The Obama puppy: The breeder tells the tale

Texas Portuguese Water Dog breeder Martha Stern is no stranger to placing her puppies with the famous and powerful. She bred Sen. Ted Kennedy's beloved dogs Splash, Sunny and Cappy. And now it turns out she and her husband, Art, are also the breeders of the new First Dog, Bo -- or Amigo's New Hope, his registered name.



The news started leaking two days ago, when gossip site TMZ published a story that Sen. Kennedy would be giving the Obama girls the puppy their father had promised them when he was on the campaign trail. The breeder wasn't identified, but the puppy was said to be of the "same lineage" of the Kennedy dogs.



I'd spoken to Stern a couple of months earlier, when rumors were flying that she'd sold a puppy to the Obamas. The basis for the rumor seemed to be not much more than the fact that she was the breeder of the Kennedy's dogs, the Obamas had expressed an interest in the breed, and there was a puppy in the same litter from which Sen. Kennedy had gotten his newest puppy with the registered name of "Amigo's Change to Believe In."



At the time she said the rumor wasn't true. "I did have what I called my 'Hope' litter, and all of them are named Hope or Change, or something like that, but no, they did not..." she told me then. "I would have loved to place a puppy with them. I think." She paused, then laughed. "I'm not sure. Let me ponder on it a little bit."



I left her a message yesterday, wanting to find out what the story was now. When I heard back from her this morning, she told me this had all transpired after we talked.



"Yeah, I called the girl who has Amigo's Change to Believe In, and she laughed and laughed," Stern said. "She's been a huge Obama supporter from the beginning. She said she made 1500 phone calls for him during the campaign. She told me, 'He can have my money, but he can't have my dog.'"



While the Obamas had wanted to adopt a rescue or shelter dog, they also had their hearts set on a Portuguese Water Dog. This was partly because they fell in love with the Kennedy's dogs, and partly because Malia Obama suffers from allergies.



Portuguese Water Dogs, like their Poodle relatives and a few other breeds, have what's known as a "single" coat. These coats shed less than the more common canine double coat, and so less dander gets deposited in the environment. This sometimes makes them less of a problem for people with allergies.



It was Sen. Kennedy's wife, Vicki, who heard about a littermate of Cappy's in Washington DC who was probably going to be needing a new home. The family had two older Portuguese Water Dogs, and when one of them died, they got a puppy to keep their remaining dog company.



"Usually that works out all right," said Stern. "But not this time. This little puppy was quite rambunctious, and I think he kind of barreled in there and tried to nurse off the older dog when he first got there. And she said, 'You've got to be kidding.' She did not understand this at all, and just lay around growling at him."



Around two months ago, the owners made the decision to let the older dog have her peace and quiet back. "Vicki Kennedy found out about it, and she said, 'This is a perfect situation, Martha.' And after I thought about it, I had to agree."



Stern respects the desire to give a shelter or rescue dog a home, but feels the Obamas also have the right to get the dog they want for their family. She said it would have been difficult for them to get a PWD from a rescue or shelter because the national breed club takes a very strong stand on breeder responsibility.



"We don't want any of our dogs to end up homeless. And the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America, that we belong to, requires that their breeders take back their dogs if for any reason, any reason at all, the people can't care for the dog. That's what responsible breeders do, always.



"Things happen; people die, people get divorced, people lose their jobs, lose their homes. But the one thing that's always constant is that the dog is a family member, and deserves a loving home."



Does she think Bo's fame will bring the curse of popularity -- puppies being bred and sold for profit by people wanting to cash in on the latest craze -- down on the breed?



"I'm sure it will be a problem to some extent, but we have been so careful keeping our dogs out of puppy mills. There are some out there, unfortunately, but if you go to the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America website, and contact a breeder listed there, you'll be in good hands. If they don't have a puppy, they'll refer you to someone who does. They'll help educate you, and that site has tons of information about the breed.



"When I first got the breed, the man told me, this dog is not for everybody. And I thought, you fool, this dog is the most versatile dog I've ever seen. But I've come to realize he was right.



