Author: Leslie Renaud Kuther
In light of recent posts in support of animal adoption vs. purchasing from a responsible breeder, let me offer this:
"Won't you buy me? Not because I will be euthanized, abandoned, abused or given up because I wasn't important enough. Buy me because the wonderful person taking this photo brought me into this world after much thought and careful planning, sat up with me, night after night, to make sure I was warm, fed, and strong.
She played with me, introduced me to countless experiences, people and places. She sang to me, held me, kissed my face and my baby paws. She cried when my baby sister didn't make it in the first days of our lives.
She sat, scowl on her face, interviewing potential buyers, some of which didn't measure up. She will be there for me, for the rest of my life. She has guaranteed my health, and knows the dogs behind me, very well. She knows what those dogs have the potential to produce, both good and bad, and she willingly shares that with anyone who asks. She will cry when I go home with that carefully screened family, and she will think of me often.
Isn't that worth a minimal investment, something to cover her time and the money she spent to bring me into the world, and care for me like none other? A little something to enable her to continue her exceptional care of my parents, and the other adults she keeps as her own? A little token to keep her going, so she can continue to support the breed she loves, with all the care and planning with which she used to bring me into the world? There is no profit for her, though she works for the love of her breed. She is worth your investment...believe me, I know this for sure. Look at how clean I am, how I smile. Look at my bright and healthy eyes, my clean and tidy surroundings. Look at how happy I am, how much I love people, and love to play with my toys...all because of her.
When I leave her, I will hope and pray that my new family has the potential to care for me with the same kind of love and devotion with which she has cared for me over the last 8 weeks. I'm scared, but I trust her. She is a responsible, careful and loving breeder. There are many others like her. She carries a heavy burden, but she carries it because she loves me, and she's devoted to others like me."
The next time you feel like it's a crime to purchase a purebred puppy, think of everything that lead to that life. The care, the planning, the worry, the heart-ache. There are puppies that join this world, and they are worth every penny of the small pittance their breeders ask. It's *NOT* a crime to purchase a puppy...and it's not a crime to sell one. If I charged what I felt my puppies were really worth, no one could afford them. Letting them leave is the hardest thing I do. When we meet, don't bother to ask me to justify what I charge for my puppies. It's the fastest way to find the door, and never again get your hands on my precious, precious babies.