08/27/2022
THIS IS GONNA BE LONG SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME! I hope you make it to the end!
Apparently my kennel and Smalls has gotten a lot of attention lately, for all of the wrong reasons! I have been called a “Backyard Breeder”, had memes created about our sweet girl, and even had a comment from someone who has no idea about me or my program tell me “you have no soul”! Instead of engaging with such hateful behavior, I have just bitten my tongue, flagged them for harassment, and blocked them.
So instead of engaging in the atrocious behavior that ignorant people instigate, I am going to explain myself to those who have chosen to follow my kennel as well as those who have chosen to become parents to our amazing Dals! I have shared the story of Smalls, our little miracle Dal…. Unfortunately, her journey was way too short…. She may have only had 6 months on this earth, but she was loved, cherished, and cared for for her entire life! If you choose to read her backstory attached, you will learn that she was seen by numerous vets, underwent several evaluations, and the ONLY thing any Vet could tell either us or her new human was to keep doing what we were doing! NO, she did not suffer from hydrocephalus…. Regardless of what “responsible” breeders have insisted on. NO, she was not bred to be a miniature Dal. She actually got to 30lbs by the time she left us. And as for what ultimately took her to the rainbow bridge remains a mystery. She just stopped eating one day. The owner took her to the Vet and they did every test imaginable with no explanation as to what was going on. One day, she had a seizure and went over the rainbow bridge. It was a journey both we and her humans shared as a journey of the unexpected…. It just didn’t turn out the way anyone wanted it to!
So this brings me to my next point of contention…. People saying that I am a bad breeder because I was peddling “defective” dogs. FIRST AND FOREMOST, I have NEVER profited from a dog that was not perfectly healthy! In our time breeding Dals, we have thrown ONE bilateral -/- dog and Smalls. I did not make a single thin dime on either puppy! Our deaf puppy was gifted to one of my employees who had to have him and watching the training he has done with him and the bond that has been created is nothing short of amazing! And in the instance of Smalls, she was reserved from day 1 along with her sister by the same couple. We were up front and honest with the prospective parents then entire time we had her and when it came time for puppies to go home, we had made a decision that we could not sell her and that she was going to spend her life with our family, however long that was to be. However, her new human would not have anything of it, she still wanted her. After explaining that we could not offer a guarantee on Smalls and there was no telling what costs might come with owning her, she didn’t budge. So after much deliberation, she was gifted to her along with the purchase of her sister because the buyer wanted to make sure she had something familiar to her for however long she may be with them. I didn’t take a penny for either “defective” puppy. I spent the same money on the same tests and then some more and didn’t blink an eye when homing them to a loving family for no charge. In fact, we have gifted healthy dogs to fire department families, discounted puppies to first responders and military families, and even offered puppies as support animals. Every single dog we have ever homes has had the exact same DNA tests for health, BAER tests for hearing, vet checkups, vaccinations, everything a puppy should get from a breeder! I guess I could take the advice of a “responsible” breeder who said the quiet part out loud that “I mean I get sometimes oops's are born but don't feature them as a proud breeder of a flaw that should not be perpetuated. Those go out the backdoor fixed and quietly.” That’s the kind of bull$hit we DON’T want to be a part of and damn well something that a REAL responsible breeder doesn’t do!
So here’s the skinny of how “irresponsible” of a breeder I am:
1. I breed for temperament and disposition.
2. I breed for the LUA gene and celebrate the long coat gene in the Dalmatian breed. I DO NOT charge a premium for my long coat Dals, they are the same price as all the rest. There is nothing genetically wrong with them, they just aren’t considered conformation. The Maverick long coat lines are full of Champion and Grand Champion Dals and whether long or short coat, they produce some of the best dispositioned Dals I have ever had. Our LUA genes come from the Stocklore lines, with more Champions and Grand Champions than the Maverick lines.
3. We currently have 3 Dams in our program. Each and every one is Baer tested and those results have been submitted for OFA certification. One of our Dals is OFA certified “Excellent” hips and the other 2 are just now old enough to get the OFA hip evaluation. One of my other Dals is OFA certified for eyes and will have her Chic number as soon as we can get her hips evaluated. We currently do not have a Sire as we lost ours to a tragic accident. However, our new sire to be born will provide us with extremely low COIs and Grand Champion bloodlines. By the time he is ready to put in work, all of our Dams will have their Chic numbers. I will happily provide any OFA numbers, Baer results, or health certifications at the request of any potential buyer.
4. Our Dams DO NOT AND WILL NOT have any more than 4 litters in their lifetime, after which they will be spayed. Unlike some “responsible” breeders, we DO NOT rehome our Dams after they are retired. They will spend the rest of their lives with our family as a part of our family, no exceptions.
5. All of our puppies sold are vet checked, health guaranteed, vaccinated, Embark Breeder DNA tested for genetic health and traits, Baer tested with OFA application provided, and go to approved home only with a contract.
6. We will take back any puppy we sell, no questions asked, and that is part of our contract, or we will place our puppies into a new home for a nominal rehoming fee between the owner surrendering and the new owner.
