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What is a Breeder?
* A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge
and never really knows it all,
one
who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment.
* A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances,
time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting!
* The Breeder gives up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in
favor of turning that all important Show into this year's "vacation".
* The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee or
coke!) in
the hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the
birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle
or cry.
* The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or
the babies have to be fed at eight.
* The Breeder disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to
save a gasping new-born, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless
creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.
* A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud
and noble champions once snoozed.
* A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever
so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.
* A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping,
bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough
to enable the breeder to show the next choice pup to a Championship.
* A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse
from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight
of a thousand defeats and frustrations.
* A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful
of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.
* A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being
talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a
phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned
to the whimper of a sick puppy.
* A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes
blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever so keen to the
competition's faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.
* A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees
faster than an IBM computer. It's so full of knowledge that sometimes
it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good conformations, fine ears,
and perfect heads... and buries in the soul the failures and the
ones that didn't turn out.
* The Breeder's heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with
hope, everlasting... and it's always in the right place!
* Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!!
~By Peggy Adamson~
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