Crappy customer service is one of my favorite topics to rant about.  And if you know me personally, you have seen the rolling of the eyes and grimaces I make when I tell the stories before a live “audience.”  Unfortunately, I have not chosen to become a podcaster yet, so here’s my latest:  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! blog.

It’s mid-day and about 400 degrees outside.  I am making my way into work, via a drive-thru burger joint that shall remain nameless.  If I had the energy, I’d call their manager but maybe I’ll just mail him this story some day…

Because COVID has put the kibosh on “dining room seating,” the line wrapping around the building is about ten vehicles long.  I feel like I am in a roller coaster car waiting for the thing to get moving.

Finally, I make it to the kiosk with the speaker in it.  I have been going through these drive thru’s for decades.  I go to the same ones.  I order the same things.  I am a creature of habit.  I expect the same results.  The place where I get my coffee makes it the same every single time…. Unless …. I go to the same company but a different franchise location.  Last week I had a frozen coffee that had me trembling for hours from caffeine or espresso overdose.  I am wondering how that fool made it.  I keep checking to see if I have hair growing on my upper lip now.

But at the burger place I said:  “I’d like a cheeseburger with no onions and no pickle.  I’d like a small iced tea.”  THAT WILL BE 3.54 she blurts back through the speaker.  I go, “Wait.  Do you have any cookies?”  She doesn’t say no.  She doesn’t bother to say we are out of desserts.  She says:  “We have mini milkshakes for $1.  Vanilla and chocolate.”  I blink with mild confusion.  Shakes are not baked goods. 

I try again:  “Is the speaker working properly?  I asked you if you had any cookies.”  She comes back at me with:  “And I said, ‘we have mini milkshakes for $1.  We have vanilla and chocolate.”  I am astonished that she got curt with me.  I am wondering where she was educated that she doesn’t know the difference between an ice cream product and a baked good.  If she was my employee, she wouldn’t be anymore.  Is there a reason that the phrase, “The customer is always right” is etched on a tombstone in front of a car dealership in the city?  Is competent, pleasant customer service a thing of the past?

I drive forward, asking God to NOT let her be the one at the window.  (It’s the “lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil” clause.)  No, she wasn’t.  The young man takes my money, hands me the bag o’ burger and says, “You’re all set.”  And I say:  “Not without the iced tea, I’m not.” He hands it to me, and I tell him to have a nice day.  (Isn’t HE supposed to say that first?)

I look at the plastic top.  Do you know that on cold beverage tops there are bubbles for the worker to PUSH to indicate if it is Regular, Diet, Tea, or Rootbeer, because they all look the same in the cup?  True fact.  And yet we’ve got a whole generation of kids that don’t push the stupid button.

Well, they can’t push that one button, but they sure know how to push MY buttons!

##############

For the love of dogs .... or money?

Perhaps it was the first time in my life I have ever gasped, in absolute wonder, and what I saw before me.  To my discredit, I was not standing before the Grand Canyon at the time.  (Sidebar: the first time I saw the GC, I understood why they call it the Big Ditch.  I didn’t see it with educated eyes.  A year later, I went back after having learned about the Canyon, and was more impressed.  There is hope for me.)  But the experience I reference above was in a gift shop – whose whereabouts I cannot disclose – that was in the basement of a restaurant (and I thought the restaurant was only so-so in comparison to others in the area).  I was standing on the landing and overseeing aisles and aisles of trinkets and glass cases of collectibles of all kinds.  My eyes were drinking it in with wonder.  There were cases of Snow Babies, Hummels, painted horses, Byler carolers, and Precious Moments figurines.  The list goes on and on and on.  I am sure I almost fainted but then someone spoke to me and asked if I was all right and I shook it off. 

For those who are not collectors, there is no rational explanation to what I felt at that moment.  I will even take the leap to say that God Himself knows best what a collector feels like.  They say no two snowflakes are alike.  I say, that’s why He melts them and makes a million more every year.  Perhaps He created Canada and New York State just to keep His special snowflakes in, because we get more than everyone else! 

I bring this up in an article really about dogs to explain that there is something hard-wired into people who truly love dogs which makes them want to have more than one, to provide puppies for other people, and to hang framed dog pedigrees and pictures of litters of the past on the living room wall.   

