One of the most heartbreaking aspects of breeding dogs was brought home to me yesterday. FrogDogBlogger Carol lost one of the two puppies her beautiful bitch Sailor had about two weeks ago.
I avidly followed every antic of Sailor and her babies - couldn't wait for Carol's next post. And then the little boy, always smaller than his sister, began to fail. Just from reading her entries, we knew that Carol was putting her heart and soul into trying to save that little boy, even as she tried not to fall in love too soon.
We don't often hear about the wonderful, responsible dog breeders out there - the ones who work to better their dogs, both in health and temperament. The ones who actually lose money on every puppy, but are committed to their dogs and their hobby. The ones who get up every hour or two to tube-feed the puppy, making sure he has every chance in the world.
I don't have what it takes to be a good breeder. I know that about myself. And I admire tremendously the people who do it right and do it well. And, if and when the time comes that my life requires another French Bulldog, I'm going to call Carol and harass her until one of her babies does come to live with me.
Because even though she swore she never names a puppy until four weeks, this little guy got a name. Posthumously. I'm not quite sure I believe there is a "Rainbow Bridge," but if there is, this little guy knows who he's waiting for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Thanks for that, and for your support. As for the puppy, beware of wiggling packages left on doorsteps, especially ones containing evil red heads....those are sort of our specialty.
Be sure you ring the doorbell when you leave the package - I don't want to miss a minute with my bundle of evil!!!!!!!
Post a Comment