I AM A BREEDER AND PROUD OF IT!!!

I am a breeder.....

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 7 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 2
weeks
have passed. I have bottle fed a litter of 12..feeding every 2
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.