This is a story of Jackie, a young, successful prefessional dog handler.
This story is so heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
On June 10th, 2004, I bought a puppy.
I met his breeder in a gas station parking lot the day before
spoke with her for 20 minutes, and played with four puppies.
Two bitches and two dogs.
There was one puppy in that litter that always kept my
attention. He was big, burly, and a loud mouth. He
demanded I pay attention to him and only him, though one of the
sisters was the same and tried to get me to ignore him. He bit
my fingers, and sat on my feet. He crawled in my lap and he
kissed my nose.
That was my puppy.
On June 10th, 2004, I gave the breeder $250...my high school
graduation money, and I took home one black and tan bundle of
trouble. He squirmed and cried on the way home, not out of
fear, but annoyance. He tried scrambling over the seats,
searching for something to do, and he rolled in everybody's
laps. He wagged his stubby little tail, and I smiled at him,
all of the great things I had planned for the two of us running
through my head.
Just an 18 year old girl and an 8 week old puppy on our way to do
great things together.
It is now June 4th, 2008....6 days away from when I got that
puppy. The puppy is now four years old, has his CD, his RN, and
his CGC, and he is working on his BH, NA, NAJ, and CDX.
That puppy is Strauss.
I don't know what possessed me to do so, but after four years, I
drove back out to that gas station...finding it was a miracle.
I wasn't sure I could remember where it was. I only knew it was
a BP out in Kewaunee. But I'll be damned if I didn't find it.
I asked the woman inside if she knew anything of the other puppies
that had been sold, as when I had met the breeder four years ago in
that lot, she had been dropping off a sister to a worker in the
station.
The long and short of it is that the woman that owned her is in
prison...and she'll be there for a long time. The store worker
has no idea what's become of the sister, but gave me information on
the puppies she knew about.
They're dead. Most of them anyway.
One brother was struck by a car and was later put down for health
issues caused by his injuries. Two other brothers were put down
for temperament issues...biting people. One sister was put down
at 6 months for "hip dysplasia" (idiot vet never x-rayed her...she
may have just had pano). The other 4 puppies are "Missing" for
lack of a better term. I don't hold any hope of finding them.
To the best of my knowledge, Strauss is the last of the 9....and
I'm probably the only one who cares.
There's not a damn thing wrong with this dog aside from the fact
that he's got a semi floppy ear. He's drivey, and sweet, and
has a temperament to die for. He's well trained and just an
overall good dog. Sure no couch potato..probably why his
siblings ended up with such poor ends. Never socialized and
never trained.
What would have happened to my Mouse if he hadn't found me?
What would have happened to me if I hadn't found him?
People tell me all that time that pedigrees don't matter, and
titling doesn't matter, and if a dog knows how to come and sit, that
it's good enough. They tell me that pricing doesn't matter, and
that the breeder doesn't matter, they "just want a pet".
Let me tell you something... it DOES matter, DID matter, and WILL
matter for all the puppies from litters like Strauss's.
I didn't expect to feel such grief over the knowledge of all their
losses...but I swear it was like Strauss died 5 times and she listed
each puppy that had passed for one reason or another.
He JUST turned 4 in April. How many of the rest of them even
made it that far? Not that one sister for sure...dead at 6
months.
I honestly feel like I've lost family, and can't help but think of
how unfair it is that one puppy, ONE blasted puppy ended up in a good
home out of pure dumb luck. I can't believe how unfair it is
that this ONE wonderful puppy is sound in temperament, and body, and
spirit, and the rest met their end far too soon.
I didn't breed these puppies, didn't own these puppies, didn't even
meet all of them. I did not sell them or train them.
So why do I feel responsible for them?
Why do I feel so guilty over their loss of life?
Why do I feel such a heavy burden for a problem that somebody else
created?
I love my Strauss to death, and I thank whatever omnipotent being
that may exist every day that he is mine, and that one puppy out of
nine found his way to a good home. But I will always wonder if
his siblings felt a quarter of the love I feel for this one puppy.
Rest In Peace brothers and sisters. I hope you've found a
place for yourselves.
Go hug your dogs. Thank your breeders, your rescuers, and
your foster homes...and say a little prayer for the family that may
have been lost.
--
Jackie
Marcato Shepherds
Where beauty is found in function
http://www.jackieshort.com
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Subject: Jackie's story 
Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:19 pm
That's kinda sad how they just put that one dog down for hip problems like you said it could of been pano.
