I am a breeder.....

My food receipts for a family of 7 and my dog food bills match.
My water bill has doubled.
My electric has tripled.
It is I, a breeder, who when my fridge quit, saved the dog meds and let the food go bad.
My feet find the way to the kennel before I have even grabbed a cup
of coffee in the morning and the kennel is my last stop before bed.
While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and
my family meets for Christmas, I am home delivering puppies.
I haven't had a real vacation in 7 years, but maybe soon.
All plans are made around heat dates, whelp dates and vet dates.
I shower and 10 minutes later my grand kids
say I smell like a dog.
My clothes are all stained with fecal matter, urine,
afterbirth or bleach.
I have to remember to clean my shoes before church.

Most of my friends breed dogs.
who else can you call at 3 am for support?
Who else has the experience I sometimes need, the med I
sometimes need, or just an uplifting word I sometimes need ?
Who else would understand how it feels to have invested hours and hours and hours
in a weak puppy to lose it?
Or the joy in investing hours in one that lives?
I have slept on the floor beside a litter until the crucial 2
weeks have passed.
I have bottle fed a litter of 12..feeding every 2
hours and it taking 90 minutes to do for weeks at a time.
I have learned to be proficient at micro chipping, vaccinations, sub
q fluids, bottle feeding and tube feeding.

My vet knows me by first name.
The vet knows my children.
The vet now knows my grand children.
My vet knows it was I who added on the wing to the vet clinic.
I am a breeder

It is to me that 63 days takes on new meaning still excited by every
new life.
It is I who delivers all my pups, towels and heat lamps on ready,
happiness and sadness sometimes intermingled.
Even though it increases my work load, I look forward
to the 10 day stage when eyes open, and puppies begin to emerge from
the helplessness of newborns.
Puppy breath, a first bark, and a heart of exploration.
I am not uneducated, unemployable, illiterate or lazy as
some Animal Rights folks would imply of breeders.
I am a conscientious lover of animals and I have found my niche.
I am a breeder.

And although
I feel no shame there is a part of me that feels the
need to hide from powers that could come to invade my home and take
my dogs ..maybe for finding a mild infraction, a leaf in the water
dish? A kennel not yet cleaned for the day?
A rash I am home treating? I tell my children and grand children
to hush, do not tell others we are dog breeders, and I wonder when
did breeding puppies go into the same secret place as criminal activity?
I am a breeder -- I am not cruel, dumb, uncaring or criminal. I am
not raking in money while sitting on my butt.
Every penny I make I earn through blood,
sweat and tears.
My greatest joy is a healthy puppy and a wonderful home.
The cards of thanks and the pictures of
my puppy with its new family is the
fringe benefits of my efforts.
I am an animal lover, nurse, midwife, heavy
laborer, customer service representative, and marketer.

AND I am a
breeder.

Lori Hallfrisch of Southernstyle kennel

Forwarded with
permission of the author for use by anyone for the
benefit of our fight
against the AR movement.