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[Vicky Whitney]

I sincerely hope I didn't embarrass or offend you, Tracey, with my response. I think I was a little hasty in trying to do it on my lunch hour!

Actually, I share your passion and frustration with how most people buy puppies. And I want to share that I've come a long way in how I think and feel about this issue (advertising), due mainly to the experienced and knowledgeable people on this list. Before getting Maddie 3 years ago, I was actively looking for a Golden Retriever puppy -- in newspaper ads! I vaguely understood about pet shop puppies, but didn't think too much beyond that. Thank goodness I stumbled on the Berner breed and a good, conscientious Berner breeder before I got too far. And that led me to this list, where I quickly adopted an elitist attitude about good breeders not advertising. "Humph! An ad for Berners in the newspaper -- DISGUSTING! Must be a money-grubbing low-life with poor-quality puppies that they want an arm and a leg for."

I wish I knew who originally posted an argument to this thinking, but she sure changed my mind, and I'm simply passing on most of her original arguments FOR newspaper advertising by responsible breeders. I mentally thank her quite often for opening my mind to new ideas, and try to remember that "conventional wisdom" is not always necessarily so.

Again, I apologize if I was too caustic in my earlier post. You have some excellent ideas!

Vicky Whitney
Bozeman, Montana

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