
In the few years I’ve been breeding dogs, we’ve been quite blessed to have wonderful people come into our lives to purchase our puppies. We have a very thoughtful process in order to screen out individuals that just don’t seem like a good fit for the puppy.
As a responsible breeder, one thing we need to concern ourselves with is ensuring the puppies end up with a family or individual that is willing to provide for puppy, not only for her daily needs, but when unexpected situations arise. What I mentioned is separate from the most important part of caring for a puppy: that's their emotional needs.
In the past, I’ve unfortunately found out after it was too late, that the person we selected to purchase one of our puppies didn’t want to keep the dog; so, they made the decision to rehome the dog themselves. In most cases, I was contacted by a stranger (not the man I sold the dog to), telling me who they got the dog from and the problems they were facing. Sadly, there was/is a common denominator in every situation: they’re all men.
This week I made the decision to refund the deposit on Female #2. DA (name abbreviation), was very disappointed with his choice of puppy, and asked if I would give him back his deposit. This happened within only a few days of him contacting us. He was already indicating his regret(s) about puppy.
Photo That Started The Panic: His panic ensued after I sent him an innocent, adorable picture (photo posted) with my comment “don’t let this adorable face fool you…she’s been rotten today!” This wasn’t meant to be malicious. He again mentioned his deposit. I was confused. I told him I would help with any (most any) training issues he might face. He was afraid that the dog was going to be too much for him and “he really didn’t want a dog to begin with!” I’m quoting him directly. He even mentioned there might be a possibility of him rehoming the dog, if he had to take her. I was shocked. I told him, “you haven’t even seen the puppy or tried to work with her”. He admitted to being anxious over the new puppy; plus the word I had previously used - rambunctious. He told me that he needed to talk to his girlfriend to make sure, he wasn’t being unreasonable or making a mistake.
So the more I thought about it and conversations I had with Gil. We made the mutual decision, as responsible breeders, to refund him the non-refundable deposit.
First and foremost: My responsibility is to the dog. I have to make sure the individual is serious about their decision to bring a puppy into their home. A living, breathing, being that depends on us for their needs. So this is the reason I pulled the puppy from DA. He wasn’t willing to try to make it work with puppy. He was quitting before he started.
He posted on our Facebook business page that I was “rude and unprofessional.” Neither are true. When “men” are rude and unprofessional they’re labeled as assertive, but when women rise up and defend themselves, we’re labeled as RUDE and simply unprofessional.
My Decision: I have no regrets and we will continue to fight for the puppies welfare and pray G-d sends us loving families/individuals.
Unfortunate Tails 🐾
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