backyard breeders
Not long ago I was waiting in our car with my very old and ill O.E.S. She didn't have too long to live and I never left her alone. I decided to let her stand beside the car with me to get a little fresh air, when I was approached by a woman. This woman had a very small rather odd looking O.E.S. with her. I was promptly asked if my sheepie was male or female. I replied that mine was female but, she wasn't feeling well and really it would be better if she were left alone. I was astonished when this woman asked me if she could breed her rather odd looking O.E.S. with mine!!!! 
Ladies and Gentlemen it was all I could do not to give this woman the tongue lashing of her life! She went on to say that she wanted to have a litter of pups and split the cost to cover what she had paid for her dog!! Where are these people getting our precious O.E.S. in the first place? Imagine someone walking around and randomly stopping people in parking lots for the purposes of breeding. It broke my heart to think this person may actually get away with this. She certainly didn't care that my dog was old and ill. Oh and she was very upset that mine was fixed! I was so dumbfounded I didn't know what to say. I was already upset that my poor O.E.S. was ill and to have this callous woman do this just shocked me. I guess I spat out something about her getting her dog fixed. I asked her where she got her dog ( hoping to stop them selling anymore sheepies) and I asked her to leave us be. Since that day my O.E.S. has passed away and I miss her terribly but I know she had a loving home. The fate of that woman's dog comes back to haunt me to this day. 
What can be done to stop these people? Martha |
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| Martha -
I read your posting with a great deal of empathy and frustration as well. I know first-hand about backyard breeders because that is where Guinevere came from. A very irresponsible couple of low-lifes who pulled the wool over my eyes, even though I considered myself to be experienced with sheepies after being owned by 2 before I got Guinevere from them. To abbreviate the story, Gwinney had parvo virus when she came to us from these dispicable people, and thankfully survived with a great deal of prayer and care from our vet. In my mind, Gwinney is a rescue dog, because I know da** well that she would have never gotten this care if she had stayed with these people another day instead of coming home with us. Let me settle down now and say that the only thing that I know to do to stop these monsters is to support the good people of OES Rescue organizations located around the country. I am proud to say that I am not too old to continue to learn new things, and I have learned a great deal about sheepies in the year and a half that I have been involved - in my small way - with a wonderful Rescue organization, New England Old English Sheepdog Rescue. The main thing is education. Lots of people see a movie, or another OES owner, or a picture in a magazine and think "Oh, I would like one of those cuddly little puppies." They look in a newspaper or (god forbid) go to a petstore, and carry one home. And...suprise....there is a lot more work than they signed on for, and a wide range of personalities. I've heard too many stories of sheepies who were dropped off at shelters (or worse...) because the owners just could not deal with them for whatever reason. And of course, the one who suffers in this scenario is the dog and not the owner. It boils my blood. But I have found a group of people who somehow look beyond that anger and concentrate on helping the dogs and helping to disseminate information so that people can make intelligent decisions and understand that having an OES is indeed a wonderful thing, but comes with a great deal of responsibility and hard work. So unfortunately I have no easy answer to your question. And believe me, I tried after my personal experience with a bbb, calling everyone from the local television station to the ASPCA to the AKC with little result. I do believe it is an ongoing battle, and in the process we meet many wonderful people who dedicate themselves to education and helping dogs in any way they can. Keep the faith. Guinevere's Dad, Kevin Z. |
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