Elaine
05-22-2009, 07:17 AM
There is a happy ending to this horrible saga, but as you read the following ask yourself a few questions, the first of which is, “How do good beginnings and good feelings get so terribly off track?”
More on point, in 2009, with the looming main stream media attention that is coming down the tracks at us like a speeding train, we all have to ask, “How will the American public view dog people? How will the videos of happy Westminster winners look when linked side by side with stories like the one below?
How on earth can we defend the conduct of long-time handlers /breeders, who treat their clients and the dogs with such utter disregard for common decency? Is it even possible to remain connected to the needs of these precious beautiful souls - the dogs- in the daily grind of scratching and clawing to eek out a living breeding and showing dogs? Or, does the “profession” or enterprise itself destroy any real bond or connection to the dogs over time, to the point where the dogs are simply a commodity, who’s sole value is being the source of handling income or puppy / semen sales.
Here's an example, wish I could say it was unique, but it's not. A man called me this past Wednesday night, he was calling from the road, on his way home from having finally reclaimed his bitch from Jim and Ann White. The man was elated, feeling an odd mixture of victory, relief and a bit of disbelief… he probably had to pinch himself to be sure he was finally over his nightmare with Jim and Ann White.
The man’s story goes like this: Over a year ago he purchased a bitch from the Whites with the agreement that Ann would show her. I believe he had a show male from them as well. Ann had the male for a time and showed him… decided that (even though in Ann’s care), his condition was not up to par for the ring, so Ann asked that the man switch the male out with the bitch. Essentially the same thing happened, the bitch, while in Ann’s care, was deemed by Ann to be not in condition to be competitive in the ring. The man was paying as he could, but he was telling the Whites all along, “I can only pay so much to show these dogs, are you sure we should be showing them now?” The response he says he got from the Whites was basically, “Don’t worry about it.”
The board bill for the bitch was mounting, she was not being shown… her condition (while in the White’s care) was not improving enough for her to be shown, the man was getting absolutely nothing of value out of having his bitch living with the Whites. The only people benefitting were the Whites, who were running up a tab on a board bill that man simply could not afford. He repeatedly told the Whites that he was willing to make payments on the bill, but he wanted his bitch home. The Whites said, “No.” Essentially the Whites held the man’s bitch hostage until he paid an ever increasing board bill, which I think amounted to about $18 a day. Do the math, $18 a day adds up pretty fast. For a family in this economy the bill would get out of hand in a short time and pretty soon the man would owe more in board than the dollar value of the bitch.
You have to wonder if long-time breeders/handlers know this dynamic very well, from having done this type of thing repeatedly in the past. Do they actually intend to get control of people's bitches by racking up show expenses and/or board bills that the owner has no hope of being able to pay. That way the handler gets control of the bitch and her puppies, after all, what other commodity does the owner have to barter with to get their bitch back?
Months ago the man went to the local police who went with him to the White's home and asked Jim White to return the man’s bitch. Jim White said, “no.” I spoke with the man several times back then, it was clear he loved his bitch and was willing to do whatever was necessary to get her back. It was agony for him to have to leave HIS bitch at the Whites. Imagine what it would be like to have to leave your dog and walk away, to wait for the legal system to sort things out. Our hearts went out to him. As we all know, the legal system takes time, money and perseverance. We gave the man the best advice we could and (given our first hand experience with the Whites), we offered to help in any way possible.
Eventually the man went to court, got a court order, ordering that his bitch be returned to him. The Whites still said, “NO.” According to the man, the court ruled that it was wrong for the Whites to have kept the man’s bitch all these months. Even so, the Whites still demanded that the man pay them for all the board they were charging while they had been illegally keeping his bitch. To me, that would be like the bank robber, when caught, trying to charge the bank interest on the money he stole before he returned their money to them.
The man called Wednesday night. When I first grabbed the phone and saw his number on the caller i.d. I feared the worst... but as I said at the top of this thread, this story has a happy ending. The man was on the road, had his kids with him. He said that the White’s attorney finally convinced them that they were in contempt of court and that they needed to return the bitch. So, after months of haggling and more than one trip across country to the White’s home, the man got a call that said, "Come get her." After all this time, after all his efforts, basically because he did not give up or back down to the Whites, he finally had his bitch back.
He says that when he showed up at the White’s place Ann walked out with the bitch on the lead. The bitch was subdued, not at all connected to Ann, but she seemed not sure about who the man was. The man was sad, fearing that after all this time his beloved bitch would not remember him.
Ann made a big point of having to get her lead back, and then turned and stormed off, not bothering to even pat the bitch good-bye. Once Ann was gone the bitch took a whiff of the man and a light went on with her. Her eyes came alive, her tail wagged, she remembered him. Then she saw his kids and their truck and went wild. She remembered the whole family.
So, it was a relieved and happy little crew that turned for home, a family finally re-united with their beloved pet, with a horrible taste of the down-side of dog show people.
