01/12/2021
I didn’t write this but it hits the nail square on the head !
Author unknown. Copied and pasted ❤️
“I AM A BREEDER...
My food receipts for my family and my dog food bills do not even come close to matching. I'm told that I feed our dogs better than we feed ourselves. My electric bill has trippled, I have more whelping supplies and supplements for our dogs than I do medicine and first aid supplies for us. I have vaccines in my fridge, oxygen tanks on hand, my vet on speed dial, and multiple puppy pens in my living room.
I am a Breeder.
When my fridge quit, I saved the dog meds and let the food go bad. My feet find their way to the puppy pens in the wee hours of the morning before I have even eaten breakfast and the puppy pens are my last stop before bed. I'm the first one up at 6am-7am and the last one to bed at 2am-4am. While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and my family meets for Christmas, I am home delivering or hand feeding puppies. I rarely have a real vacation; but maybe, I will one day again soon. All plans are made around heat dates, whelp dates, puppies going to their new homes, and vet dates.
I am a Breeder.
I have been covered in more bodily fluids from my dogs on more occasions than I care to admit. Bleach is my favorite cleaning product and my home typically smells like a community pool. Most of the time my conversations revolve around my dogs. When I get exhausted and feel like I can't do another sleepless night hand (or tube) feeding a puppy around the clock every 2 hours, I remind myself religiously that the hand feeding is only temporary and the reward is coming.
I am a breeder.
I sacrifice my own comfort to sleep on the floor next to a whelping pen so I can hear every time a puppy makes a squeak or to jump up in a panic making sure I didn't over sleep and not hear my alarm for the next 2 hour puppy feeding. Many people wouldn't understand how it feels to have invested hours and hours in a weak puppy to ultimately lose it (and how it can feel almost as heart breaking as loosing a human loved one) or the overwhelming joy that’s felt when all of the invested hours have paid off in one that lives.
I am a Breeder.
I have bottle fed, syringe fed, tube fed, and even sponge fed a puppy -doing whatever it takes and feeding every 2 hours (for weeks at a time) to ensure it's survival. I have learned to be proficient at vaccinations, sub- q fluids, syringe feeding, tube feedings, warm water enemas, temperature taking, CPR, dosing meds, and have formulated and perfected my own puppy formula. My Vet knows me by my first name, knows my children and my husband, and has witnessed me cry.
I am a Breeder.
To me, that "63 days" takes on new meaning and I'm still excited by every new life. It is I who delivers all of my pups with scissors, alcohol, bulb syringe, towels, and heating pads at the ready. Our births are met with great preparation, anticipation, happiness, love, and, sometimes, sadness. It is I who have breathed the first breath of life into a puppy who has refused to take that first breath. Even though it increases my work load, I look forward to the 14 day stage when eyes open, and puppies begin to emerge from the helplessness of being newborns. I love puppy breath, first barks, and a sweet little heart full of curiosity and exploration. I am a conscientious lover of animals and I have found my niche. I rescue, donate to rescues, and help fund raise for animals in need.
I am a Breeder.
I am not cruel, dumb, uncaring, uneducated, or criminal. I take great responsibility for every life that I bring into this world and I ensure that they go to wonderful, loving, and perfect homes that I feel are an extension of the same love and care that those precious little lives received while in my own home. I am not raking in money while sitting on my bottom. Every penny I make I earn through blood, sweat, hard work, sacrifice, and tears. My greatest joy comes from seeing a healthy puppy living a beautiful life in a wonderful home. The cards of thanks and the pictures of my puppies with their new families that I receive from those families are the fringe benefits of my efforts. Those updates and pictures always brighten my day and mean the world to me. I know where all of my babies are and keep in touch with their families on their behalf. I take back my babies if ever their families can't keep them. I spend countless hours every week on the phone via text messaging, email, FB, and/or phone calls chatting with our puppy families, getting updates on our babies, educating, and helping with a wide range of issues including feedings, supplements, healthcare, allergies, the latest on vaccines, heart-worm prevention, flea/tick prevention, spay/neuter, behavioral issues, and recommendations (just to name a few) sharing the knowledge that has been gleaned through the education and hands on experience learned from almost 3 decades of breeding, raising, loving, researching, and caring for this breed. Our "breeding stock" are our own treasured and beloved family dogs who are painstakingly and fastidiously cared for, healthy, and AKC registered.
I am a Breeder.
I am an animal lover, a nurse, a midwife, a nutritionist, a sanitation provider, a researcher, a trainer, a socializer, a behaviorist, a heavy laborer, a care giver, a counselor, a customer service representative, a marketer, a screener, a transporter, an educator, and (PROUDLY) I AM A BREEDER
