Placing Adult Dogs

One of the hardest parts about being a breeder is the heartbreak.  It occurs in many forms, and sometimes you know that you must feel the hurt in order to make a dog's life the best life possible.  This is the case in placing adult dogs.  Young or old, it hurts, but as a breeder I have to remember to do what is best for the dog and do what is best to move forward to continue the quest to improve on what I have.  Sometimes the older adults just stay.  And really I wish I could keep them all, but it is not reasonable to assume that keeping every dog gives that dog what he or she needs to have the best life possible.

I recently placed an older girl that I knew in my heart needed a home where she was queen of the castle.  She was always second fiddle to my alpha girl here and she longed to be number one.  So as hard as it was, I put her out there to see if there was any interest.  And surprisingly enough there was, even though she was about 7 years old.  I interviewed a couple of people that I totally found unsuitable.  And then the call came from a gentleman looking for a good dog for his mom who had recently lost her Shih Tzu to old age.  We talked for a great while and decided to meet.  When they arrived his mother seemed skeptical because of how attached my girl was to me.  That is to be expected, I said.  She's only known me.  But once she discovers I'm not there, she is going to latch on to the woman that is there.

It ripped my heart out to watch them leave with my girl.  But I knew it was the right thing to do.  We called it a test drive but I knew in my heart that this girl had found her next, and last forever home.  She would be loved and doted upon in a way I never could give. 

After a day I called and asked how things were going.  It was a positive report.  After a week, my girl's new momma called me to tell me there was no way she would ever give up her new found love.  A couple more weeks went by and I sent the paperwork for the transfer and I received the following  note in return:

Hi Nancy!

Thank you for my precious baby.

God has been so good to me.  She is a gift from heaven.

She is doing great.  No problems at all!

I know you must miss her.

Hope all is well with you.

PS:  I now call her Molly.  I kept calling her Maggie.  Molly was as close to that so we call her Molly.  No matter what she is called, all you have to say is "treat" and she comes running.

Love -
Anna

Now that warmed my heart.  And while the ache is still there because my girl is not here, I know that I did the right thing.  Molly is now totally the queen of her own castle!

Chronic Pain

In June or July I started having significant pain radiating down my right leg.  I'm a back surgery survivor if you will - having had a laminectomy in 1995 between S1 and L5.  The pain was familiar, but add to that a new twist with new pain in my front right thigh compounded with a nasty heel spur that just wasn't going away.  Finally I had testing done.  Uncountable x-rays, a whole morning of multiple MRIs - one that included a most painful injection into my right hip.  The diagnosis - torn right hip cartilage, complete medial meniscus tear in my right knee with an additional tear of the lateral meniscus in the same knee.  And of all the scans, my back looked the best, but for some reason the sciatic nerve is inflamed.  Maybe because most of my right leg joints are messed up.

I've since visited a pain specialist and an orthopedic specialist.  We are not doing any knee surgery yet.  On top of the meniscal tears, I have so much arthritis in my knee, that even if he fixed the tears, I would not have any less pain.  So until the knee completely fails we do nothing - except physical therapy twice a week.  If I want a cortisone injection, I'm welcome to it.  But for now I've declined.  I'm scheduled for a lumbar epidural injection in January and from there we will decide if I need an injection in my hip.  Fun stuff. 

I've avoided prescription pain killers and I am in significant pain every day.  There are good days where I can walk pretty well with low grade pain.  The physical therapy is helping and believe it or not I see a gym membership in my future.  Kind of ironic, eh?  For me?

This has been game changing for me in so many ways.  I don't want to spend my life in a wheelchair and I don't want to lose my freedom or independence.  I want my dogs in my life for a long time to come.  So I fight.

This ordeal has left me even more jaded - if this is possible.  Every day is a struggle.  My dogs are my haven for which I fight daily.  That will not change.  They make life worth it. 

So fair warning.  I don't feel well.  Enough said.

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.

Velvet Wins Again!