"As a breeder it's my responsibility to help people find the right puppy for them. So I make them come here and meet me, look over their children, see if the dog will be in a good home. We evaluate the dogs with another breeder at 7 and a half weeks, and we look at the families we have, and we assign the puppy to a family. And if they don't want that puppy, I'll find that puppy another good home."



I asked her if the Obamas would have made the cut even if they weren't the FIrst Family. She laughed. "If he was not the president, they'd still be high on my list. Their children are treated as little adults. They have very good manners. I heard from Vicki that Michelle said she was going to be responsible for this dog. That's what you want to hear, not that parents will hand the dog over to the children. It's going to be their dog, and the children can play with it. That's what you have to insist on.



"They have a very well-rounded family and shouldn't have any problems with the new puppy." She laughed again. "Grandma did a really good job raising her kids, too. She has a son who's a head coach for some basketball team up there, and Michelle is the wife of the President and an accomplished lawyer. This family, they don't fail. Those kind of families, they do their research."



She thinks the research is going to pay off, and that things are going to go just fine with the new Obama puppy. But she had one word of warning for Bo's new family.



"He's in training right now. He's going to be a little gentleman, believe me – until he sees that fountain. He'll be splashing around and saying, 'Where's the fish? Where's the fish?'" She laughed. "We're expecting great things of that little fellow."



While we were talking, her husband was on the other line with the Washington Post. I asked how she felt about the media attention, and if she had any concerns about it. "It's been good and bad, but overall I'm glad it gives me a chance to talk about the most important thing." She laughed again. "They gave me a list of talking points, and I was, hell, I know what I can say. I'm 70 years old; I know the point I want to make, and it's this: Responsible breeders are responsible for the dogs they place for life."

Comments

[H. Houlahan]

It's great that the PWDCA is small, protective, and fierce about ethics.



Unfortunately, since the AKC grants its vassal breed clubs no power over registrations, their admirable qualities will be of no use to them.



There are already people out there with intact ACK registered PWDs who will be gearing up for the milling -- and AKC will register the blind, dysplastic offspring of the cardiac-compromised adults, no problem, no questions asked.



Had the Club had the good sense and restraint to have declined to seek AKC as its overlord 25 years ago, it might be in a much better position to protect its breed from exploitation now. I suppose they could plea for a pass, since AKC had not yet started the aggressive hostile takeovers at that point.



It was not so long ago that one could describe Rottweiler and Cavalier breeders in just about exactly the same terms as Portie breeders are now described. Didn't help those breeds, or those who truly love them, one bit.

[Christie Keith]

Ooops, that's right; Poodle RELATIVE, not ANCESTOR.



I've corrected it. Thanks!

[Susan]

Did you hear about any of this?



http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bidens-Puppy-Breeder-Never-never-never-again.html?yhp=1



Summing it up, the breeder Joe Biden bought his puppy from has been tormented and harassed since December, including repeated investigations and seemingly frivolous citations by animal control. I hope that's not what this breeder is in for.



I think this breeder sounds like she's doing everything right, and I'm glad you published this, but I've always maintained it's the First Family's own darn business what kind of dog they get and where they get it, as long as no laws are broken.

[Laurie Luck, CPDT]

Love this responsible breeder! Willing to take responsibility for the dog for life, not just until the cash is in hand. I wish more breeders were this ethical and responsible.

[Karen Ash]

Go Martha! Great interview. Great comments especially the last one. I pray we are able to keep our breed safe despite the publicity and popularity.

Good luck to the Obamas.

[Gina Spadafori]

Great work Christie. I know how hard it has been to sit on this interview for months until everything was for certain. The updates just make it better.



There IS a difference between a reputable, ethical breeder and a puppy-mill, whether the animal-rights extremists can see it or not. If shelters and reputable breeders work together, there will be a better world for all pets, and the puppy-millers will suffer. Bashing reputable breeders is not helping anything, nor will eliminating them change anything.



Let's work together, those of us who not so filled with hate as to not be able to. As in, most of us can.



I haven't slept all week, and have been to the vet's twice with McKenzie's litter -- her first and my first, too! -- plus they have all been placed before they were born, and they will never see the inside of a shelter since I am responsible for them all for life. I have run a rescue group fostering and placing 30 dogs a year from my own hown: I know the difference between ethical, reputable breeders and milling scum.



