There is irony in judging and chastising others because they have allegedly judged and chastised another :)
I have long since abandoned the notion that everything is okay -- it isn't. And I think it is important for people to speak up when they see things that they believe are wrong and so I am not offended by your post or the ones that precipitated it. As long as the position is being challenged and there is no attack on the person, disagreement is healthy. There are many deserving populations of people in need, and I have always appreciate the opportunity to target my good intentions to areas that I will be competent, trusting that there are others who will "cover" other areas of need since I cannot do it all. Further, my berner "habit" gives me the emotional uplifts and breaks that I need to be able to do other things that are very hard and yet need to be done -- work in the area of children's grief, for example (or raise four teenage boys!). While some may see my dog hobby as frivolous and a waste of my time and talents (and money), I am able to do other things BECAUSE I have this outlet that makes me so happy -- I suspect I am not unique in this. There is a culture in our berner community complete with social norms and shared ethics. Some are well understood (DON'T sell your puppies in a pet shop, for example) and others may be less obvious and more gray than black and white. I do believe that most of us on the berner-l are well connected members of the berner community, and understand most of the norms that shape our culture. This does not mean we all agree but it does mean we are probably more like each other than, for example, puppy mills who breed berners. The reaction to the person who has a leftover puppy was very understandable. As a group, I would venture to say that we prefer breeders to be well connected, well informed people. Announcing a leftover puppy raised a commotion precisely because it was so unusual, so far from the norm both on this list and in the berner community. It suggested a "breeder" who is not well informed and not well connected, although certainly our information is somewhat limited. However, there is enough information to sound the alarms and raise the red flags and that is what people did. Hopefully, we can both do that and issue invitations for that person and others to join us. We are a diverse group, and I believe that is one of our strengths. However, I must say again that I do not believe that we should have the attitude of "anything goes" in our breed or in life for that matter. The more difficult issue arises when we decide what is and is not okay in our breed, which is precisely why a Code of Ethics is so tricky to develop and implement, and yet so very important. Mary-Ann Bowman Utah Mary-Ann Bowman
