Breeder Beware
August 27th, 2008I recently found this article and also found out this person still has many SAR dogs, they are certified and I am sure she has washed out a ton between now and then. NOT any of mine!!!
IN 2002 I donated two pups to a gal that wanted to raise them for search
and rescue work. This gal did not really belong to an organization and I
made an agreement with her that I would donate half the cost of each pup and
that I would not charge her for the deposit on the hip x-rays. I charge $800
for my pups at the time (now $1200) and with the rebate of $100 when they x-ray hips the cost to
this gal was $350 per puppy. She begged me for the yellow pups- she had to
have yellow and so did the other handler who had previously had a German
Shepherd and now wanted a yellow Lab so he would not think about his
previous dog.
I was not friends with this gal and basically took her word
that the homes and work she was going to do would be in line with search and
rescue. She had a FEMA dog and was training another. Well- the male was
placed first with a handler that did not understand Labradors or dogs at all
and did nothing with him for 16 weeks. He did have basic Veterinary care. He
was placed in a different home with a fire-fighter who wanted to raise his
own search and rescue dog. This next handler took good care of the dog but
never showed up for training. I finally signed the dog over to him when he
was a year old- he was neutered and x-rayed clear by the fire-fighter. He
was a nice guy and I know the dog has a good home but the original agreement
as to what the dog was to be raised and trained for was not kept and the gal
that took the pups did not have a system to deal with non-compliance.
The pup she kept we co-owned so if she turned out we could also show her.
She had let me know that she really was looking for a foundation bitch, and
this pups lines would be great. (That turned out to be a complete lie) Again, she had to have yellow and there were
ten pups in the litter, she did not choose the highest drive pup-there was
only one yellow bitch, this bitch did not ultimately have enough drive for
search and rescue. They tried her at cadaver and other work- still not
enough interest in the toy- two litter mates are at the end of their SAR
training (both certified now) have wonderful drive but with working dogs the odds are 50/50
that they will work out.
The pup came to visit at 7 months and had pano- was
limping in the front. I took her in for x-rays, she cleared both hips and
elbows. Again, the gal said she (the dog)was too ill to train and that
interfered with her learning to be a search and rescue dog.
Here is the best part: In reality she
was also raising about 7 other pups at the same time she had mine, not a
recipe for raising a dog with high drive and I did give her feedback about
that and other topics such as diet and exercise, we kept in touch for the
whole year. I counted a total of 200 emails that I sent and received from
this person. She asked that we sign-off on the dog due to a disagreement about
the male and what had transpired and I signed a copy of the registration,
she never sent it to AKC and as of Aug 6th I was still the co-owner of the
dog. I signed off and the agreement in writing we had was for a pup back if
she was ever bred- it was too far and too messy to continue to co-own this
dog.
NO- this is the best part! Because she did not make it in search and rescue she decided to place
her. AND SHE GAVE , she gave her to a guide dog organization- the pup that
we co-owned with out calling me or telling me first and said that I had
signed her off. When she donated her she was still in my name. Guide dogs is
going to use her as a brood bitch- she passed her clearances and they loved her temperament.
So what exactly is the moral to the story here? I think what I learned is
that folks will say anything to get what they want. There is no general
“ethics” in this hobby and if there is a falling out- the rules of the game
change. I assumed a level of ethics that just wasn’t there- really who do
you know when they place a dog that is co-owned would NOT call the co-owner
and offer the dog back? This gal knew better and decided to screw me over
for her own needs. She did not want me to have the dog- fine- well now you
get to have know the story and watch out- she is looking for more dogs for her
program. She did not do anything illegal but I wanted to put my experience out there
to let others know about this person. It is not about the money as I don’t
really care about the donation- but now I have lost this dog and she is
about the farthest from Guide material that I can think of- wait till they
see what they get out of her!? I do not breed couch potato Labradors and
somehow this dog came out that way. I wonder why? Gee- could it be that
you get what you train for? That is what Jack Godsil would always say- the handler
blamed it on the dog, she did not have enough focus. How could she? She
never really learned how to learn. I never get away with this excuse- why do other folks? There are trainers that get to blame it on the dog? I agree she did not have enough drive with the methods this person used ha!ha!.
So if you are thinking of donating a puppy to an individual or an
organization get everything in writing- I feel very stupid. I am not a
victim here, I had some red flags but damn- I wanted to believe that someone
doing search and rescue and who was a firefighter would not harm me in any
way. I was wrong, luckily the dog is fine and now living in CA in a great
home. Guide dogs gave her up (I bet they did not want to be in the middle of co-owners) and I had to PAY to get her back. MY OWN DOG. She was born here and my responsibility. There are always two sides to every story- I bet this person is
giggling away each time she goes to pick up a new baby Lab, you might want
to make sure it is not one of yours.
