A Breeder

[Doodlesville]

A Breeder

I love my little puppy; she makes my house a home.
She is my very sweetest little friend; I never feel alone.
She makes me smile; She makes me laugh; She fills my heart with love . . .
Did some person breed her, or did she fall from above?
I've never been a breeder, never seen life through their eyes;
I hold my little puppy and just sit and criticize.
I've never known their anguish;

I've never felt their pain, the caring of their charges,
through snow or wind or rain.
I've never waited the whole night through for babies to be born,
The stress and trepidation when they're still not there by morn.
The weight of responsibility for this body in my hands,
This darling little baby, who weighs but 60 grams.

Should you do that instead of this . . . or maybe that was wrong?
Alone you fight and hope, one day, he'll grow up proud and strong.
You pray he'll live to bring great joy to someone else's home.
You know it's all just up to you; you'll fight this fight alone.
Formula, bottles, heating pads, you've got to get this right,
two-hour feedings for this tiny guy, throughout the day and night.
Within your heart you dread that you will surely lose this fight,
To save this little baby, but God willing . . . you just MIGHT.

Day one; he's in there fighting; you say a silent prayer.
Day two & three, he's doing well, with lots of love and care.
Day four & five . . . he's still alive; your hopes soar to the heavens.
Day six he slips away again, dies in your hands, day seven.
You take this little angel, and bury him alone.
With aching heart and burning tears, and an exhausted groan,
You ask yourself, "Why do this? . . .
Why suffer through this pain?"

Yet watch the joy your puppies bring, and everything's explained.
So, when you think of breeders and label them with "Greed,"
Think of all that they endure to fill another's need.

For when you buy your puppy, with your precious dollars part,
You only pay with money . . . while they pay with all their heart ....

Author Unknown....

[M&Tdoodles]

Oh God this brought tears to my eyes Nancy, yes this poem says it all doesn't it...
My friend had a litter of pups recently and I helped her with feedings of a wee one , then she had to tube fed this lil thing every 3 hours, and on day 8 she had to put it down, it was having seizures, poor lil darling girl...Its a fight when one is born with a cleff palett, and you only think its a small thing , she will outgrow, and maybe it will seal over, and she will gain weight and be ok, but aspiration pneumonia set in..and after a 3 day round of antibiotics it still did not get better, gained a bit of weight then day 7 lost 1/2 ounce....it was dissapointing to hear her crying over the phone yesterday....so heart wrenching to see her go through all that worry.....

Yes your poem struck something within me while reading....so true so true..

[Doodlesville]

Been there Done that , Never fun, or Never anything you can get used to is it

[Lucky Me]

OMG!!! This is so true!!!
Thanks for sharing this....I printed it up and slipped it into my husbands mail.
I do not think that anyone in my family truely understands the emotional involvment....

[Doodlesville]

Originally Posted by Lucky Me

OMG!!! This is so true!!!
Thanks for sharing this....I printed it up and slipped it into my husbands mail.
I do not think that anyone in my family truely understands the emotional involvment....

I know,
a breeder i know in VA said

you really shouldnt get upset it comes with the territory,

ok granted it comes with the territory,,but the second i DONT get upset is the time i need to quit,, these are little lives in our hands, god has put US in charge of ,,Cant help it I care, i take every little baby born as my own, never will get easy

[Lucky Me]

you really shouldnt get upset it comes with the territory

I think this is the difference in breeders.... we love and worry for them.
Where as the breeder above considers them more like "livestock!"

[Doodlesville]

That is so true, no truer were have never been said,, she is like that, sad for her pups and her clients

[Jac]

Oh...this is so heart-felt...and we all know, exactly, the kind of pain this brings.
Thanks, Nancy, this was a very sweet poem.
I don't think that anyone can possibly understand until they hold life in their hands and watch it slip away...it hurts in a way that I can't describe.

[Doodlesville]

I know,,it tore at my heart, and says so much , that people dont think about