When my wife and I searched for our Jack Russell, we compiled a rather lengthy list of breeders from across the country. Emails were sent out and requests made for upcoming litters and information about their dogs. Everyone we communicated with was polite and very nice about our circumstances. They all seemed to truly understand the pain we were feeling having just lost our little guy.
We narrowed the search to one breeder who was local to Southern California and made arrangements to get our little bundle of joy. We spoke on the phone and they assured me with a long list of qualifications, awards, shows, quality of dogs and references as well. Everything about this breeder was perfect I thought. Their website was perfect and convincing. When I made the final arrangements to come see their dogs, they suggested we meet halfway so that I didn't have to drive all the way there as the roads were bad to their location. I thought, OK, they're being nice and considerate. My wife, the wiser of the two, smelled something wrong. She suggested that didn't it sound funny that a breeder was hesitant to have us see their place? I had to agree but my heart was trying its best to ignore the obvious. My wife is so sweet and supported me completely even though her heart felt differently. Onward I went finalizing the pickup and payment. I took the time to email the other breeders to let them know I had found a pup in Southern California and that we'll be going with them.
Several days before we were scheduled to meet, I received an email from on of the other breeders who wished us well. The last part of her email said that she was happy for us and hoped we hadn't bought a pup from Breeder X (name withheld) - they were trouble. When I read that last line, I was dumbfounded. How could they know about Breeder X and what was so bad? Well, as it turned out, alot. After calling the breeder who warned us, I found that she was an attorney who had been pursuing Breeder X and all the other Jack Russell breeders felt the same. She send me a 27 page copy of Breeder X's criminal records, legal papers and the best, a mug shot. Well that did it. We cancelled the deal right then and made arrangements with another breeder of much better repute. Boy did we dodge a bullet!
The moral of the story for me was to first and foremost, trust my wife's instincts! She knew the deal was bad from the start. Also, if I had to do it again, I'd talk to the breeders about their breed community. They know alot about each other. Alot! They are not afraid to share this with you and are very supportive of each other. Boy did I learn alot!
Now we have our new little Gumbo home. He's been in our home now for about 48 hours and what a difference he's made. More on that in upcoming posts as we learn again how to raise and train a Jack Russell puppy.
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