Again, I would have LOVED it if a shelter pet would have worked, but the family did everything right, and this is the right dog for them. Their decision, and by all accounts they made it responsibly and carefully.



Welcome to Washington, Bo.

[KathyF]

You totally scooped the poop. Congratulations!

[Christie Keith]

LOL, thanks, Kathy!

[Amy Shojai]

Great interview! and a terrific attitude. Does dog folks proud...as will Bo, I'm sure.

[Susan]

Fabulous, fabulous reporting, Christie. Thanks so much.

[Cait]

FABULOUS job Christi - and this lady sounds like a class act, too!

[YesBiscuit!]

I love this interview but am especially fond of the end quote. Rock on Martha!

[Becky]

Great! Thanks for the insiders' update!

[Christie Keith]

I did ask her who gave the talking points, and she didn't want to say. But I agree, that last one was the critical one, from my point of view!

[EmilyS]

wow, she sounds like a very neat lady.

Great interview, Christie.

[Michael Saul]

Do you have contact info for the Sterns?

Michael Saul

Daily News Political Correspondent

212-210-1582

[Kate]

Cute pooch.

[Anne T]

There may be a few in the hands of some high volume breeders, who knows, but the PWDCA is extremely watchful, and Martha Stern is not an exception, she's the norm!

Of any breed the Obamas could have chosen, they did well to select a PWD. They will have two mentors, Ted and Martha, and a whole breed club behind them. Maybe Malia or Sasha will try Junior Handling with Bo? Or on to Obed, AG and water trials?

I am ashamed to say I don't know of Karen or Andrew's dogs. The dogs and their people I know come from classes and trials come from DownEast. Judging from my contact with them, these are fabulous dogs who love to do things with their people and have a quirky sense of humor. I think it's a great match for the Obamas!

Great job of reporting, Christie!

[retrieverman]

I'm so glad the Portguese Water Dog Club is so proactive and very concerned about their breed. Requiring that their breeders take back puppies is a wonderful policy.



That tells me that this breed is going to be in good hands.



And let's hope the puppy millers never get to this breed!

[Colorado Transplant]

I knew the interview was going to be a great one! You have a talent for getting the whole truth out.

[Karen Giles]

What a great interview. You said what needed to be said about our wonderful breed. I know that regardless of who has one of your puppies, you will look out for the welfare of the puppy. I'm sure Bo is in a wonderful home.

[straybaby]

as much as a shelter dog would have been great, I think a responsible breeder pup is a very good choice in this situation. What with kids, allergies, unique living situation and neither parent has raised a pet before. They'll have plenty of support if needed from the breeder, and the Kennedys ta boot. Looks like a pretty darn good "first dog" situation to me and a great example of advance planning :) Looking forward to seeing Bo in the fountain soon, lol!~



Thanks for the interview, great read!

[PWD Mom]

I have had Portuguese Water Dogs since 1988 when they were very rare in the United States. Since then I have had two males and two females. My current PWD is a six year old male. He is the light of our lives. I wish the Obamas the best of luck with their puppy. They are in for a delightful ride. Thank you to the Sterns for being responsible breeders all these years!

[Andrew I. Kalmanash]

Please check your facts, the Portuguese Water Dog is not a decendant of the Poodle, a german breed. It's ancestors although unknown perhaps might include the French Barbet, and its relatives might include other costal breeds like the Irish Water Spaniel.

[The OTHER Pat]

“They gave me a list of talking points"

I wonder who "they" are and what the talking points were?



Regardless - I'm glad this breeder knows the most important "talking point" of all and is adamant about getting it out there!

[Susan Fox]

Sometimes it looks like a lot of this IS their religion and if you don't believe what they believe you are clearly A Bad Person. Phooey.

[2CatMom]

I second the notion of getting a slightly older puppy for the children. Michelle Obama is not exactly your typical stay at home mom. The children are in school all day, she has her own obligations, the president is busy, so a really little puppy would have been a poor choice. Not that I don't think they'll be a great family for a dog - its just that baby pets need constant care and supervision.



And take it from me - I adopted a year old and a 18-24 month old cat and they (now 5-6 years old) have plenty of energy. But I did get to skip the highly destructive kitty stage and go straight to the moderately destructive juvienile delinquent stage.