The man may come on DSNN and talk about it… or he may chose not to.
More on point, in 2009, with the looming main stream media attention that is coming down the tracks at us like a speeding train, we all have to ask, “How will the American public view dog people? How will the videos of happy Westminster winners look when linked side by side with stories like the one below?
How on earth can we defend the conduct of long-time handlers /breeders, who treat their clients and the dogs with such utter disregard for common decency? Is it even possible to remain connected to the needs of these precious beautiful souls - the dogs- in the daily grind of scratching and clawing to eek out a living breeding and showing dogs? Or, does the “profession” or enterprise itself destroy any real bond or connection to the dogs over time, to the point where the dogs are simply a commodity, who’s sole value is being the source of handling income or puppy / semen sales.
Here's an example, wish I could say it was unique, but it's not. A man called me this past Wednesday night, he was calling from the road, on his way home from having finally reclaimed his bitch from Jim and Ann White. The man was elated, feeling an odd mixture of victory, relief and a bit of disbelief… he probably had to pinch himself to be sure he was finally over his nightmare with Jim and Ann White.
The man’s story goes like this: Over a year ago he purchased a bitch from the Whites with the agreement that Ann would show her. I believe he had a show male from them as well. Ann had the male for a time and showed him… decided that (even though in Ann’s care), his condition was not up to par for the ring, so Ann asked that the man switch the male out with the bitch. Essentially the same thing happened, the bitch, while in Ann’s care, was deemed by Ann to be not in condition to be competitive in the ring. The man was paying as he could, but he was telling the Whites all along, “I can only pay so much to show these dogs, are you sure we should be showing them now?” The response he says he got from the Whites was basically, “Don’t worry about it.”
The board bill for the bitch was mounting, she was not being shown… her condition (while in the White’s care) was not improving enough for her to be shown, the man was getting absolutely nothing of value out of having his bitch living with the Whites. The only people benefitting were the Whites, who were running up a tab on a board bill that man simply could not afford. He repeatedly told the Whites that he was willing to make payments on the bill, but he wanted his bitch home. The Whites said, “No.” Essentially the Whites held the man’s bitch hostage until he paid an ever increasing board bill, which I think amounted to about $18 a day. Do the math, $18 a day adds up pretty fast. For a family in this economy the bill would get out of hand in a short time and pretty soon the man would owe more in board than the dollar value of the bitch.
You have to wonder if long-time breeders/handlers know this dynamic very well, from having done this type of thing repeatedly in the past. Do they actually intend to get control of people's bitches by racking up show expenses and/or board bills that the owner has no hope of being able to pay. That way the handler gets control of the bitch and her puppies, after all, what other commodity does the owner have to barter with to get their bitch back?
Months ago the man went to the local police who went with him to the White's home and asked Jim White to return the man’s bitch. Jim White said, “no.” I spoke with the man several times back then, it was clear he loved his bitch and was willing to do whatever was necessary to get her back. It was agony for him to have to leave HIS bitch at the Whites. Imagine what it would be like to have to leave your dog and walk away, to wait for the legal system to sort things out. Our hearts went out to him. As we all know, the legal system takes time, money and perseverance. We gave the man the best advice we could and (given our first hand experience with the Whites), we offered to help in any way possible.
Eventually the man went to court, got a court order, ordering that his bitch be returned to him. The Whites still said, “NO.” According to the man, the court ruled that it was wrong for the Whites to have kept the man’s bitch all these months. Even so, the Whites still demanded that the man pay them for all the board they were charging while they had been illegally keeping his bitch. To me, that would be like the bank robber, when caught, trying to charge the bank interest on the money he stole before he returned their money to them.
The man called Wednesday night. When I first grabbed the phone and saw his number on the caller i.d. I feared the worst... but as I said at the top of this thread, this story has a happy ending. The man was on the road, had his kids with him. He said that the White’s attorney finally convinced them that they were in contempt of court and that they needed to return the bitch. So, after months of haggling and more than one trip across country to the White’s home, the man got a call that said, "Come get her." After all this time, after all his efforts, basically because he did not give up or back down to the Whites, he finally had his bitch back.
He says that when he showed up at the White’s place Ann walked out with the bitch on the lead. The bitch was subdued, not at all connected to Ann, but she seemed not sure about who the man was. The man was sad, fearing that after all this time his beloved bitch would not remember him.
Ann made a big point of having to get her lead back, and then turned and stormed off, not bothering to even pat the bitch good-bye. Once Ann was gone the bitch took a whiff of the man and a light went on with her. Her eyes came alive, her tail wagged, she remembered him. Then she saw his kids and their truck and went wild. She remembered the whole family.
So, it was a relieved and happy little crew that turned for home, a family finally re-united with their beloved pet, with a horrible taste of the down-side of dog show people.
The man may come on DSNN and talk about it… or he may chose not to.