NOBODY I used to be a dog breeder not so long ago, maybe even yesterday. I don't really know exactly when I stopped. I am faced with much not knowing at the moment and admit it does feel good to not know who I am or even who I'll be tomorrow. Perhaps I'll not be anyone, at least not for awhile; no sign upon my forehead announcing to the world which ego game I play or how well.

I wrote this poem in 1987 while still in the throes of healing from the sudden and unexpected death of my son and just prior to meeting the love of my life. I came upon it quite by accident the other day and as I read it I found it struck a chord and set me to thinking about who and what I am today, twenty-one years later. And from there I began to ponder who any of us think we are or consider ourselves to be.

Who are you, really? Acknowledged that most of us wear many hats and that few of us are "breeders" to the exclusion of anything else. But for the purpose of this column I will focus on our role as dog breeders. As a breeder, how do you define yourself? Are you a truly dedicated breeder devoted to developing a line that consistently produces true to type or are you someone whose primary interest is in grinding out dogs to show in conformation as ego sustenance? Are you a breeder committed to maintaining correct breed type or someone who basically produces pets? The term "Dog Breeder" encompasses all of these, and, as we well know, substantially more. In its broadest sense it includes the others, those responsible for the millions of unwanted dogs that must be euthanized every year... that is if we believe the AR folks' scare tactics and their well-calculated plot to destroy the human/pet symbiotic relationship by doing away with us as breeders and our pets in the process.

Putting "the others" aside, the puppy millers, the pet shops and the back yard breeders, when one scratches below the surface, the distinctions among those of us that remain are still more than credible.

We distinguish ourselves from "the others" through the use of two descriptive adjectives: "responsible" and "hobby". But, let's face it; there are still divergent paths we take even as "responsible hobby breeders." There are those of us that produce entire litters of show dogs. Those of us who, with each and every litter claim that they "are very pretty puppies". We then proceed to refuse to place them in pet homes. Either that, or we convince the "I only want a pet" person that they might want to include themselves in the dog show scene. An interesting adjunct to this scenario is that breeders of these entire- show-dog-litters seldom see the disparity that exists, one litter from the next, or even from one pup to the next. And when all is said and done, don't we find it difficult somehow to reconcile all those litters of "very pretty puppies", with the dearth of very pretty show dogs? What happens I wonder, as I drill an index finger into the side of my cheek, between whelping box and show ring?

Multitudinous show dogs does not a breeder make. As a breeder of some 38 years, I freely admit to having produced a few litters, not of all show dogs, but of all pets. It was certainly not premeditated but it happened, an entire litter of pups that neither lived up to my expectations nor to the quality of the sire or dam. What does the dedicated breeder do under such circumstances? She places them in pet homes with spay/neuter contracts and tries again. The bitch that, after a couple of litters, fails to produce quality is also spayed and often placed in a loving pet home. Onward and upward as the saying goes. Still there are those breeders that simply must grade their pups, regardless of the fact that none of them embody the requisite breed type. And from there they see to it that a couple of these pups enter the show ring. Sadly, we all know that gaining a championship does not mean what we would have it mean. It in no way validates the breeder's notion that a pet quality pup has indeed been elevated to the ranks of breeding stock after all.

If one breeds haphazardly, fails to discern the lack of quality, continues to grind out poor specimens as show stock or can produce nothing better than pet quality pups, he has joined the ranks of the backyard breeder, a breeder with no goals other than the production of puppies for sale.

The goal we should be setting for ourselves is that of developing a line that consistently breeds true to breed type. The operative word here is CONSISTENTLY. Armed with this goal it would be nigh impossible to produce correct breed type one year and show up in the ring the following year with the antithesis of this. We must not just know our standard, we must understand it to the point where we have a clear mental image of perfection. The finer nuances of a standard, those areas that truly defy description, must be dealt with visually, by looking at correct specimens and studying them. We must start out with quality breeding stock. And somewhere along the line, we must learn to identify and appreciate the quality dog, regardless of who might have owned it or bred it. As breeders, we need to play the game with the highest of intentions and moral fiber. No lying to ourselves or to others about our dogs, their temperaments, their health, their structure.

At no time has it been more important to be clear about the role we play as breeders. With animal rights groups bent on destroying us, we can ill afford to take a cavalier attitude about their approach in reaching their ominous goal of zero pet population. Earlier I spoke of the Animal Rights group's scare tactics, questioning if we can believe all they claim. Some of you may have read Loretta Baugham's piece in the Spaniel Journal, Pet Underpopulation, The Pet Shortage in the US. http://www.spanieljournal.com/33lbaughan.html. In it Baugham contends that the idea of pet overpopulation is "nothing more that a figment of the imagination of the anti-pet, anti-pet owner, anti-pet breeder animal rights fanatics." She has figures to back up her claims, although they appear a bit outdated (according to Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy, the number of dogs and cats euthanized dropped from 10 million in 1982 to 5 million in 1990). However, and speaking from personal experience, I can unequivocally state that when I lived in New Mexico and did volunteer work for the animal shelter there, adoptable puppies were regularly shipped by air to an animal shelter in Massachusetts where they had no puppies available to adopt out. This fact does seem to endorse Baugham's assertion that "well-run animal shelters have become victims of their own success (and that) in order to keep their doors open' some animal shelters have been importing them (dogs) by the thousands".

Back to the subject at hand! It is one thing to be proud of ones role as a dog breeder. At the same time we must be ever mindful of the importance of how the role is playing out. The face we present to the public cannot support a lie. We can hold our heads high as breeders so long as we breed quality dogs that are an embodiment of their respective standards. We can hold our heads high as breeders so long as we treat each other with respect and honor each other's accomplishments. We can hold our heads high as breeders so long as we place our dogs carefully, secure in the knowledge that their owners are bound by contract to return them to us should anything go awry. Put in more simple terms, we must make certain that none of our dogs end up in an animal shelter! We can hold our heads high if, as breeders, we take an active role in supporting our breed club's rescue efforts.

Maria Shriver's new book asks the question, Just Who Will You Be? And I am asking you to take a good hard look at who you are. We owe it to the fancy to be the very best breeders we can possibly be. Tom Horner, a leading authority on terriers and an international judge of all breeds, suggests that, "To aim high is a counsel of perfection that all breeders should embrace." This holds true for every facet of the fancy.

Additionally, we have an obligation to the millions who either own or want to own a pet. The role we play must ever attest to our enduring support for the right of all animal lovers to share their lives with our four-legged friends.