And then there are others who view dogs as a commodity to generate income.  I will echo dog breeders of the first kind:  Don’t go into breeding dogs to make money.  There are no guarantees.  You can time a breeding event wrong, come out with a singleton puppy and end up paying $1300 for an emergency cesarean section to get a fat puppy out of its momma that wants to just hang in there for more time.  If you are charging your customers a $1000 adoption fee in 8 weeks, after you still have to feed, shelter, attend, and Vet this little pup, you do the math.  You actually LOSE money.  And you still should pay at least a token stud fee to the other breeder involved.  Ka-ching. Ka-ching. Ka-ching. 

So smart people don’t go into dog breeding thinking they will get rich.  They hope they will do a little better than break even, but when you first start out you need to buy all kinds of supplies so really that first litter is kind of a wash.  You really need to look at the enterprise over the span of how many litters you have.  Which brings me to another kind of breeder:  those who make it a full-time job, and consequently put a kennel operation together.  And those are the folks that can sometimes get into trouble.  If you don’t have enough hands on deck to help you, you can get overwhelmed fairly easily.   

I have had fantastic advisors that have bred dogs before.  They talk me through rough patches and give me suggestions for improvement and management.  I also have had fantastic young people that come in and do a daily puppy visit Monday-Friday after week 2 when I go back to my full-time job.  My helpers check the room temperature, clean up mess, feed the pups when they are old enough to be playing and hungry.  And last year I got really smart and bought a Nanny –cam so I could be at work and check the puppies periodically myself.  THAT was a good investment.  It gave me so much peace of mind to peek throughout the day at various times into the kennel room.  The one thing I didn’t mention yet is this:  for the first few weeks I actually sleep downstairs in my finished basement in the room next to the dogs.  I am monitoring noises, activity, temperature, etc.  There’s not a flea that burps in that area without me knowing it.  I am a Force of Nature when we have pups in the house.  I also have no brain cells left that take on any other issues.  My quotable adage is:  When you’re raising puppies, that’s all you’re doing.  In other words – if you had a dating life, now you don’t.  If you are teaching a class, now you’re not.  If you think you are going to crochet an afghan, nope, you are looking for one to take a quick nap to recharge your own battery.  You find yourself praying things like, “MY GOD, I don’t think I’ve known it was possible to be THIS tired.  Please help me make it to next week when I am confident they will all survive infancy.” 

On the other end of life with dogs, there are times when you have to make some horribly tough decisions.  An elderly dog with health challenges that gets injured and the vet says it will be all uphill with little hope of good results.  What do you do?  I always tell my dogs, “I will do right by you.  This is my promise.  I put you first.  I owe you that.”  Someone who breeds dogs simply as a side business to make cash doesn’t get that kind of emotionally involved.  They can’t.  I am setting the stage to explain another kind of person to you....  

I was emailing a woman who has a litter of pups.  I was interested in one of her females.  I am currently down to one retired female, and one very foxy male who would like to populate the universe.... if you catch my drift.  The woman was very positive initially until I got into the part where I said I am looking for a breeding quality female to raise a couple of litters.  And she responded point-blank:  “I won’t sell a dog to you.”  I asked why not.  She responded:  “I don’t do business with puppy mills.”  I felt like someone had smacked me in the face.  In the world of reputable breeders – both hobby breeders like me and professional breeders – that is the biggest, baddest thing you could accuse someone of being:   a puppy mill.  I resisted the urge to rip back at her and appealed once more:  “My dogs sleep on my bed and get the best of care and vetting.  My females only breed a couple of times and then I retire them because they are MY pets.  I am by no means a puppy mill.  Please reconsider.”  No response. 

Here’s how a hobby breeder is different than a backyard breeder or puppy mill:  we care about more than money.  The AKC affiliates are about love-of-dogs.  We are about advancing dogs’ lines when they are healthy, quality dogs.  We are about educating our customers and staying in touch with them for as long as they need us.  In some cases, it may mean we take back a dog that can’t stay in its new home.  I once took back a puppy from a couple in their 70’s that had her for only three days and then became fearful they would trip on her because she is little and quick.  They had forgotten about how active little puppies are and they didn’t want to hurt her or themselves.  (They were putting safety first – right on!)  When the woman came back and handed me the puppy, I handed her a lovely potted plant for her garden so she wouldn’t go home empty-handed.  I knew she and her husband were very sad to make this decision.  I gave them a full refund.  The puppy found a doting new home in a few weeks.  She even called a couple of times to check on the pup. 

