My food receipts for a family of 7
and my dog food bills match. My water bill
has doubled. My electric has tripled. It is I, a breeder, who when my fridge
quit,
saved the dog meds and let the food go bad.
My feet find the way to the kennel before I have even grabbed a cup of
coffee in
the morning and the kennel is my last stop before bed.
While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and my family meets for
Christmas I am home delivering puppies. I haven’t had a real vacation in
seven
years, but maybe soon. All plans are made around heat dates, whelp dates and
vet dates.
I shower and 10 minutes later my grand kids say I smell like a dog.
My clothes are all stained with fecal matter, urine, afterbirth or bleach.
I have to remember to clean my shoes before church.
Most of my friends breed dogs
Who else can you call at 3 am for support? Who else has the experience I
sometimes need, the med I sometimes need, or just an uplifting word I
sometimes
need? Who else would understand how it feels to have invested hours and
hours
and hours in a weak puppy to lose it? Or the joy in investing hours in one
that
lives?
I have slept on the floor beside a litter until the crucial two weeks have
passed.
I have bottle fed a litter of 12 ... feeding every two hours and it taking
90 minutes
to do for weeks at a time. I have learned to be proficient at micro
chipping,
vaccinations, sub q fluids, bottle feeding and tube feeding.
My vet knows me by first name. The vet knows
my children. The vet now knows my
grand children. My vet knows it was I who added on the wing to the vet
clinic.
I am a breeder
It is to me that 63 days takes on new meaning, still excited by every
new life.
It is I who delivers all my pups, towels and heat lamps on ready,
happiness and sadness sometimes intermingled.
Even though it increases my work load, I look forward to the 10-day stage
when
eyes open, and puppies begin to emerge from the helplessness of newborns.
Puppy breath, a first bark, and a heart of exploration.
I am not uneducated, unemployable, illiterate or lazy as some Animal Rights
folks
would imply of breeders. I am a conscientious lover of animals and I have
found
my niche. I am a breeder.
And although I feel no shame there is a part of me that feels the need to
hide
from powers that could come to invade my home and take my dogs ... maybe for
finding a mild infraction, a leaf in the water dish? A kennel not yet
cleaned for the
day? A rash I am home treating? I tell my children and grand children to
hush, do
not tell others we are dog breeders, and I wonder when did breeding puppies
go
into the same secret place as criminal activity?
I am a breeder
and I am not cruel, dumb, uncaring or criminal. I am not raking in money
while
sitting on my butt. Every penny I make I earn through blood, sweat and
tears.
My greatest joy is a healthy puppy and a wonderful home. The cards of thanks
and the pictures of my puppy with its new family is the fringe benefits of
my
efforts. I am an animal lover, nurse, midwife, heavy laborer, customer
service
representative, and marketer. AND I am a breeder.
Lori Hallfrisch of Southernstyle kennel
Forwarded with permission of the author for use by anyone for the benefit
of our
fight against the AR movement.