Let's think about this for a minute. So you want to breed your female. You know what to expect if everything goes right. Your little girl will present you with little bundles of joy. She will lovingly nurse them and care for them until they are old enough to be weaned.

You and your family will find great joy in watching and playing with these little dolls, and then when the time is right they will all (or maybe you keep just one) go off to special homes to live out their lives as cherished companions. But have you given consideration to what if something goes wrong? I have listed here a few of the problems that I myself have personal knowledge of. Everything listed has happened either to me or someone I know.

These are not isolated incidents. I'm sure others could add miles to my list. Learn by the mistakes of others. Leave the breeding to those who REALLY know what they are doing, have the experience and know what to expect.

What if during the breeding............

1) The stud dog you have chosen is carrying a venereal disease and gives it to your female. She not only doesn't conceive but you have to pay the vet bills to get her infection cleared up and she is now sterile.

2) The stud dog you decided to breed your darling to is not experienced. Once the two dogs are joined tightly in a tie, he decides to chase the neighbors cat out of his yard. He bolts for the cat ripping his penis loose and causing your bitch to hemorrhage from within.

3) Your modest girl decides she doesn't want the attentions of this gigolo mutt chosen for her without her consent. She snaps at him catching her tooth on his loose cheek and rips it open sending blood flying everywhere. He
retaliates by sinking his teeth into her left eye.

4) You leave your dog with the owner of the male dog because the breeding is not going very swiftly. In fact, it's been three hours and nothing is happening. The stud owner leaves the two dogs alone in the backyard. The dogs get out through a tiny hole in the fence and a truck hits your female.

5) You pay the stud fee up front figuring you will make that and more back when the pups sell. The owner of the male guarantees the stud service to work or you can come back again. Well into the gestation time you discover your bitch isn't pregnant and you now must wait another 4 months for her to come back in heat in order to try again. Of course it doesn't work again, so in another 4 months you take your dog to another male and risk loosing another stud fee.

6) You get her bred. Bring her home. She bothers you so you let her out (she is still in heat and still receptive to males). You here a commotion outside there is your girl tied up with the neighborhood mutt. When she whelps there will need to be DNA tests done on the pups.

7) You get her bred. Bring her home. Let her out. (She is still in heat and receptive to other males) but you do not see the neighborhood mutt breed her. The pups are born but look very odd. You call the stud owner he suggests
DNA testing (at your expense). You have a litter of mutts!. What do you do about the ones you have already sold?.

Or, knowing she tied with the neighborhood mutt you decide to terminate the pregnancy and try again being more careful next time. But a few weeks later your female is very sick because you had her given a miss-mate shot which has caused a hormonal imbalance which in turn caused a uterine infection and now she has Pyometra and needs a complete hysterectomy. All plans of getting a litter
is gone and your females' life is now in danger if she does not have the operation.

What if during the birth..............

1) The puppies are too large for the female. She never goes into labor, the puppies die and she becomes infected by the decaying bodies.

2) The puppies are coming breech and they drown in their own sacks before they can be born.

3) The first puppy is large and breech. When it starts coming your female starts screaming, and before you can stop her she reaches around, grabs the puppy in her teeth and yanks it out killing it instantly.

4) A puppy gets stuck. Neither your female nor you can get it out. You have to race her to the vet. The vet can't get it out either. She has to have an emergency caesarian section of course it is 3:00 am Christmas Day.

5) A puppy is coming out breech and dry (the water sack that protects them has burst). It gets stuck. Mom tries to help it out by clamping her teeth over one of the back legs. The head and shoulders are firmly caught. Mom pulls on the leg, hard, peeling the flesh from the leg and leaving a
wiggling stump of bone.

6) A dead puppy gets stuck in the birth canal, but your female is well into hard labor. She contracts so hard trying to give birth that her uterus ruptures and she bleeds to death on the way to the vet.

What if directly after birth..........

