MY BARK

MY BARK ON CURRENT AFFAIRS

-"It seems the only way it is acceptable to breed, is if you go broke doing it!"

I've decided to start a blog/chat to explore, explain, and discuss things that excite, interest, enrage and entice me about breeding Chihuahuas and their overall care in general! I realize I may anger some people with my posts, but I can no longer keep silent. Topics that are of substantial interest to me on which I'll be focusing a great deal of energy are current trends in the veterinary industry, the horrible practices of the pet food industry and the out of control rescue craze! My biggest BARK is in listening to people tell me that what I charge for my puppies is too expensive. It seems the only way it is acceptable to breed is if you GO BROKE doing it! Well after one $8K weekend at the veterinarian and easily over $20K in veterinarian costs in less than one year, I've decided I no longer feel it is acceptable to go uncompensated for my time and dedication. When I was first starting out, I was afraid to ask to be fairly compensated for my efforts as I, too, had been brainwashed into thinking there was no need to breed any more dogs...but thankfully by educating myself, reading everything I could get my hands on, researching everything about proper care...I learned there so much to share with buyers and parents all over the globe and those looking for healthy, wonderful Chihuahuas should have somewhere to turn! I will make you a guarantee, you will NOT find a more committed, well versed, highly educated Chihuahua breeder out there anywhere! If finding a life long confident on animal welfare and well being in your dog's breeder is something that's important to you...then you have no need to look any further. On this page, I also plan to share informative, educational, practical and applicable tips, pointers, truths and myths about many aspects of common pet care practices.

I spend a great deal of time and energy researching and educating myself on how to best care HOLISTICALLY and NATURALLY for ALL dogs in my care, whom I've raised from birth or ones I've placed into loving homes. Purchasing a baby from ChiWowTown comes with a lifetime guarantee of 24/7 support and assistance to all buyers and families looking to care for their new family members more holistically, naturally and WITHOUT constant veterinarian intervention. Of course, there may come a time when the assistance of a veterinarian is vital and unavoidable, that's when we look to them for their expertise and assistance.

I'm growing more and more disturbed that buyers think purchasing from a quality reputable breeder should yield the same quality dog as shopping for a "rescue" from a shelter and that the pricing should be the same. I'm very sorry to inform anyone who is under that impression that will NEVER be the case nor should they even be compared. I recently met with a neighbor who was walking a very small, scared, purebred Yorkie down the street. He went on to tell me he waited over a year to find this "rescue" Yorkie. Of course, I said that was so wonderful. However, in the back of my mind I was thinking...surely he'd been to many shelters throughout that time before finally finding his 'dream come true', abused, mistreated, puppy mill "rescue" Yorkie...so my thoughts began to wonder. Why in all that time of visiting shelters and contacting rescues did he not take home even ONE of the OTHER dogs in need of "rescue"?? If the goal is truly to do a good deed and "rescue" a dog "in need" no one should ever visit a shelter with those intentions and leave without a dog. Wouldn't that be a truly, noble, unselfish, worthy deed? Instead, he was SHOPPING for a purebred "RESCUE" that would be convenient for his family, easy on his budget, and pocket sized. We've created a new trend now...the clever epigram "Adopt Don't Shop" has turned our society into a class of people willing to trade free choice and quality for evocative bumper stickers "I HEART My Rescue". We now have a society of people "Shopping For Rescues". The act of rescuing an "unwanted" "needy" dog has grown dog gone out of control and has become as fashionable and trendy as owning designer sunglasses and expensive purses. Odd, those who want to "rescue" toy breeds will wait YEARS to find a small compact purebred, but will never consider a "needy" larger breed, why not? Well because that's not what they're SHOPPING for! So everyone has been convinced breeders are scum and we need to eradicate all purebred puppies, yet when those purebred puppies from mills are in short supply, (which is ironically what the goal is) these buyers will search high and low, far and wide, and leave no stone unturned to SHOP for a RESCUE to bring home so they can tell their woeful tails of abuse and misfortune. Yet ask these same people to purchase a beautiful, healthy puppy from a clean, intelligent, educated, committed, passionate, devoted breeder at a fair price....well that's just WRONG!

Don't get me wrong, it is amazing that there are loving individuals to help SOLVE the problems that irresponsible pet owners cause, but indoctrinating people with such adages as "Adopt Don't Shop" is just as wrong as allowing the cruddy pet owners and mills in this world to continue to exist. Ironically though, those crappy individuals suffer no ill effects from these scoldings...it's the responsible, caring, dedicated, passionate, educated, RESPONSIBLE breeders of the world who are forced to CONSTANTLY defend themselves, their practices and their prices.