JJ is in his new forever home tonight. May 2, 2008. Charlie, his new dad, promises he will never leave there and can live out his life in peace without ever having to move on again.
Zorro's story. We have decided that Zorro will stay here. There are many Zorro's out there. Puppy mill dumps or those lucky enough to find their way out. They need a special kind of love and support. There is more and more information out there to teach us all how to help rehabilitate these lost souls.
There are millions of stories out there. Many heartbreaking, neglectful, abusive or just 'we don't have the time anymore'... There are dachshunds given up by owners because they need training, have behavior issues, are getting older or perhaps the family is moving or had a baby. There are dachshunds dumped in drop boxes in kill shelters, dachshunds from puppy mills or commercial breeders. Dachshunds from breeders that are done with them and can't be bothered to find good homes for them. But they all have the same thing in common. That are innocent victims with lives left hanging waiting for a home to call their own.
I am in a middle position, so to speak. I show, and occasionally have puppies. I enjoy my dogs and take great pride in truly working toward bettering the breed with health testing and screening, pedigree research and careful breeding practices. I firmly believe that responsible breeders should not be asked to stop breeding. With a small gene pool to make the best choices for breeding from it is the responsible breeders making the best choices to protect the breed. You are not going to stop puppy mills and commercial breeders or back yard or hobby breeders that are not health screening. To remove the healthiest dachshunds from the gene pool would only send us backwards and bring on fewer choices and fewer healthier dogs. It is a shame that more rescue groups, shelters and responsible breeders can not be found working together to solve the problems.
So, what can and should a responsible breeder do? The fact is that many rescue groups will not work with responsible breeders to help rescue. It is their belief that anyone that breeds is the cause of the problem of the abandoned or abused dachshund. When in fact, poorly bred dogs and irresponsible or untrained dog owners that could use help with training, understanding the breed and support are more often the cause of 'dumped dachshunds'. Many responsible breeders work long and hard to breed the healthiest puppies they can. Give the best care to the parents and their other dachshunds and want very much to be a part of dachshund rescue. It is not being hypocritical to want to protect and better the breed and work in rescue as well. It is taking responsibility for the breed as a whole. I am proud to be able to be involved in protecting the breed and bringing healthier puppies into the world as well as opening my heart and home to foster rescued dachshunds and work to find them forever homes. Or to have them find their forever home right here. A responsible breeder will always take back a puppy they have bred and placed -so how could a responsible breeder be part of the problem?
Honestly, I hope I can say I have rescued many more dogs than brought puppies into the world one day.