1) The mother has no idea what to do with a puppy and she drops them out and walks away, leaving them in the sack to drown.

2) The mother takes one look at the puppies, decides they are disgusting droppings and tries to smother them in anything she can find to bury them .

3) The mother gets too enthusiastic in her removal of the placenta and umbilical cord, and rips the cord out leaving a gushing hole pulsing blood all over you as you try in vain to stop the bleeding.

4) Or, she pulls on the cords so hard she disembowels the puppies as they are born and you have a box full of tiny, kicking babies with a tangle of guts the size of a walnut hanging from their stomachs. Of course all the babies must be put to sleep.

5) What if because of some Hormone deficiency she turns vicious allowing no-one near her or the babies, who she refuses to nurse, or you have to interfere with.

6) You notice something protruding from her vagina when you let her out to pee. You take her to the vet to discover a prolapsed uterus, which needs to be removed.

What if when you think you are in the clear..................

1) One or more of the puppies inhaled fluid during birth, pneumonia develops and death occurs within 36 hours.

2) what if the mothers milk goes bad. You lose three of your four puppies before you discover what is wrong. You end up bottle feeding the remaining pup every two hours, day and night. After three days the puppy fades from
infection and dies.

3) The puppies develop fading puppy syndrome you lose two. You bottle-feed or tube feed the last remaining baby. It begins to choke and despite your efforts to clear the airway, the pup stiffens and dies in your hands.

4) Your female develops mastitis and her breast ruptures.

5) Your female develops a uterine infection from a retained placenta. Her temperature soars to 105. You race her to the vet, he determines she must be spayed. He does the spay in an attempt to save her life, you pay the hundreds of dollars bill. The infection has gone into her blood stream.
The infected milk kills all the puppies and the bitch dies a day later.

6) All the puppies are fine but following the birth the female develops a hormone imbalance. She becomes a fear biter and anytime anyone tries to touch her she viciously attacks them.

7) Mom and pups seem fine, the puppies are four weeks old and are at their cutest. However, one day one of the puppies disappears. You search everywhere but you can't find it. A few days later another puppy is gone. And another. You can't figure how on earth the puppies are getting out of their safe 4' x 4' puppy pen. Finally there is only one puppy left. The next morning you find the mother chomping contentedly on what is left of the last puppy she herself killed.

What if the new homes are not so happy?.......................

1) You give a puppy to a friend. Their fence blows down so they tie the puppy outside while they go to work. A roving dog comes along and kills the puppy. Your friend calls you up to tell you about the poor little puppy and asks when you are having more puppies.

2) You sell a puppy to an acquaintance. The next time you see them you ask how the puppy is doing. They tell you that it soiled their new carpet so they took it to the pound

3) You sell a puppy to a friend (you give them a good price and payments). They make a couple of tiny payments. Six months later they move to an apartment. They ask you to take it back. You take it back and of course even the tiny payments stop. The dog they returned is so shy, and ill mannered from lack of socialization and training it takes you a year of work providing socializing and training to be able to give it away.

4) You sell a puppy to a wonderful home. They love her like one of the family. At a vet check done by their vet it is determined that the puppy has a heart murmur. (Your vet found nothing when he checked the puppy before it was sold.) They love their puppy and want the best for her. They have an expensive surgery done. The puppy is fine. They sue you for the medical costs. They win, because you did not have a contract stipulating conditions of guarantee and so as breeder you are responsible for the puppy's genetic health.

5) You give a puppy to your mother. she is thrilled. Two years later the puppy starts developing problems. It begins to develop odd symptoms and is suffering. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of tests later it is finally discovered that the dog is suffering from a terminal condition that was inherited, possibly from your female since you know nothing about her family lines.

6) One loving home decides your puppy is un-trainable, destructive and wants to return the pup and get a full refund, which you have spent on your vet bills.

7) One loving couple calls you and is very upset because their pup has crippling hip dysplasia and want to know what you are going to do about it. You have spayed your female so a replacement is out of the question, lookslike another big refund.

