Breeder's Poem
A Breeder 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 dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in favor of
turning that all important show into this years “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 8.
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 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
Championship.
A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with the abuse of competitors, but they are
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 often blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's
faults, and are always searching for the perfect specimen. A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but can recall a pedigree faster than a Mac computer, being so full of knowledge that it can sometimes blow a fuse. It catalogs 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
Serenity Biewers
Beverly Hills, Florida
stormyg1@hotmail.com
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
