*WHAT IS A BREEDER*?
A Breeder (with a capital B),
is
one who thirsts for knowledge
and never really knows it all,
one who
wrestles with
decisions of conscience,
convenience, and
commitment.
A Breeder is one who sacrifices
personal interests,
finances,
time, friendships,
fancy furniture,
and deep pile
carpeting.
She gives up the dreams
of a long, luxurious cruise
in
favor of turning that
all important show
into this year's
"vacation".
A Breeder goes without sleep,
but never without
coffee,
in hours spent planning
a breeding or watching anxiously
over
the birth process, and afterwards,
over every little sneeze, wiggle or
cry.
A Breeder skips dinner parties
because that litter is due
or
the babies have to be fed
at eight.
She disregards birth fluids
and
puts mouth to mouth
to save a gasping newborn,
literally blowing life into
a tiny, helpless creature
that may be the culmination
of a lifetime of
dreams.
A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place
where generations of
proud
and noble champions
once snoozed.
A Breeder's hands
are
strong and firm
and often soiled,
but ever so gentle and sensitive
to
the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.
A Breeder's back and knees
are
usually arthritic
from stooping, bending, and sitting
in the birthing
box,
but are strong enough to enable
the breeder to show the next choice
pup
to a Championship.
A Breeder's shoulders are stooped
and often
heaped with abuse from competitors,
but they're wide enough
to support
the weight of
a thousand defeats and frustrations.
A Breeder's arms
are always able to wield a mop,
support an armful of puppies,
or lend a
helping hand to a newcomer.
A Breeder's ears are wondrous
things,
sometimes red ~ from being talked about ~
or strangely shaped
~
from being pressed against a phone receiver,
often deaf to
criticism,
yet always fine-tuned to
the whimper of a sick puppy.
A
Breeder's eyes are blurred
from pedigree research
and sometimes blind
to her own dog's faults,
but they are ever so keen
to the competitions
faults
and are always searching for
the perfect specimen.
A
Breeder's brain is foggy on faces,
but it can recall pedigrees faster
than
an IBM computer.
It's so full of knowledge that
sometimes it blows a
fuse.
It catalogues thousands of good bonings,
fine ears, and perfect
heads,
and buries in the soul,
the failures and the ones
that didn't
turn out.
A Breeder's heart is often broken,
but it beats strongly
with hope everlasting,
and it's always in the right place!
Oh, yes,
there are breeders, and then,
there are Breeders ~
Author unknown