Elaine
07-21-2008, 08:13 AM
Jim White made a point of approaching me ringside at Roanoke VA last year... extended his wizened old hand to introduce himself... as if I hadn’t seen the charming lad before... and promptly tried to pick a fight with me... mentioning something about our website in the process. We were standing ringside. It immediately came to mind why White was set down by AKC a few years back, he does not seem to comprehend the meaning of “conduct prejudicial to the sport.” I told the dear old man to run along and play somewhere else and I walked away.
Apparently White spends his time perusing our website... he is mentioned on the website, but only in the context of what he did at the 2002 National, when Jim and Ann refused to return Lizabeth to us, when we owned her outright. Back then, the morning of the Breed judging, Jim was screaming at us that “we didn’t pay enough for her, that she’d turned out nicer than they expected she would when they sold her to us, that breeders never sell bitches like her out right... that they were not 'giving' her back to us."
In as much as we owned Liz outright (they did not even get a puppy back), we objected to what we felt amounted to them stealing our Lizabeth. Imagine a handler telling E2 and Tom that they were keeping Quincy... or some handler telling Bob and Cheryl that they were keeping Vaako. I’d love to be sitting ringside for those altercations. You'd need a spatula to scrape the handler up off the floor.
Jim was on a rant. Problem for Jim was that we had paid for Lizabeth in full (months earlier), she was registered in our name, we owned her out right and Jim and Ann had no right what-so-ever to refuse to return her to us. Maybe they get away with hysterical tantrums with other people... it didn’t fly with us. While Jim was on the phone up in his room yelling at me (I was on the hotel phone in the hotel lobby), Arthur simply walked out to the White’s rig and calmly, politely asked Janice McGreer for Lizabeth. Janice had no idea about Jim’s tirade and simply did what any honorable person would do... she handed Arthur his dog. That was the beginning of our love for Janice and the end of our respect for the Whites.
What the Whites don’t know is that... that morning at the hotel we were going to take them to breakfast and offer them a puppy from Liz... because Eddie had just died. But we never got to make the offer. Jim went off on his stupid threatening tirade and forever altered our feelings towards him. I suspect any of you who love your dogs would understand the horror of being threatened that you were not getting your dog back from a handler... when you owned the dog outright!!!
That is the total of our direct experience with the Whites; it all ended in 2002. In 2008 we simply never cross paths with them and they are not in our dialogue or our thoughts. What they do is of no concern to us one way or the other. If pressed, I’d say that they breed a lot, breeding seems to be a big part of their livelihood and possibly that forces them to make choices they would not make if they had an independent source of income. I think that is true of a lot of folks in dogs, they make questionable choices because dogs are their sole source of income. Other than that I think the Whites care a great deal for the breed... I think the best of what they breed is spectacular... I respect that they make the effort to apply their knowledge to the next generation[s] of Dobermans... they bust their asses and truly try to produce good Dobermans. I think they succeed more often than most breeders. I also think they have good cop / bad cop routine going.. i.e., that Jim is portrayed as the bad guy and Ann is the sweet angel... and I don’t buy that for a moment. They are equal partners in the routine. I think that Jim can be charming, but that he goes way over the top from time to time... maybe that is simply a reflection of his passion for the breed (don't really know, but it is unacceptable). We would not trust them (based solely on what they tried to do with us and Liz)...but I can think of much worse breeders. And, the best of their efforts is good for the breed.
Imagine my surprise that I am on White’s mind. At a recent dog show, a friend was approached by White... saying that Cheri McNealy had sent him an email warning him about me. I can understand McNealy.. that is her modus operandi... spreading nasty stupid gossip from under her rock... but what agenda could I possibly have against White. I walked away from him a year ago at Roanoke when he approached me ringside to provoke something. I have no agenda one way or the other about the guy... he is what he is and I couldn’t care less.
Apparently White spends his time perusing our website... he is mentioned on the website, but only in the context of what he did at the 2002 National, when Jim and Ann refused to return Lizabeth to us, when we owned her outright. Back then, the morning of the Breed judging, Jim was screaming at us that “we didn’t pay enough for her, that she’d turned out nicer than they expected she would when they sold her to us, that breeders never sell bitches like her out right... that they were not 'giving' her back to us."
In as much as we owned Liz outright (they did not even get a puppy back), we objected to what we felt amounted to them stealing our Lizabeth. Imagine a handler telling E2 and Tom that they were keeping Quincy... or some handler telling Bob and Cheryl that they were keeping Vaako. I’d love to be sitting ringside for those altercations. You'd need a spatula to scrape the handler up off the floor.
Jim was on a rant. Problem for Jim was that we had paid for Lizabeth in full (months earlier), she was registered in our name, we owned her out right and Jim and Ann had no right what-so-ever to refuse to return her to us. Maybe they get away with hysterical tantrums with other people... it didn’t fly with us. While Jim was on the phone up in his room yelling at me (I was on the hotel phone in the hotel lobby), Arthur simply walked out to the White’s rig and calmly, politely asked Janice McGreer for Lizabeth. Janice had no idea about Jim’s tirade and simply did what any honorable person would do... she handed Arthur his dog. That was the beginning of our love for Janice and the end of our respect for the Whites.
What the Whites don’t know is that... that morning at the hotel we were going to take them to breakfast and offer them a puppy from Liz... because Eddie had just died. But we never got to make the offer. Jim went off on his stupid threatening tirade and forever altered our feelings towards him. I suspect any of you who love your dogs would understand the horror of being threatened that you were not getting your dog back from a handler... when you owned the dog outright!!!
That is the total of our direct experience with the Whites; it all ended in 2002. In 2008 we simply never cross paths with them and they are not in our dialogue or our thoughts. What they do is of no concern to us one way or the other. If pressed, I’d say that they breed a lot, breeding seems to be a big part of their livelihood and possibly that forces them to make choices they would not make if they had an independent source of income. I think that is true of a lot of folks in dogs, they make questionable choices because dogs are their sole source of income. Other than that I think the Whites care a great deal for the breed... I think the best of what they breed is spectacular... I respect that they make the effort to apply their knowledge to the next generation[s] of Dobermans... they bust their asses and truly try to produce good Dobermans. I think they succeed more often than most breeders. I also think they have good cop / bad cop routine going.. i.e., that Jim is portrayed as the bad guy and Ann is the sweet angel... and I don’t buy that for a moment. They are equal partners in the routine. I think that Jim can be charming, but that he goes way over the top from time to time... maybe that is simply a reflection of his passion for the breed (don't really know, but it is unacceptable). We would not trust them (based solely on what they tried to do with us and Liz)...but I can think of much worse breeders. And, the best of their efforts is good for the breed.
Imagine my surprise that I am on White’s mind. At a recent dog show, a friend was approached by White... saying that Cheri McNealy had sent him an email warning him about me. I can understand McNealy.. that is her modus operandi... spreading nasty stupid gossip from under her rock... but what agenda could I possibly have against White. I walked away from him a year ago at Roanoke when he approached me ringside to provoke something. I have no agenda one way or the other about the guy... he is what he is and I couldn’t care less.