The Sale:...................

1) You put your ad in the local paper for your pups at the usual price and get only 2 responses and no sales. You cut the pup's price in half and broaden your advertising to 3 other newspapers in which the advertising totals $120.00 a week.

2) You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about health testing you did before breeding and if the pups are registered with AKC. You tell them your dogs are healthy and it was enough and that you could get the papers. The callers politely thank you and hang up.

3) The pups are now 4 months old and getting bigger, eating a lot and their barking is really beginning to annoy the neighbors who call the police who inform you of the $150.00 noise by-law.

4) Your neighbors also call the humane society who comes out to inspect the care of your dogs. You pass inspection but end up feeling stressed and harassed.

5) You finally decide to give the rest of the litter away but still have to pay the $1200.00 advertising bill and the $600.00 vet bill.

So you gotta ask yourself: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, "breeder?"

~Author Unknown

Your footsteps carry to my tattered ears as you make your way up the hall. Upon approach, your body speaks to me with a sense of...purpose. You seem secure in the righteousness of your task, your "mission".

Now you stand before me, a look of utter disdain and hate smeared across your face; and something more... I prostrate myself before you. On my back, I look into your eyes and lick appeasingly at my lips, seeking any semblance of mercy, the "humanity" of which you and your organization so often speak.

I find none. I can read your body, and it shows me your eagerness to see this one task to its end. In your eyes...you see me as nothing more than a nuisance, an imagined threat, a piece of garbage to be harshly disposed of.

Yet, at the same time, you stink of fear. I can smell it as you cautiously open the gate just wide enough to bring your pole to bare. Your fear only serves to justify my mounting terror as it signifies that there truly is no hope for mercy; not for me...not for any of my kind, not from you.

I pee myself. The arc of my stream reaches your leg. You sneer in disgust, and in anger you kick out at my battered body as the noose on your pole slides over my scarred head.

In your fear and hate and righteous purpose you yank me out on my back, peeing and hollering in terror. You drag me through the dark hall from which you originally came. I manage to gain my feet just to be yanked off of them again. I can't catch a breath, as your noose tightens and pulls at my throat. My cries are nothing but choked gasps.

The others cry out to me, sentiments of courage, and strength. They remind me of who I am, of what I am...My fear melts away, and as I again struggle to find my feet, it is replaced with acceptance. I am not the first this day to find my way down these dark halls at the end of a pole, and I will surely not be the last. The faces of those I pass in the hall, my kith and kin, litter mates, and sparring partners alike, show me the truth of this.

I vow not to let you see my fear; you might still smell it...if you and your kind weren't so very lost to the Earth.

Now I come along behind you. I overtake you, determined to meet my fate head-on. You cringe and your fear stink rises as I pass you. You fear me...how ironic, for your kind's careful manipulation of mine has insured your safety at my jaws.

You are determined to maintain the semblance of control and now you push me forward with your pole. My paws scrabble for purchase on the slippery floor. Half sliding, half scrabbling, we make our way to the end of the hall.

Now... I will not falter. I will not quit in this final and most difficult struggle of my short life. I will accept my end with courage and pride, as I have accepted my scars. I will not fight my fate, nor will I cower from it. The faces in the hall look on, they honor me now with silence and intense stares, as I will honor them with the dignity that befits my creed.

We pass the final door at the end of the hall. It smells of tinkle, and poop, and fear, and another sweeter smell. You lift me by my throat to a metal table. I do not struggle.

I can smell death and burning flesh. I see my kin, lying in a pile on the floor. Their eyes wide and tongues lolling...seeing no more.

My fear has been replaced by a great sadness. I pity you. Your kind, whom I and my kind have served with such devotion for hundreds of generations.

Yes. I pity you. You, who created my kind to exemplify that which you honored most in your own warriors; courage, bravery, strength, wisdom, and an indomitable spirit.