[Christie Keith]

BeckyH, great point!

[BeckyH]

If I recall correctly the Obama's said they would _like_ to adopt from a shelter, but since they had to consider their daughter's needs that took priority. As someone involved in rescue, I was also hoping they would adopt from a shelter/rescue but realized that would be hard to find. I don't consider this to be a promise that was broken.



What I am thrilled about is that the puppy they adopted is an older puppy. So many people want a really young (six weeks old)puppy or kitten. Many think that at six months old, the critter is an adult so they pass it by. I am hoping this boosts the chances of older puppies and kittens to be adopted.

[Gina Spadafori]

Note to Sandra Bigola- not only did the Obamas have the right to get the DOG that was right for them, they have the right to FEED the dog what they wish without be pestered or judged. They are not there to provide coups, ammunition or a bully pulpit for anyone’s “pet” peeves about choosing and caring for a companion animal. They got a puppy for their children as promised. A very personal choice. Period. Get over it.



Comment by Susan Fox — April 13, 2009



Oh I so agree! I swear the forces of "my way is the only true way" are as strong in the pet world as the parenting world -- and both are as judgmental as any religion.



The Obamas made a responsible, well-considered choice on what was right for THEIR FAMILY, and they did not sacrifice what was right for their children to ideology. Good for them, and now ... let them enjoy their new puppy without harping from the peanut gallery on how they feed him and how they train him.

[Gina Spadafori]

Yes, I've been there, too.



And I also remember when I was doing breed rescue how much hostility we got at first from shelters, including one director who wouldn't cooperate AT ALL because we were "cherry picking" purebreds and leaving him with -- and I am quoting -- "drek."



Fortunately, after a few times of taking ancient or chronically ill Shelties they would have put down anyway, it came to be that they started calling me when they had Shelties come in. And again, let me note that our Sheltie rescue was supported by our local breed club, people who were helping to foster and place dogs they did not breed.



The point is: QUIT VILIFYING REPUTABLE BREEDERS.



They are NOT The problem, and they ARE part of the solution, if the "All breeders are scum" forces suck it up and decide that working with everyone who loves pets is in the best interest of pets.

[dolores de simone]

Very good article. My supposed 'breeder' dog came from an irresponsible 'breeder' who brokered him for someone.



There will always be those malcontents who find problems with what the President does, but that's life. The fact that thousands of dogs are euthanized each year is not the fault of the President, but rather the greedy and the lawmakers who allow the animal killers to remain in business.



Good luck to our President and his family. Here's to a long and happy life for Bo.

[Lis]

When I did a Petfinder search for "young" PWDs, no other requirements, just "young" and PWD, I got three matches--and all three of them were mixes.



I just redid the search, with age as "any." Fourteen dogs. Nine are listed as mixes. Four of the five claimed to be purebred are adults; the Obamas were looking for a young dog or puppy for their young family. The one "young" dog claimed to be a purebred is estimated to be 2-3 years old.



And who knows if any of those five dogs is really purebred? Chinese Crested Powderpuffs get listed as "terrier mix;" hairless Cresteds get listed as "Mexican Hairless" or, by more knowledgable shelters, "Xolo"; Xolos get listed as Chinese Cresteds. And Yorkies with medical problems resulting in hair loss get listed as either Chinese Crested or Xolo/Mexican Hairless.



Crystal, if those "purebreds from reputable breeders" didn't come in with chips and you didn't contact the breeder, you have no idea whether they were even purebred or not.



A few years ago, a very responsible breeder that I know sold a puppy as a show pup to someone who had screened well. The dog was shown and had some success for the first year--and then the dog and the man vanished, the man dropped contact and the dog was no longer being shown. She looked persistently for the man, and also watched ad listings for the dog. After four years, she saw a dog listed for "rehoming" that looked like the right dog. She contacted the woman listing him.



The woman had answered another ad, looking for another type of dog, and not found what she wanted, but she had found this little guy, filthy and ill and severely underweight, and she couldn't leave him in those circumstances. She got what history she could, took him home, cleaned, fed, and vetted him, and when he was ready to make a decent impression on a potential good owner, she listed him. She was thrilled when his breeder contacted her.



