Mark, You know that I have been very impressed by how you have persevered and made the right contacts in the process of starting your BMD breeding program. I was appalled to hear that you had been referred to as a "puppy mill" but I knew you weren't... and am glad to hear it was all a mistake. I agree an apology would be nice.
But PLEASE do not make the mistake of over-empathizing and/or over-sympathizing with careless breeders who breed simply because they "want to" and would like some extra cash (if things go just right which they often do not). You are simply not in that category. I can see how you would be sensitive about mis-understood intentions since you were a victim of that yourself. I know at least one member of this list politely contacted the poster about her pup, for more info - and last I heard, the poster had not responded. This was recent and maybe she doesn't live on e-mail, so she may get around to it later with a knowledgeable reply. I also get this list in digest form so am often behind the latest posts. Maybe I expect too much of people... but I'm sorry, I do not understand how anyone could read Berner-l and the info at berner.org and NOT realize that the regional clubs are their best resource in a situation like this. True, the regional clubs expect a certain standard of conduct in order to be "generally accepted" - such things as health screening, both litter parents on AKC full registration, etc. So if an individual has no intention of making any effort to follow "generally accepted as responsible" breeding practices, then contacting the club might not be worth the effort, since they have no intention of learning how to be a responsible breeder. But for someone who needs help but is well-intentioned, the regional club is the place to start. By advising the poster to contact the closest club, I was actually assuming that she was well-intentioned. By the way - I am pretty sure I saw an ad for this litter on the internet somewhere - maybe not, but the name rang a bell. Coulda been just from Berner-l. AND, I am NOT against internet ads, by the way. That is not a condemnation of any sort. This list is a wonderful source of info. However, the BEST source for a novice is the regional club. There is too much anonymity on the internet so it is hard to know if someone is "good" or "bad" - I have made assumptions both ways in the past, only to get more reliable info later showing my initial assumption was wrong. My main assumption about this particular poster was that she lacked some critical knowledge, whether that assumption was right or wrong I do not know. However, as to her intentions I tried to assume the best. When you deal with this type of thing week in and week out, and get involved with rescue of dogs from irresponsible breeders (including some national club members), it is hard not to get "preachy". I know it is offensive to quite a few people. However, I am basically intolerant when it comes to careless breeding. I would like to find a way to encourage more breeders to be responsible and knowledgeable - but I suspect that many will not get the hang of health screening until they get sued by the owners of the unsound pups that they produced from unscreened parents. True, unsound pups can be produced from screened parents - but at least if the parents are screened and clear and from documented lines, there is evidence the breeder did take the available measures to reduce the risks. When unsound pups are produced from unscreened parents, there is no such evidence. Different people have different approaches. You can't please all of the people all of the time. And I happen to know that I did not displease all of the people this time, either. I know I can't turn every breeder into a responsible one - but if their intentions are good, I don't think my attitude is going to change that. For example, you do not like my approach but it's not going to make you breed a litter irresponsibly as a result, just to spite me! And some people, who just never thought of the concept of responsible breeding before, may be more enlightened as a result of this discussion. I really am not judgemental - last I checked, God hasn't asked me to perform that duty for Him yet. I just am NOT tolerant of careless breeding and any situation that raises red flags, will often prompt some comment from me, comparing/contrasting responsible vs irresponsible practices - whether or not the actual situation is in fact a case of carelessness. Thanks for sending the photo of the pups!!! Congrats on your litter and thank you for setting a good example for other novice BMD breeders. I know you had some hurdles to overcome, but you stayed the course and did not compromise - I respect that immensely. Sharon Montville - Firstrax - Colorado __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
