...and it's always in the right place!

 

Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are...BREEDERS!

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 Many people do not realize the work that goes into being a true Breeder.

 

Author unknown