The end of the week and some thoughts of wisdom

From April next year I will have been at the helm of Bulldog Rescue for 10 years, it’s been an emotional 10 years I must admit, I’ve seen sights I never thought I’d see and I’ve met people who really do make the world a better place. I’ve watched things grow from a “one man band” to a successful charity and I am very proud of what we have achieved during this time. The one thing that has never changed is the simple fact that Bulldogs will always need a rescue and despite the numbers that consistently come through I still very often hear people mutter “what do we need a rescue for”. My entire life now revolves around it so that in itself tells me that we are needed, and yet there are still breeders out there who recoil in horror at the thought of anything they’ve bred every ending up in rescue.

For those people I’d like to put the following scenario to you:

You sell a pup on a back to breeder contract, having not heard from them for several years you assume that all is well because you haven’t been asked to take the dog back at any time. Meanwhile, five or six years down the line the family suddenly find themselves in a situation that means they can no longer keep the dog and they have either forgotten, or have no intention of abiding by the clause in the contract – which of the following scenarios would you prefer happen to your pup?

a) They advertise him as “free to good home” on ePupz and he ends up with goodness knows who, goodness knows where and no one ever hears from them again
Or
b) They ask rescue to find a new home. At best we would contact the breeder and let them know based on the fact they are registered on our back to breeder scheme, or at worst find him a vetted pet home where someone is keeping a close eye on him for the rest of his life

Having something you bred land here really isn’t something to be ashamed of because faced with the two options I know exactly where I’d like my pup to be.