I pity you because you, and the rest of your race, have lost these traits that you so painstakingly imparted to mine.

You are a race that is weak, and full of fear. Now you seek to destroy that which you cannot understand. Perhaps you are aware of your loss, and are jealous, yes.

It is no matter. My kind has served you for its entire existence, and I, we, will continue to serve in any way you ask of us.

You created me, my lords, and, if in your infinite wisdom, you deem that you would be best served by my death, then so be it.

You hold me with your noose pole, though I would not now struggle against your wishes, as another approaches my head. as she straps the muzzle to my jaws I lick her hand. She jerks away in surprise and I can smell the fear stink again. But as I look into her eyes, and she into mine, I see them soften. She turns away.

You push me down so that I am lying on my side on the cold metal.
She turns back to me with something in her hand. I can smell the sweet-chemical smell again. My heart beats faster in anticipation of what is to come. I do not fear any pain, for what is pain to a true warrior?

Life is so full and beautiful to my kind, and it is our most powerful urge to live, to survive, to carry on, no matter what hardship befalls us. I fear the end of this beauty.

This is truly my most difficult battle. But I will not quit--I will win, as I have always won before, as it is in my nature to win, even if it means death.

Death has always been a possibility in all of my battles, but to win this one, I must accept my death without a fight.

Your grip on the pole tightens, as though you fear I may struggle for freedom. You needn't worry, I will night fight against your wishes.

She scratches behind my ear as the needle slips into my vein. My head drops to the cold metal table, and, as my vision fades, I see your eyes, full of hate and satisfaction...and then I see hers; as a tear rolls down her cheek. "I'm sorry." she whispers. As the last breath leaves my body, I thump my tail against the table, once, twice...I forgive you, master.

Author:

Janine Minor

AN APOLOGY TO BREED BAN ENTHUSIASTS

I'm sorry you are frightened of my dogs and are trying to have them
killed because they are pitbulls.

I'm sorry you lack the understanding of this breed's true history,
gentleness with people, wonderful temperament, intelligence and
behavioral conformation. I'm sorry you won't read the ATTS stats
regarding our breed's true temperament, putting it in the top four
for temperament, scoring better than breeds like Golden Retrievers,
and cocker spaniels.

I'm sorry that you side with and protect animal abusers by marking
the breed of dog, and not the irresponsibility of the owner. I'm
sorry that by your logic I could steal a car, run some people over
with it and then you can blame the make of car for the accident, as I
walk free.

I'm sorry you generalize one breed of dog with one group of people.
I'm sorry you can't see the love and determination that many often
highly educated, non-criminal and "normal" types of people show
towards this breed and the great personal sacrifices that they make
to take care of their dog responsibly.

I'm sorry you cannot go into the shelters and see the hundreds of
abandoned and abused pitbulls, dying only for the inane "crime" of
being born the breed they are. I'm sorry you cannot see the look of
disappointment in their eyes as someone walks by their kennel, and
refuses to consider adopting them based on an ill educated fear
mongering reporter. I'm sorry that you cannot be there when the
animal looks at a human for the last time, and in spite of betrayed
by all humans they have met, their tail still wags as someone
approaches with the syringe of Euthinol.

I'm sorry cannot be there when law enforcement shoots one of your
dogs dead inside it's own home in front of the children it mutually
loves for simply getting off the dog bed and walking over to say
hello with it's tail wagging. I'm sorry you cannot be there to rescue
pitbull puppies from a plastic bag in a dumpster, dumped there by
someone switching their illegal, and inhumane activities to another,
more lucrative breed.

I'm sorry you cannot understand the difference between canine and
human aggression, in the way that this breed can. Yes, I'm saying my
pitbull is smarter then you.

