A good breeder:

should ask you a lot of questions about yourself and your home. This indicates the breeder's desire for a good home for his/her dog.

should require you to sign a contract for his/her dog's future safety.

should require a mandatory spay or neuter for dogs going into homes as family pets. This shows a care for the breed.

will give you support as the dog grows up or if you don't have a good match. There should be a lifetime return policy.

A good breeder would not knowingly let one of their dogs end up in a shelter. They would take them back. A good breeder sees their dogs as a part of their family and not as a way to make a quick buck.

Read more: What constitutes a good breeder?

Adopted March 5, 2006 Kahlua was a 2 year old, spayed female, German Shepherd Dog with AKC papers. Kahlua was mostly black with tan.

With love of many purebred dogs and the general passion of the AKC for "those with the love of purebred dogs," we do believe in and support the responsible devotion to the breed. This means the showing and breeding of top quality purebred animals. Most of these animals live lives that are better than our own. However, this dog is another disappointment of a renowned "breeder" in the United States. This "breeder" gave us no response after finding out Kahlua was spayed. This is irresponsible and proves that this "breeder" believes their dogs are disposable.

As president of this rescue, I have heard the old, "if we took all our dogs back, we would have to have room for hundreds or thousands". I feel this is just stupid. Rescues like this one are expected to take any of our own adopted dogs back if ever a need arises. Why should these irresponsible breeders expect us to take back their dogs too? Why should we have to pay for their irresponsible behavior?

This little girl was sold for over $2000. Multiply that times several litters and I'd say they should create room for one of their discarded dogs.

I will not publish the name of the kennel on the internet on the chance there is an error, but I will be happy to share the kennel and breeder names with AKC or other show breeders should they be concerned with this practice and may want to question their colleague about such irresponsible behavior. This was a particular disappointment, because over the years this name has produced many quality lines in the show world.

Anyway, this young girl fell victim to a generally German Shepherd ignorant home and family illness. She was a beautiful dog and very sweet. She was nice to all the animals and had done very well in her foster home.

Click on a photo for a larger view!

A special thank you goes out to Kahlua's sponsors: Kali and Jason McDowell.
Would you like to be a sponsor?

Return to the 2006 Alumni page.