A puppy mill functions like this:  (this story is true) They charge you an adoption fee for a mixed breed dog that is equal to what you would pay for a purebred.  They don’t have an affiliation with the AKC, and don’t have a USDA kennel inspector checking on the cleanliness of their backyard operation.  When you look at the pictures on their website they are raising more than one or two breeds of dogs.  When you ask if the dog has been registered as a litter with the AKC, they say they have a different certificate for the dog and it is a new breed they are creating.  Translation:  it is a mixed breed dog, and the certificate is what they printed from a documents template on their computer.   

And here is a variable that tells you a lot.  When you take your new 8-week-old puppy from the airplane to your vet, you are told it has two types of intestinal parasites and yeast infections on both ears.  Whomever you are (this part happened to me with a purebred, and someone else with a mixed dog), you have already fallen in love with this puppy and the bottom of your stomach has just dropped out.  You get on the phone and call the breeder and tell them what happened.  Breeder AKC says:  “I will reimburse you for that vet visit and the medications.  I am taking the rest of the litter back to my vet to check the rest of the litter.”  Breeder Puppy Mill doesn’t.  (Significantly, in both cases the flight regulations would require a pre-flight vet check within a week of shipment.  So how the diagnoses got missed I can’t imagine.) 

In another scenario, the new owner did not call on that initial problem.  But a year and a half down the road when their vet diagnosed hip problems, the backyard breeder said this:  “Oh.  Well, send the dog back to us and we will send you a replacement.”  (your brain goes:  huh???) You ask the breeder:  “Well what happens to this dog when you get it back?”  “Oh, we will euthanize it.”  BULL SHIT they will euthanize it.  What they are going to do is re-incorporate that dog into their own breeding program OR sell the young dog as-is to someone else.  But because that breeder said the “E” word to you, your whole being is saying:  “But this is MY precious dog!  I can’t let you do that!”  And that breeder knows exactly that response was to be expected from you and also knows that you are going to go away quietly and pay all costs out of pocket yourself.  You forgot it was about money.  The puppy mill breeder did not.  It was ONLY about money to them.   

Before we rush to judgment on that last type of breeder, I want to qualify an important point:  not every human being who breeds dogs, or does anything else for that matter, comes to the Table with the same qualifications or level of ability and awareness.  While I will be first in line to vilify the practice of negligent dog breeding or cash-is-king management, I want to acknowledge that there are members of a group of people out there who sometimes have fallen into bad practices in breeding, but not because they know better:  the Amish. 

And you would be right to ask what religion has to do with dog breeding.  It is not so much religion per se, as it is what people are taught to believe about animals, or anything else for that matter.  Let’s use an outside example first.  I went to Weight Watchers a few years ago when I was optimistic.  LOL.  It was right before the season of the New York State Fair.  I listened to other people in the group talk about the State Fair that was akin to listening to locusts about to ravage a wheat field.  I was disturbed.   Some of those people talked about food in a way that was unfamiliar to me:  they had a plan to eat from one end of the midway to the other:  this fried food, this delicacy, that fat laden treat, on and on.  I had a plan to eat 2 things and bring one home.  I am a different kind of eater than them, because of how I was raised.  We were taught to see food as a blessing to sustain life, not an opportunity binge until your buttons popped off.  My weight issue was not based in binge-eating.  It was based in a semi-sedentary lifestyle.  Our philosophies on eating differed widely. 

So too are people’s philosophies about life with dogs.  My dogs sleep on my bed.  My parents don’t let dogs in the living room or on the furniture (hence, they have NO dogs).  My ancestors came from Europe.  Dogs were either working dogs on the farm or hunting dogs.  Sure, they may have liked their dogs, may have had fond feelings for them.  But there was not a lot of spare cash in an agrarian society so when your dog got sick, you did not pay a veterinarian cash to euthanize it.  My grandfather told me:  “In Poland, the dogs go off to the woods to die.”  As a youngster at the time, I was deeply disturbed by that idea.  But now I realize that it was a poor culture and that was their way.  He never said if the dog went off alone or not.  I don’t want to know.   