I'm sorry that the medieval witchhunting genetics of intolerance,
generalization, and racism make you feel the need to vilify a breed
of dog. I'm sorry that justice, equality, tolerance, common sense are
all things you hold dear as a fellow Canadian, and expect from
others, but do not yourself offer them towards a pitbull or its
caregiver. I'm sorry that you don't take the constructive time to
petition changes in the Canadian animal cruelty act, and in the
criminal code that would deal out serious punishment to the real
animal abusers.

I'm sorry you cannot see the disappointed look on a puppy's face when
the people petting it quickly frown, and walk away when you tell them
it is a pitbull. I'm sorry you feel the need to terrorize my family
and my dogs for crimes we never have and never will commit. I'm sorry
you don't have to live in fear of your dog's safety from hysterical,
and mentally unstable people trying to inflict all manner of evil
upon your dogs.

I'm sorry that you cannot see my breed working in some of the best
Search and Rescue groups in the world, saving countless lives each
year. I'm sorry our media censors and refuses to print the breed
name "pitbull' when in connection with a positive act such as saving
a person or child from a burning house, drowning, wild attacking
animals, etc. I'm sorry you cannot see the many pitbulls registered
as therapy dogs and bringing so much joy to another misunderstood,
neglected demographic in our society, the senior citizen.

I am sorry you can't see a pitbull kiss a child, step carefully over
a kitten, or play in a sunbeam. I'm sorry you cannot wake in the
morning to feel a warm pitbull cuddled next to you in bed, and know
that you are their total world, and even if the house caught fire and
trapped you, they would stay with you to the end.
But, now that I really think about it, I'm not at all sorry you don't
own a pitbull--you do not deserve one.

Rob MacBean
The Mongrel Hordes
Lake Cowichan BC
(Permission granted by me the author to crosspost as long as it stays
intact, and with my name on it.)

I Stood Beside Your Bed Last Night

I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.

I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
"It's me, I haven't left you, I'm well, I'm fine, I'm here."

I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,
You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.

I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.

I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I'm not lying there.

I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said "It's me."

You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.

It's possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, "I never went away."

You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew ...
in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.

The day is over... I smile and watch you yawning
and say "Goodnight, God bless, I'll see you in the morning."

And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I'll rush across to greet you and we'll stand, side by side.

I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out ... then come home to be with me.



author unknown

I'm Still Here

Friend, please don't mourn for me
I'm still here, though you don't see.
I'm right by your side each night and day
and within your heart I long to stay.

My body is gone but I'm always near.
I'm everything you feel, see or hear.
My spirit is free, but I'll never depart
as long as you keep me alive in your heart.

I'll never wander out of your sight-
I'm the brightest star on a summer night.
I'll never be beyond your reach-
I'm the warm moist sand when you're at the beach.

I'm the colorful leaves when fall comes around
and the pure white snow that blankets the ground.
I'm the beautiful flowers of which you're so fond,
The clear cool water in a quiet pond.

I'm the first bright blossom you'll see in the spring,
The first warm raindrop that April will bring.
I'm the first ray of light when the sun starts to shine,
and you'll see that the face in the moon is mine.

When you start thinking there's no one to love you,
you can talk to me through the Lord above you.
I'll whisper my answer through the leaves on the trees,
and you'll feel my presence in the soft summer breeze.

I'm the hot salty tears that flow when you weep
and the beautiful dreams that come while you sleep.
I'm the smile you see on a baby's face.
Just look for me, friend, I'm everyplace!

Author Unknown

Request From Rainbow Bridge

Weep not for me though I am gone

Into that gentle night

Grieve if you will, but not for long

Upon my soul's sweet flight.

I am at peace, my soul's at rest

There is no need for tears.

For with your love I was so blessed

For all those many years.

There is no pain, I suffer not,

The fear now all is gone.

Put now these things out of your thoughts,

In your memory I live on.

Remember not my fight for breath

Remember not the strife

Please do not dwell upon my death,

But celebrate my life.

"In Loving Memory of Isolde Jenkins"

"Copyright 1992 Constance Jenkins, All Rights Reserved"