We spent last weekend in the north country of Arizona.  Up north is always cooler (thankfully) and the pines are wonderful.  The drive up the mountain was uneventful and we made it to Show Low in about three hours.  The temperature was about 25 degrees cooler too during the day and in the 50s at night which was awesome sleeping weather!

After unloading a small amount of gear at the show site we made our way to visit friends Cindy and Larry who were gracious enough to offer Velvet and myself a place to bunk for the weekend.  We spent the evening catching up and I then had the task to groom out Velvet before bed.  Loved sleeping with the window wide open and enjoyed that cool, fresh mountain air!

The next day we had lots of help from the Boy Scouts at the show site who unloaded my gear from my SUV, got it all tied down to my show cart and got us to our set-up.  What an awesome service they provided!  I was sure to make a donation to the troop leader as I could never have made it over the terrain by myself.

The wind of course kicked up a bit as we got ready to show but Velvet did great and she won the Breed on Saturday.  Sunday the wind was awful!  It was hard enough to groom in it, but to show at 6,600 ft ASL with 30 mph winds - well - we didn't fare well.  Sorry to say poor Velvet was windblown and didn't move to the judge's expectations - on her down and specifically her back - and we went Reserve.  Oh well - there is always next time.  With her win on Saturday, Velvet now has three points towards her title.

After getting Velvet back in maintenance bands, we loaded up and had a smooth drive home.  Boy was I glad to see all my kids!  Velvet was glad to be home too!

 

My thanks to again, the Boy Scouts for all of their help, to Cindy and Larry for their generous hospitality and also to Carol and Gail Page for allowing us to share their set-up. Extra kudos to Carol and Gail for helping me with my gear on Friday and also on Sunday getting everything back to my SUV. I've been having some trouble with my back most recently and actually did this show against my better judgement health wise. I paid for it this past week in spades. Thankfully, visits to my chiropractor along with extra rest have helped me get past a good portion of the back and leg pain. I am hoping I can push through this lower back and leg pain that kicked up back in July and get back to showing my little one soon.



So You've Contacted Me For A Shih Tzu

At least have the COURTESY to LISTEN to what I tell you.  If you are too wrapped up in your own life to comprehend what I say - then don't call me.  I'm not interested in listening to your life story ad infinitum - over AND OVER in an effort for you to impress upon me what a great home you can provide for one of my dogs.  What speaks VOLUMES is what you ask and WHAT YOU COMPREHEND.

I despise the "selling dogs" end of breeding.  I wish I could just keep them all.  Honestly. 

If  you are going to make contact with me - at least attempt to listen - not just hear the words I say.  Don't leave me a message after wasting quite a bit of my time and accuse me of being a liar.  I have no reason to lie to anyone.  I'd just as soon not sell you my young adult dog or puppy.  I don't do this for money.  I do this for me and to leave the breed in a better place than I found it.  I don't have to sell you anything.  I have no reason to lie to anyone because frankly - I'm better than any of the "breeders" out there you'll be contacting for your next dog.  If anything - YOU need to shut up and LISTEN.  You deserve the dog you end up with, just like the last one that was a heart breaker for you.  You know why?  Because you spend too much time trying to IMPRESS rather than spending enough time trying to LEARN.  And you seriously need to address your lack of comprehension.

And by the way - my 12 year old girl Iris isn't going anywhere - she is MY HEART.  And Violet?  At least you saved me the stress of having to tell you that you weren't my idea of a suitable owner.

Stepping off my soapbox . . .

Champion Kiki!

WoTeH'sin Shih Tzu has a new champion!  Kiki is now CH WoTeH'sin Island Style.  Kiki is my 9th champion overall and my 7th home bred champion.  My thanks to Greg Larson for his patience, perseverance and expert presentation.  But also, thank you to the whole "Team Kiki" of which I will write more later. 

Kiki's story is important and it will be told here in detail in the coming weeks.  But before I publish it for the public, I have an important letter to present to The American Kennel Club.  You see, Kiki's story thankfully has a happy ending, but it could have ended much differently.

More to come . . .

Friendship

Dallas and Sunny