The Amish have their roots in Europe.  And when they came here to America, because they retain a traditional agrarian lifestyle, no one gets educated beyond eighth grade.  Now I ask you to think of the eighth graders that you have known.... would you put them in charge of important ethical decisions?  It is unlikely that an eighth grader has been exposed to the philosophical writings of the Saint Thomas Aquinas who declared that there are souls in the universe:  plant souls, animal souls, people souls.  All share in the breath of life from the Creator in some way.  But all of Catholic ecological thought and agrarian thought needs to rest on that tenet:  the soul.  Does every Catholic function from that base?  Probably not.  Is every Amish person unable to keep a dog breeding business from becoming strictly business?  I don’t know. While I can say that there are exceptions to every case, I also can say that unless the breeder shows some responsibility in running a kennel – membership in a Dog Breeding Association ie.)  the Ohio Professional Dog Breeders or the like, OR they let the USDA inspect the backyard kennel – I would be very circumspect about their practices before buying from them.   

Some of you reading this are asking what the inspection would be looking for?  You would shudder if I told you in more detail of what the documentation says they find:  Not just dirty kennels which are breeding grounds for disease.  It includes injured animals left untreated, over-bred and exhausted dams, sires that can transmit disease among a group of females they are bred to if they have Brucellosis, and demised dogs not disposed of properly.   The list makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.  Those practices are what define Puppy Mills*:  lack of good kennel hygiene, over-bred dogs, too many puppies to be adequately socialized prior to their new homes and heartache.  It makes what should be a labor of love and joy into a miserable business.  While I don’t think every kennel that becomes a puppy mill plans to get out of control, I do think that without awareness and good breeding plans and lots of support, it is a set up for failure. 

Good breeders work hard at what they do.  You may hate it that some of them put up lengthy (and sometimes intrusive, over-reaching) questionnaires prior to agreeing to do business, but there is a reason for that.  What I would like to ask for is more education and compassion among the breeders themselves.  I don’t ever want to hear someone again accuse me of being a Puppy Mill when they don’t know me …. and when I’ve given them access to my Facebook page, my vet’s phone number and references from previous buyers.  That is just unnecessary verbal aggression. Everyone needs to do their homework on what it means to be a good, reputable kennel:  the buyers and the proprietors.  Until then, let’s have some kindness.  We all have to work together on all levels for the good of the dogs we share our lives with. 

##### 

*For a more graphic look at real puppy mills, Google the 2013 USDA report called:  The Horrible Hundred.  They outline infractions of the basic standards of care of dogs and kennel hygiene.  It's appalling.

Championing Dogs

“We are more than just champion dogs.  We are the dog’s champion.”  This advertisement for the American Kennel Club is on my refrigerator.  Why?  People put what is important to them on their fridge:  their children’s artwork, the card with the date of their next dentist appointment, inspirational clippings, postcards from favorite places, photos of family.  Among all those other things, I want that AKC ad on my fridge because I am proud to be part of an organization that supports dogs and dog owners.

My dogs bring so much joy to my life.  I have always loved dogs so when I graduated from college and moved to the southwestern part of the United States, it was high on my list to have my own dog.  I found a sweet white and red cocker spaniel at the local animal shelter after months of searching.  We had great times together – she accompanied me on retreats I gave to teenagers from my church, camping expeditions, and walks in the lovely Kiwanis Park.  Because she had beautiful conformation and  a fantastic disposition, I had always hoped to breed her but I knew that I needed to own a home in order to provide a stable base.  It didn’t happen in time.  But I knew that whatever I did going forward would be in her memory:  I want people to have the same great relationship with a dog that I did.  And that means that the dog has to bring as much to the table as the person does in order for that to work.  The dog has to “come from good stock,” so to speak – both health and temperament - and the person has to be ready to give appropriate care and attention to the new family member.

My second dog was another “rescue” from a local animal shelter.  She was a fabulous silvery-chocolate lab mix.  While we fell in love instantly, it took an investment in special training to get her to be better with other people…. and more obedient to me.  I learned a lot from her about dog “body language” from her.  Her tail, her posture, her fur – all these things told me if she was fearful or wary or happy.  She was a great soul that had a rough start in life with someone else.  I was able to turn that around with a lot of hard work and dedication.  That experience made me aware of the commitment it takes to train and care for a dog.  It is what they deserve, and it ensures we will have a happy life together.