The original buyer had had a financial reversal and moved and sold the dog rather than returning him to the breeder. The poor dog had had four homes, and had been used as a stud, breeding fashionable mixes and unpapered alleged purebreds. The kicker in all this is that my friend's return clause states that she will pay to get the dog back, because she considers it unrealistic to expect that someone who is having a hard time will reliably return the dog to the breeder for free, when they could sell the dog and get possibly several hundred dollars or even over a thousand from the right sucker.



Is that what you mean by "reputable breeders" contributing to the pet overpopulation problem, Crystal? That it might take them four years to find a dog whose buyer reneged on the return clause part of the contract?

[The OTHER Pat]

Comment by JenniferJ — April 12, 2009 @ 9:46 pm



In the anti-breeder utopia, dogs will ONLY come from shelters. OK, but that will guarantee shelters will always have dogs.



This is a GREAT quote! (Even if I DID have to read it a couple times before the true meaning of it sunk in. LOL!)

[Gina Spadafori]

I'm so tired from the first week of puppies that I forgot I have my OWN story right here about responsible, ethical breeders being responsible for their dogs FOR-EVER!



That would be Drew.



A longtime friend of mine sold Drew to what she thought was a well-screened, appropriate home when he was a puppy.



SIX YEARS LATER, she got a call from rescue, who'd pulled Drew from the shelter and traced him to her by his microchip. Of course, she couldn't get him quickly enough.



Turned out the people she had sold him to moved, and gave him away/sold him without honoring their contract with her to contact her if they could not keep him. From there, Drew went through at least two, maybe three more homes before ending up in the shelter. Shelter staff called Sheltie rescue, who immediately took him and got him back to my friend.



In other words, the system worked because people -- shelter staff, rescue and breeder -- cared enough to use it.



She decided that she wouldn't rehome him, since he was such an easy dog to live with and such a sweetheart.



About a year later, I'm visiting her, and Drew and I just hit it off. I had lost my Sheltie Andy a few months earlier (age 15, heart failure). Love at first sight, and also a little odd, since both "Andy" and "Drew" are nicknames for "Andrew."



Drew has been with me ever since, and will be with me forever.



Because people are sometimes unwilling to admit something isn't working out and call their breeder (as they agreed to, in their contract), all my puppers will carry chips that link them to me, so if anything Drew-like happens, I'll be there for them.



In fact, I'll take it one step better like the co-owners of my dog does. Not content to trust in contracts, she contacts the owners of EVERY DOG, EVERY YEAR and updates all the information, until that dog passes on.



Do people fall through the cracks? Yes, and one did with her. My 12-year-old Heather's littermate's owner could not be found (although when last known, the dog was healthy, spayed and happy).



Just as we were getting ready to send McKenzie to Minnesota to be bred, the owner of that dog checked in. Turns out Heather's sister was doing well, and the owners were calling to inquire about eventually getting another puppy from my friend.



You may be sure the next time they will not lose contact!

[H. Houlahan]

Oh come on Patty!



The puppy "Mickey" in the shelter in Texas, found by the side of the road with a littermate -- you are "pretty sure" this ditch puppy is an expensive PWD?



And I'm "pretty sure" that in my past lives I was a cowboy, a fireman, and Cleopatra, Queen of Denial.



Poodle mix, m'dear.



But you can absolutely bet that any shelter or rescue that has one iota of marketing sense is going to be coming across a lot more PWDs now. They will be legion, and they will be out the door faster than you can say labradoodle.

[Sandra Brigola]

Good for you Christie on getting the scoop on the Obama puppy!



Now if we can only get them to do the RAW diet, that would be another coup!



Cheers

Sandra

[straybaby]

Crystal, do you know the status of every dog you've ever placed? Do the shelters you work with who say they will take back any dog (yes, kill shelters say this also) know the status of all their dogs? All rescues are in the know?



