About the responsible breeder

Written by Gema Romero Escudero, from The Hinks Dream kennel

"Dedicated to all my breeder friends. This one's for you."

"To you, who calls just to ask the price and you are shocked. You have no idea. You have no idea how hard being a breeder is sometimes. You have no idea how hard it is for a puppy to reach two or three months and go to its new home. There are many who stay along the road and die in your hands. Sometimes even after days or weeks without sleep trying everything for that puppy without success. You have no idea the desperation that this causes, you lose all your strength and for a moment you think that it is not worth it and you consider leaving everything for a "normal" life but you see how they look at you and you keep going."

"To you, who emphasizes that you have seen them cheaper. You have no idea. No idea of the expenses that a litter carries. Nor the before and after. Of all those years before and after that the mother and father of the litter live because in the house of a breeder who loves his dogs, they die of old age and perhaps at 15 or 16 years old. No, don't compare me to a petshop or a puppy farm, because it's like comparing an artisan to a chain factory. No, you have no idea, when you think that this is just a business, that we live off our dogs. Let me correct you, we live because of and for our dogs. It's 365 days, 24 hours. There is no 8 hours of work and then you go home and forget everything. No, they don't understand weekends, holidays or if you have a headache. Your whole life changes when you decide to be a breeder. Your house changes, which will never be free of hair. There will be dog beds and toys in all rooms of the house. There will also be dog food in your fridge. If you had a white leather sofa, forget it, a fantastic Ikea quilt will cover it. Your car will also change, if you liked cool sports cars, now you will have a van without seats. Your electricity and water bill will skyrocket. You will be a shareholder of brands of bleach, floor cleaners, air fresheners and mosquito repellents and you will see yourself begging for newspapers in bars and kiosks. You will buy 99% of your clothes at the Decathlon and your shoes will be Crocs (closed in winter and with holes in summer). You will see your family and friends less and when you get together with them you will surely be the last to arrive because you had to get your dogs ready before leaving. If you have a partner, they are heaven sent because either they are a dog lover like you or they have infinite patience. And that's with luck, because with the life we lead, the most normal thing is to stay single."

"No, we are not easy to understand. It is not easy to understand that, to be honest, we put our dogs before anything and, at some point, before anyone. But we love what we do and that's why we do it because it's something you put your whole heart into and it can't be done any other way. No, you have no idea, if after talking to a breeder and hearing him talk about his dogs or visiting his house, you think they are just production animals. We do not ask for extra recognition or that you feel sorry, pity or compassion, but we do ask that you do not run what we do and love through the mud."

"Thank God, there are many people who do value our efforts and when they incorporate a puppy raised by you into their lives, they appreciate all the work behind it so that they now enjoy that earthquake that is a source of pride of perhaps decades of dedication. Thank God for all those people who repeat dogs from the same breeder and recommend you to everyone who asks. Thank you, because for a breeder there is nothing better than seeing their puppies happy and enjoying their new home, and all that pain, suffering and defeat that is often experienced, is forgotten when we see who we have helped to come into the world to be and make others happy. I am a breeder and I am proud of it."