It has been my childhood dream to be owned by an American Cocker Spaniel.
Again buying wasn’t my first choice!
I have searched through numerous breed rescue sites and shelters for a puppy but all my efforts would always come to a sudden halt. It was either the dog was already adopted, or the shelter refused to adopt out of a certain area, or I didn’t qualify for one reason or another.
When all my efforts fell through I have turned to an idea of buying a dog.
It proved not to be such an easy task either. I have heard many horror stories of people who bought their dogs from pet stores and I surely was not going to make the same mistake. I have started searching for reputable breeders and found one all the way in Midwest . I made a call and spoke with a lady who was breeding cockers for 18 years. She was very patient with me answering all of my questions and hearing out my concerns. For the next 3 weeks we kept in touch and she would give me an update on puppy’s progress. I went as far as sending her a deposit check on the pup of my choice. Before I knew it was time for my puppy to come home and the breeder have scheduled a vet visit for a clearance to fly the dog to me. She did NOT pass! She later confessed that the puppy had seizure like attacks due to the poor nutritional contents of its mother’s milk!
I was devastated and have found myself facing a heartbreaking dilemma. On one hand I felt really bad about pulling away from the deal and leaving the puppy to an uncertain future, on the other hand the reality was that I was not financially prepared to take on hardships of raising a sick pup. It was a difficult decision to make but I broke off the deal and was refunded the amount of a deposit in full.
This experience put my puppy search on hold. There were lots more things to consider now. However it didn’t stop me from looking at numerous puppy pictures on line!
Just for the fun of it I became a member of one of the sites and started receiving automatic e-mail notifications with picture profiles.
There was one particular pup that caught my eye. A Boxer boy in Taxes has been available for purchase for quite some time now. I wasn’t interested in a large breed dog but found myself checking the site for any updates on his status. He was just so darn cute! Over a period of two weeks his price decreased a number of times! And the eyes on the picture profile seem to get sadder and sadder.
Before I knew it I let myself get attached!
I called the number and got a very soft spoken lady on the phone. She asked me where I was located and didn’t like the idea of flying me the pup. She told me that it’s her son’s pick of the litter and that they are reconsidering selling him. I was persistent and kept on reassuring her that it would be all right to fly a dog. It was early fall, the weather temperatures were perfect for flying live animals and it’s only a 4 hour flight from Texas to New Jersey. But she kept on coming up with other excuses, money transaction issues and such, and was clearly waiting for me to lose interest. I really liked the fact that she was not in a rush to make a sale and was genuinely concerned for the well being of the dog. It took me a week of daily conversations to persuade her to get the dog vet checked for the road. The puppy passed with flying marks! Then she wanted me to talk to her son that has developed a strong bond with the pup to make sure it was OK with him to go ahead and proceed with the sale.
“Uh-oh,” I thought to my self. How was I going to speak with a sobbing boy who was holding my boxer pup ever so gently on the profile photo? Will I have the heart to break them up?
Nevertheless I though I would at least give it a shot and if all “sweet talk” failed I would retreat knowing that this puppy is very lucky to have so many people care about him.
I dreaded the day of the call but after just minutes into our conversation I have found out that this “boy” at a tender age of 45 years old was in fact married with 3 children, and that it was one of his grandsons holding the pup for the profile shot! (No comments)
We have picked the day for my puppy to board the plane, finalized all arrangements, completed money transactions, and FINALLY my beautiful Boxer boy was in my arms!
I saw for myself what the fuss was all about.
BRUNO, as he was originally named was a sweet, mellow tempered, laid back and very easy going Boxer puppy. He has grown into a well mannered, friendly and obedient teenager. He loves people and animals of all kinds! Loves to run on the beach and play fetch! Has a soft spot for small fluffy creatures, squeaky toys and biscuits treats!
He is a pure joy and some times when he looks into my eyes I think he is trying to sound out his first word “MAMA”!