I have owned Dals for over 25 years. I have had some amazing dogs and one who had major aggression issues due to a true irresponsible breeder (who is now in prison for his breeding practices). It was the irresponsible breeder that inspired me to become a breeder. And it was the experience and loss I had with that “bad apple” that led me to run my program as I do; the good, bad, pretty, and ugly. We always do the right thing by the dog’s we raise. And for someone to say we are “just in it for the profit” without even KNOWING ME or my program is crap! I wouldn’t spend the money I do on MY dogs or my puppies if I was only in it for the money! I wouldn’t spend the money I do on testing and OFA and upgrading our operation of it was all about the almighty dollar. I would feed my Dams and puppies premium foods if I was just in it for the paycheck. And I certainly would donate or discount my dogs for special circumstances if I am trying to maximize my return on investment. Any breeder who claims another breeder is only in it for money is not only lying to you, but lying to themselves. EVERY breeder is hoping to make some money, whether it is a little or a lot! No breeder is looking to lose money…. I’m sorry, that’s just a damn fact! At the end of the day, the money made goes to the time and effort put into producing a quality dog…. Hours and hours of birthing litters of puppies, cleaning up messes, bathing puppies, working on training, grooming them, sleepless nights when one is sick…. It’s a full time job, plain and simple!
I’m off my soapbox. I breed Dalmatians because I love the breed. I share my stories because it actually means something. And I WILL NOT apologize for how I run my business! Ask anyone who has one of my puppies, I’m sure they’ll tell you just how much their Dal changed their lives! You can hate me or you can love me, I really don’t care…. I love my Dals and I will continue to do my thing! In the works of James Franco, “Haters gonna hate and ain’ters gonna ain’t! They hate us cuz they ain’t us!”
Look at these two sisters! Yes, they were born the same day…. And actually, Lil Bit was born before her big sister! Smalls, AKA Lil Bit, now appropriately named Sprout was our runt of the litter! She had a tough go of it but fought every day! She almost didn’t make it past the first 24 hours!!! From the beginning, she was playing catch-up! She fought 10 other puppies to nurse and had to be bottle fed just to make sure she got her nutrients. Her littermates and momma always made sure Sprout was protected. They piled on top of her during the cold nights to keep her warm and mom always made sure she got to nurse! It was not unusual to go into their room and see Sprout snuggled up under mommas legs! As they grew, she just never caught up! We supplemented and supplemented and she just couldn’t pack on the ounces like her brothers and sisters. At their 4 week checkup, our normal vet checked her out and said her heart and lungs sounded great, she was just behind! We worried about hydrocephalus but our vet said she didn’t display the symptoms. When we went in to our other vet for BAER testing, he also did a thorough examination and found nothing concerning other than her weight. He told us to keep at it! By 7 weeks, the other puppies were 5-7 pounds and Lil Bit weighed in at a mere 15 ounces! By then, she was getting trampled by her siblings so we had to put her in her own area to ensure she didn’t get hurt. When it came time for her shots, our vet again thoroughly checked her out…. After extensive research, she determined the only possible explanation was that she might have a liver shunt or pituitary dwarfism. And unfortunately, she said there was no sanctioned testing in the US that could be done to verify. She never had any deficits like hearing or sight issues or even motor skill deficits, she just could not grow! It seemed all was lost!
Sprout had an interested adoptive parent from the day she was born, Ashley Anderson-Bowen…. We had no choice but to notify her of where we were with Sprout. As a responsible breeder, we did not feel comfortable selling her a puppy that we were not sure would love a happy and healthy life. But Ashley was unswayed! She wanted to try!!! So we kept at it for the next 2 weeks and something amazing happened…. She gained almost 3 pounds in less than 14 days! She was, indeed, Sprouting before our very eyes!!! She wasn’t bloated or looking sickly, she was growing! Her ears dropped into place and she was starting to look like a Dalmatian instead of a spotted Chihuahua!!! Sunday, she went to her new home in Utah with her big, little sister! And I feel like she is going to live a full and happy Dalmatian life! She deserves it!!!
I tell this story because I think it brings hope! You can do everything right, get all the tests and do everything by the book! You can have the healthiest dogs and spend all the money in the world…. But sometimes natures does exactly what it wants to do! Sometimes, breeding is not perfect! We could have easily destroyed this puppy and pretended it never happened…. But that’s how long coat Dalmatians and other colors became such scarce variations! We could have sold her to some unexpecting buyer and profited off a puppy that could possibly have special needs, calling her a miniature Dalmatian…. But that wasn’t right by the breed and certainly would not be right by little Sprout! But Ashley did not accept that Sprout might have to stay with us, she wanted her regardless…. Eyes Wide Open! But we did not fee it would be right to profit on Sprout. So, Sprout went home with Ashley and Poppy! I truly don’t think this could have worked out any better! Spout is getting her shot at life and Ashley is getting an amazingly sweet and sassy Dalmatian that will forever be glued to her side!
I wanted to share Sprout’s journey as a testament to the breed and those that breed these amazing dogs. Sometimes you can do everything you think is right and still have imperfect results in breeding. It just so happens, Sprout’s story looks like it is leading to a happy ending! We can’t wait to see what little Sprout can become!!!
