Saturday, December 1, 2012

A Puppy For Christmas



The emails start coming in for Christmas puppies in December usually.  I actually received a few inquires beginning in November this year. 

Here's a lovely example of a recent exchange I had:


Name: XXXXXX XXXXXXXX
Email: XXX.XXXXXXXX@gmail.com
Message:  I found your Shih Tzu listing at Breeders.NET

Hello I am interested in buying a baby girl puppy for my kids for Christmas. If you could please let me know if you have one and what price. Thank you:)


And my standard Christmas puppy response followed:

On Nov 16, 2012, at 6:03 AM, wotehsinst@aol.com wrote:

XXXXXX:

Thank you for your inquiry, however even if I had puppies available at or around the holiday - I would not place them as Christmas presents. Nor do I entertain birthday or anniversary inquiries. Please refer to this article.

Christmas is really the absolute worst time of the year to place a puppy. There is too much happening for anyone to possibly focus on the needs of a puppy at that time. There are breeders out there that gear up for Christmas because it's their biggest sales season of the year for them. They will sell puppies too young to be going anywhere just to turn that Christmas buck.

But that's not how I operate.

You might consider giving puppy supplies as Christmas gifts to announce your decision to bring a pet into your home and instead focus on finding the right breeder and dog for your family. When it comes to finding the perfect member for your family, it's better to take your time and research the breeders involved and find someone that can provide you the best possible dog, health wise etc. for your family at your financial comfort level. Buying strictly on timing is the poorest way to find the right dog.

Check out the American Shih Tzu Club website for things to look for when selecting a breeder and also breeder referral.

Best of luck in your search -
Nancy Manelski
WoTeH'sin Shih Tzu
 
And here is the lovely response I received:

From: XXXXXX XXXXXXXX <XXX.XXXXXXXX@gmail.com>
To: wotehsinst <
wotehsinst@aol.com>
Sent: Wed, Nov 21, 2012 7:38 pm
Subject: Re: I found your Shih Tzu listing at Breeders.NET

Wow a little too much information a simple no would have been fine.....weirdo!!

XXXXXX XXXXXXXX
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Nice, huh?  Try to educate the general public and look what happens.  Nice manners and a lovely email to receive on Thanksgiving Eve.  Honey, are you raising your kids to be as polite and receptive to education as you obviously were? 
 
I hope no one places a puppy with this family.  Because honestly, I see the writing on the wall.  Loved for a moment in time and then forgotten, some poor puppy will likely end up in a shelter out of this home when that puppy is no longer convenient for the family.  Tossed aside likely as several other Christmas gifts that have outlived the instant gratification high the kids get once the next present is revealed, or the poor puppy has an accident in the house after being chased or hounded by likely unruly children that scare the poor baby half to death. 
 
Nope.  Not one of my puppies.  Ever.

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