Breeder's Poem
If you've never been a breeder, never seen life through their eyes;
then take a look at the whole picture before you criticize.
See a moment of their anguish; take a moment to feel their pain,
the caring of their welfare through snow, through wind and through rain.
Waiting the whole night through for babies until morn,
Stress and trepidation until the last angel is finally born.
"Ok, mommy, we can do it. One last push if you can."
Then comes a little baby, who only weighs sixty grams.
"Why so small?" you ask. "Did I do something wrong."
"I will give him a chance and hope one day he'll be strong."
You pray he'll live to bring great joy to someone else's home.
You know he's counting on you; you'll fight this fight alone.
Formula, bottles, heating pads and temperature
just right,
two-hour feedings, throughout the day and the night.
All his healthy siblings scramble to their mother;
Warmed next to your heart is their tiny little brother.
Day 1; "God please help," as you say a silent prayer.
Day 4; he's better, with lots of love and care.
Day 8;. he's gaining weight; what a wonderful surprise.
Day 10; he's giving in, just as he opened his eyes.
With burning tears and heavy heart you bury him alone.
Mommy mustn't watch she'll only see and smell the new stone.
You ask yourself, "Why do this? . . . Why do I suffer so?"
Yet watch the joy your puppies bring; then you'll surely know.
So, when you think of breeders and label them with "Greed,"
Think of all that they endure to fill another's need.
For when you buy your puppy, with your precious dollars part,
You only pay with money . . . while they pay with all their heart.
... Revised, Andrea McCormick of Sehr Gut Wesesn German Shepherds.... |
More on opening statement
above:
At our kennel we do not
promote or produce angulated cookie cutter show dogs. We promote family
pets that are healthy OFA hips/elbows, DM tested, normal backs and even
temperaments of German Lines Only. How do we accomplish this? By mixing
the types. Straight back working lines bred to show lines. This brings
diversity (A
Good thing! Hybrid vigor!) Breeding and showing one "type" imposes
restrictive conformation standards on them & artificially shrink
the gene pool. I see no reason the gene pool be so small, and fanciers
of "their
type" so narrow minded. Isolation of the 3-4 different types of
German Shepherds is hurting the breed and there is talk of
eventually divide the "types" into a separate breeds (narrowing
the gene pool even more). Most show Fanciers cant agree that the other "type" has
positive attributes that would enhance their own dogs. However;
in order to win titles and shows, they must conform to their "type",
breeding only within that particular gene pool. Thus forcing Breeder's
who want titled dogs to line-breed. It is now practiced, promoted, and
preached that cookie cutter dogs be produced and stay within their "type" so
they all look the same because they are all related to "x & y
Champion dog". They are forced to think this way because they have
to do this in order to win. Politics are huge in the ring...."That
dog has x&y in his pedigree, he must be a winner."....Common
sense has gone out the door for what family pet owners want. Average
people on the street see these "show
dogs" as "Something
wrong with their legs or back." How come an average person sees
this and not a Judge? The only conclusion I can come to is they are
blinded by years of brainwashing and pushed their strange views on what
Breeders are supposed to breed. None of Max S. (GSD founder) had dogs
that looked anything like what is being shown today in conformation.
How can they say this is the standard of the breed! Who changed
the standard and how did we get so far off the original stock? Average
GSD pet owners are not brainwashed, they know what they
see and don't like it....for good reason....It doesn't look healthy and
it certainly is not normal.
Diversity has always made things stronger to stand the
test of time. But in order to do this we must first tear down the blinders
and stereotypes, have open minds, and embrace and appreciate what we
do not have that someone else does and likewise and work together to
produce an even better outcome. Use ALL positive resources available! |
.jpg)
