It's My Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to ME!!

Yeah! I turned a year old on Wednesday September 26th. Mom and Dad didn't do anything super special for me, but I did get extra treats and a super special meal (Hamburger! Yummy!).

Hard to believe I'm a year old already. The time has just flown by! Sure, things didn't go as planned (I was supposed to be a Champion by now Mom says Laugh Laugh!). But Mom and Dad do their best by me.

I find it's really hard to write a blog when I don't have the experiences of some of the older dogs. I thought this would be really cool and fun but, as you can tell by the fact it's not updated every week, it's not easy. Still COOL and FUN though!! Laugh Laugh!

And it has been busy even if I've been a homebody. I mean, someone had to raise Gimme-Mom's puppies, right? And I did an awesome job! So glad that one of the puppies is sticking around. And Gimme-Mom just came out of season recently. Whew, was that a tough time to get through! Seriously! I found love everywhere! Laugh Laugh! Or, at least I tried. For a while there, I think I lost all my brains. Poor Mom and Dad. They had to keep a really close eye on me because anytime Gimme-Mom was even near I would lose it. I followed Gimme-Mom everywhere Laugh Laugh! Now that she is no longer in season, I've got some brains back. That makes Mom and Dad oh so very happy! Laugh Laugh!!

Hey, I just had a thought (See? I got my brains back Laugh Laugh!)! What I should do is turn the blog over to Fox Sir, Gimme-Mom, and Trekkie occasionally. At least that way, maybe one would get written more often. And they have ever so much more experience than I do. Little Val probably won't write too often but maybe. She is going to her Great Dane Nationals soon. Maybe she can write about her experiences there.

Thanks for hanging with me internet Dudes!
Alf

The Heartbreaks of Breeding & Dog Ownership

So, it's been a pretty good time around here lately. Especially with the newest member of the family : Val. She is officially registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) as Voyager Daystar Valley Girl. Mom also co-owns two other puppies from the litter: Marty (registered as Voyager Back To The Future) and Mercy (registered as Voyager Daystar Tender Mercies). The other four puppies went to wonderful homes. Gone to a show home are Star (Voyager A Star Is Born For Carla) and Stig (Voyagers Return Of The Jedi). Gone to loving pet homes were Bueller (Voyagers Ferris Buellers Day Off) and Louie (Voyagers The Terminator). And Mom gained a bunch of new friends!

So, since we are having such a good time, why did I name the blog the heartbreaks of breeding and dog ownership? Well, for a lot of reasons. Dog ownership, without a doubt, has a lot of good points to it. I mean, you own us right? We never talk back, we love you unconditionally, and we are always there for you. But sometimes, it's not so easy.

Although Gimme-Mom had 7 puppies, she actually gave birth to 8. She lost one sometime before giving birth. The reason she had the C-Section is because the third puppy got stuck and she tried and tried and tried to give birth, but he was already dead and she was just exhausted trying to give birth to him. In order to save the lives of Gimme-Mom and the rest of the puppies, Mom had the make the decision to do a C-Section. Thankfully, Gimme-Mom and the 7 puppies all survived and are doing well.

But plenty of things can still go wrong. The puppies are just four months old and growing, growing, growing! And Mom just worries, worries, worries about all the things that can go wrong. HOD, OCD, Pano, Parvo... It's so hard to be her best friend when she does nothing but worry about the puppies and how they are growing. But I'm there for her - all the time!

And then we hear about the really sad news. The breeders who lose the entire litter after birth. Or most of the litter. Or our friend who lost not only the litter, but the Mommy too. That made us cry. Breeding is not for the faint of heart. It can be maddening and saddening and expensive. And we really can't stress this enough!! BREEDING DOES NOT MAKE YOU MONEY! Sure, maybe a litter will or two. But in the long run - when done correctly - breeding does not make you money and can cause nothing but heartbreak!

And so why did I include dog ownership in the heartbreaks? Well, look at me. Mom and Dad love me, I know they do. But what a heartbreak it must be for them. I may never walk normal. I don't know. They don't know. They'll spend thousands of dollars fixing me up and hoping and keeping their fingers crossed. Or, one of Val's littermates. One of his testicles hasn't fully descended. It's there, it just won't stay down. So, they are spending money to fix that. But what if he doesn't turn out as a show dog like he was supposed to? Heartbreak.

Even just owning a dog like us can be heartbreak. Show dog or not doesn't matter. Take my doggy Mommy. Just out of the blue she got sick and never recovered. Gramma is heartbroken and there is no consoling her. Some other friends lost their beloved 9-year-old recently to bloat.

We love you, we'll always love you. But gosh we just can't stick around as long as you. And every time you humans lose one of us canines, it's heartbreak.

Kisses and hugs to all my internet buddies. Hug your humans tight. They need us.
Alf