The dream of bringing purebred puppies into the world and providing families with a great dog continued to grow in my heart.  I knew that I wanted to breed cocker spaniels.  I knew that I wanted to start with a tri-color and that she must be from an AKC breeder.  I searched and searched online and finally found her – and flew her in to my home in Upstate New York.  I was excited.  I was scared too.  I had never raised a puppy before. Bringing her home from the airport was a lot like bringing a new baby home from the hospital:  no directions included!  My other dogs were young adults when I got them.  This was brand new.  I took her to her first veterinary visit only to have the vet yell at me:  “Where did you GET this dog?!  She has two types of intestinal parasites and yeast infections in both ears.”  (I left that practice because your vet needs to be a respectful partner in your dog’s healthcare.)   I reached out to the breeder immediately and she said she would pick up the tab for the vet bill …. and cart the rest of the litter back to HER vet for a thorough check up!

The conversation began like this:  “I want to give you the benefit of the doubt that you did not know you were sending me a sick dog.”  And from there we were able to work it out pleasantly.  As Dale Carnegie says:  “Begin in a friendly way.”  Airlines require that you vet a dog within a few days prior to flying them to ensure their health and that they can withstand the stress of the trip.  That being the case, I decided that I myself would never “fly” a puppy to someone.  I also want the opportunity to meet the prospective new owner to get a sense if they and the puppy are ready for each other, if they are a good fit.  It is also for this reason that I will not use a “puppy broker” to find new owners for my dogs.  I myself want to meet and greet the people – I want the opportunity to answer questions, to educate, to support their journey with the dog.  I make myself available to connect with new puppy owners at their own preference (phone, email, facebook).  It is not something I mandate or force – I want them to know that there is someone who is committed to a successful placement and relationship with the dog.  I think that is what distinguishes AKC breeders from others.  We strive to be professional, instructive, and supportive.  Like the guy on the insurance commercial, most of us can say, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.”

My AKC cocker spaniel Bethany Pearl has whelped two litters of fabulous puppies.  In fact, I kept a female from that first litter to breed when it was time.  Where I live, it has been incredibly challenging to find a stud to service to my dogs.  I am pleased to report that I did find some fantastic people to work with and the stud dogs they owned brought some great genes and beautiful color (chocolates, tri-colors, blacks) to the enterprise.  One of the things I value the most about the stud owners that agreed to work with me was their willingness to share their knowledge and time with me.  They have been so gracious in educating me and encouraging me.  I am appreciative of their friendship and kindness, and I take that spirit into my dealings with other dog owners.

At present, I have Bethany Pearl’s grandson “Valor Prince of Morning Glory Acres” who has a pedigree filled with champions, and his mother Madeline Grace Pearl.  She has given us two lovely litters and is now in “retirement.”  As I search for a “wife” for Valor, I have come up against the frustration of there being very few AKC cocker spaniels in my state and surrounding area.  I know that since I am committed to not flying a dog again, I will have to be open to the idea of driving within a certain radius of my home to get one. 

With the current COVID19 health crisis, people are buying dogs because they and their children are home-bound.  I am concerned for these “matches” because when people go back to work and kids go back to school, what happens to the lonely dog at home?  Are these people prepared to deal with the various ways that dogs “tell us” they are lonely and bored?  Are they ready to give the dogs the attention and activity they need to prevent acting-out behaviors?

Also during this crisis, I am disappointed to see a handful of breeders pricing the dogs so high (mostly Puppy Brokers) that they are beyond the reach of the average family.  It is important that we not take the “opportunity” of the pandemic to gouge the good people who may end up being the very same people that lose a job down the road.   That puts the dog at risk of being a “luxury” that a family may give up if their cash flow gets too tight.  It may be timely to have a conversation with prospective dog owners about assessing the stability of their employment before taking on a dog during this period of time.

 In the course of my current search for a female pup I had two separate calls related to a very important topic in the dog breeding world:   Puppy Mills.  My next article will deal with that.  Stay tuned ….

############