I want to talk a little bit today about our visitors policy here at Merrywind Teckels and explain WHY we have made the decision to meet our puppy buyers at public locations, such as dog shows, pet supply stores or our veterinarian’s office.
There is a lot of information out there on the web about finding a responsible breeder and how to avoid puppies raised in substandard conditions. Although well meaning, many of the recommendations for screening breeders directly contradict with common sense internet safety. Nearly every list you see on the internet about finding a responsible breeder advises you to visit the breeder’s facility to see for yourself how the puppies are raised. Yet most every list on internet safety starts out with “Meet in a public place”, usually in big capital letters and bold print. But somehow people forget that just because a breeder has cute puppies for sale and you are able to contact them online, that breeder does not know you. You are a stranger asking for a free pass to their home and property. It is the equivalent of emailing someone on an online dating site and inviting yourself to their home for dinner for your first date.
Unfortunately in the world that we live in, the news abounds with stories about individuals posing as potential buyers for puppies with nefarious intentions. Breeders assaulted, dogs or puppies stolen (sometimes before they are even ready to be separated from their mother), theft of cash or other valuables, and individuals “undercover” searching for anything that can be used to make reports to organizations with an agenda against breeding dogs. A simple google search brings up pages and pages and pages of these cases.
Perhaps the most dramatic example is that of Missouri rat terrier breeder Bobbie Jo Stinnett. On December 16, 2004, a woman using a fictitious name and under the guise of purchasing a puppy, visited Bobbie Jo in her home, murdered her and mutilated her body in order to remove the baby girl Bobbie Jo was 8-months pregnant with. This woman, later identified as Lisa Montgomery, was found guilty and was given a federal death sentence, although she continues to appeal her conviction.
Read more about Bobbie Jo Stinnett
Our own experience several years ago wasn’t nearly that bad, but still very scary in its own right. It taught us that although we were taking every precaution screening potential puppy owners, having more than one person at home during visits, and we really do come to think of these people as our extended dachshund family, people can and do hide who they are and their intentions when those intentions are less than honorable. Our dogs and puppies are raised in our home. We do not have a kennel. We do not have a facility. Our home is not just the place where our puppies are raised, but also where we are raising our children, where we live day to day, and where we sleep at night. And although we want to be as transparent as we can to reassure potential puppy buyers that they are supporting a responsible breeder, we can no longer take chances with the safety of our family.
To that end, we still love to meet our puppy buyers in person, just not at our home. There are several options for places to meet, and we will work with buyers to figure out what works best for them. Some buyers like to meet us at our veterinarian’s office where they have the opportunity to visit with our veterinarian about the high standard of care our dachshunds receive. Other buyers prefer to meet us at a dog event, like a conformation show or field event. We often have quite a few of our adult dachshunds with us at these events, not just the parents of the puppies, and some buyers like to get a feel for the outgoing temperaments and personalities that are expected in our dachshunds. Other times, we can meet buyers at any pet-friendly venue, like a pet supplies store or pet-friendly park in the summer. We still like to bring along at least some of the puppy’s dachshund relatives when we meet at locations like this. In any case, we want buyers to feel comfortable that they are supporting a responsible breeder at the same time being smart about safety.
We believe that the quality of our puppies above all else—health, temperament, structure, and beauty—speaks loud and clear about the quality of our breeding program and our high standards. We have nothing to hide.