Seems to me the Obamas could have adopted a rescue dog and there could be many sympathetic shelter adoptions as a result. Who's to say all those dogs would get healthy, happy, lifetime homes? How do you know that shelter dogs wouldn't become the next Dalmatian? You don't have to have one breed over bred for a trend to have a mass problem with a "type" of dog. Over breeding is just one part of the problem. Yes, "trendy" dogs don't help the situation, but neither does irresponsible dog adopting/buying and ownership. Part of the problem is advance planning and finding the right match. If the Obamas got an uber screened dog from a shelter for their situation, you don't think there would be a problem? The key is finding the right dog, whether it be from a shelter or responsible breeder (who does know where all the pups are etc). It cuts out the middle (aka part of the problem) backyard breeder and puppymills. The last thing we need is uninformed people adopting shelter dogs that are a bad fit as a trend. And shelters/rescues feeding into that. Shelters and rescues need to be judged the same way breeders do when you go the "responsibility" route, imo. They have a responsibility also.



And one other thought, how many of those shelter "PWD" are actually purebred? We are dealing with an allergic child here. Many breed ID's are based on shelter personnel. Doodles look close to a PWD as do some other mixes. . . .

[Barb]

The OTHER Pat is so right - in every case I've heard of where a dog produced by a responsible breeder wound up in a shelter or rescue (and over the last 20 years that has been MAYBE 5 dogs) - the owners had not been willing to contact the breeder. Given that the alternative to maybe a little embarrassment is the dog having to suffer in a shelter, it says a lot about the lack of responsibility of the OWNERS. In every case the breeder was horrified to hear that one of her/his dogs was in rescue, and they either dropped everything to come get it, or they paid for the dog's care until the rescue could re-home it.



Repeat after me - responsible breeders do NOT contribute to shelter killing!! They never have, and never will!

[The OTHER Pat]

A side note on dogs from Responsible Breeders ending up in shelters even if a contract with a takeback clause was signed: One of the foibles of human nature is that sometimes the owners reason for failing to return the dog to the breeder has nothing to do with any overtly nefarious motivations. Rather, sometimes a family is simply embarassed to admit that they "failed". Or they might be afraid the breeder will become angry with them. Or some other reason along these kinds of lines that has nothing to do with someone trying to be deceitful or misleading - simply human.



This doesn't excuse the failure of a puppy buyer to honor the breeder's takeback clause. But I just thought it should be noted here that sometimes puppies and dogs from Responsible Breeders end up in shelters through simple human frailty.



(Of course, the shelter or rescue in this case STILL has the responsibility of notifying the breeder if they know who that breeder is through chip, tatoo, or other means.)

[The OTHER Pat]

I don't envy the club's Corresponding Secretary. I remember the year Kirby (Papillon) won Westminster. Our club's Corresponding Secretary saw her requests for information skyrocket from a few a month to something like several hundred per week!



I hope there are other Club members prepared to step in and lend a hand in keeping up with the requests for information!

[Crystal]

I've been doing animal rescue for 7 years. Even dogs that come from "reputable breeders" do end up in shelters. Breeders do contribute to the pet overpopulation problem, not just puppymills. The breeders claim to be responsible but they cannot account for every dog and every offspring of every dog they place.



A rescuer I know did a Petfinder search and found rescued/shelter purebred PWD's as close to DC as NC. I have fostered many hypoallergenic dogs from shelters.



Does anyone remember the Dalmatian fad after "101?' I guarantee that in a few months, the shelters will see the PWD population increase to supply the demand by copycats who want a dog like the President's, and they will end up in shelters because they find they are not suitable matches.



I am a supporter of the President, but I view this as his first broken promise. Several million dogs are euthanized every year, and this was a chance to set a good example.

[Christie Keith]

The Portuguese Water Dog Club of America has issued a press release:



http://www.akc.org/poll/special/PWDCARelease.pdf

[JenniferJ]

Older puppies and adults are a great choice for many people. If the pup or dog has had decent socialization and a little training, they are a BETTER choice for busy families or inexperienced dog owners who might not have the time or experience to do the intensive socialization a baby puppy needs.

[Cara]

Great interview Christie. Do you plan to cross post it to Kos?

