I Am A Breeder...

This is my edited version of an email I received after my nasty dog day yesterday...

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• I am a breeder...(of dogs, don't laugh I feel I need to clarify that)
• My food receipts for a family of 8 and my dog food bills match
  
• My electric bill has doubled
  
• It is I, a breeder, who when my fridge quit, saved the dog meds and let the food go bad.
  
• My feet find the way to the kennel before I have even grabbed a cup of coffee in the morning and the kennel is my last stop before bed.
  
• While my friends are on a cruise to the Bahamas and my family meets for Christmas I am home delivering puppies.
  
• I make all vacation plans around heat cycles, whelp dates and vet appointments.
  
• Most of my friends breed dogs, who else can you call at 3am for support?(SO true!)
  Who else has the experience I sometimes need, the meds I sometimes need or just an uplifting word? Who else would understand how it feels to have invested hours and hours in a weak puppy to loose it or the joy in investing hours in one that lives?
  
• I know what it's like to have slept on the floor beside a whelping box and lost a whole night of sleep to make sure each puppy is delivered safely.
  
• I have learned to be proficient at vaccinations, giving sub-q fluids, removing dewclaws, bottle feeding, tube feeding and grooming.
  
• My vet knows me on a first name basis
  
• My vet knows my children
  
• My vet knows it was I who added on the wing to the vet clinic.
  
• The phrase "63 days" takes on new meaning and I am still excited by every approaching whelp.
  
• It is I who is there to deliver all my pups, towels and heat lamps on and ready.
  
• I love puppy breath. I want to bottle puppy breath.
  
• I love my dogs, each one and am not illiterate or lazy as some Animal Rights folks would imply of breeders. I have found my niche.
  
• I am a breeder.
  
• I tell my children to hush, do not tell others we are dog breeders, and I wonder when did breeding puppies go into the same secret place as criminal activity?
  
• The cards of thanks and the pictures of my puppy with its new family are the fringe benefits of my efforts.
  
• I am an animal lover, nurse, midwife, heavy laborer, customer service representitive, and marketer. AND..
• I am a breeder.