[Liz Palika]

Years ago, when I had Papillons, I had one male - Chocho - who finished his conformation championship, obedience utility dog title, and was a certified therapy dog and his breeder begged me to breed him. I used him for stud five times - only with well know REPUTABLE breeders. As the owner of the stud dog, I felt that it was just as much my responsibility to make sure those puppies always had a home and told the owners of the bitches to put my name and number on the contract, too. Sure enough, when one of the litters was nine years old, one of the owners passed away. The kids could not find the owner of the bitch so they contacted me and yes, I took in that grieving nine year old who had lost her well loved owner. And after a period of healing, I found her a new loving home.



Since Chocho, all of my dogs have been spayed or neutered. I feel there are other people who can do a much better job at this than I can.



However, I will say, yes, reputable breeders do feel responsible for those lives that are produced and yes, we do what is right.

[The OTHER Pat]

Crystal, if a dog obtained from a Responsible Breeder finds his or her way into a shelter, that is not the failure of the breeder but rather the failure of the owner to follow the takeback clause in the contract they signed when they obtained that dog.



If and when a Responsible Breeder finds out that a dog they have produced has ended up in a shelter, they go and get that dog out. They don't leave it there.



That is why - by definition - dogs from Responsible Breeders do not stay in shelters.

[Gina Spadafori]

The breeders claim to be responsible but they cannot account for every dog and every offspring of every dog they place.



Comment by Crystal — April 12, 2009



Actually, Crystal, you're wrong: Reputable breeders do account for every dog and every offspring of every dog they place. I know many, many of them, people who have been working to preserve their heritage breeders for 20, 30 even 40 years who know the life story of EVERY dog they bred -- yes, EVERY DOG. They took them back when they needed taking back, helped the owners for life, knew what the pets had in the way of illness, lifespan, temperament and so on.



The offspring? There aren't any, unless you have permission to breed from the person who sold you the dog. I know of breeders who have sued to enforce the conditions of their sales contract ... and gotten their dogs back.



It's not JUST responsibility -- although that's a large part of it. You can't know what you're doing as a breeder based just on the dogs you keep for yourself. You need to know how all your dogs turned out to make good decisions.



When you got those "good" breeder dogs in the shelter, what did you do? They were surely chipped (basic good breeder requirement). Did you call the breeder? Because if you didn't, you have no way of knowing what kind of breeder you were dealing with.



And if you did, and that person didn't drop everything to come get that dog, you were not dealing with a reputable, ethical breeder.



I have run a breed rescue, and I never had a good breeder not willing to swim the ocean to get her dog back if it ended up in rescue. That was a given. The others ... casual breeders and puppy-millers. And by the way, the reputable breeders supported our rescue financially, taking responsibility for the dogs puppy-millers sold.



A dog bred by a reputable, ethical breeder could end up in the shelter without that breeder knowing. But the minute the breeder knows, that dog will no longer be there.



I'm sorry, but I will no longer allow good, reputable breeders to be put in the same category as puppy-milling scum and casual "whoops" breeders. I don't want a world without the diversity of breed types we have, different dogs for different families and different jobs.



Work with reputable breeders, not against them. We love dogs -- all dogs -- as much as you do, and want to get every pet into a forever home.



It's possible. Learn about the no-kill movement, and consider the changes that are possible, and how things are changing even now.



You will never find a dog of mine that I will not take back, no matter the circumstances. That was true of the 100-plus dogs I fostered and placed (and sometimes re-homed two times) when I was doing rescue, and it's true now, with the one litter of six puppies I have planned to have for than 15 years.

[Nom ail]

I disagree with Crystal. A breeder can account for every dog that they place - if the buyer/owner is not lying through their teeth. Then you need to place the irresponsibility on the lying person.



An inexpensive abet controversial way for a breeder to track pups is by purchasing their own AVID microchips (ie. directly from AVID) and inserting it in the pup before placement. (The controversy is mainly the cancer possibility.)



AVID is known for keeping a private database of people who purchase their chips, and so even if the puppy owner does not enroll in Home Again, AKC CARS or whatnot, the breeder can be contacted by AVID.



This works if the shelter even bothers to scan the dog and asks AVID to contact the chip buyer. If not, this is the shelter's irresponsibility.

[Nom ail]

I don't think the people who break contracts deserve such sympathy.



I think even less of those who turn in a dog to a rescue, paint the breeder as a horrid breeder to salvage their pride, and then the rescue does not notify or return the dog to the breeder.