All About Dogs by LowchensAustralia.com

A Breeder [with a capital B],
is one who thirsts for knowledge
and never really knows it all,
one who wrestles with
decisions of conscience,
convenience, and commitment.

A Breeder is one who sacrifices
personal interests, finances,
time, friendships, fancy furniture,
and deep pile carpeting.

She gives up the dreams
of a long, luxurious cruise
in favor of turning that
all important show 
into this years "vacation".

A Breeder goes without sleep,
but never without coffee,
in hours spent planning
a breeding or watching anxiously
over the birth process, and afterwards,
over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry.

A Breeder skips dinner parties
because that litter is due
or the babies have to be fed
at eight.

She disregards birth fluids
and puts mouth to mouth
to save a gasping newborn,
literally blowing life into 
a tiny, helpless creature
that may be the culmination
of a lifetime of dreams.

A Breeder's lap is a marvellous place
where generations of proud
and noble champions
once snoozed.

A Breeder's hands
are strong and firm
and often soiled,
but ever so gentle and sensitive 
to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.

A Breeder's back and knees
are usually arthritic
from stooping, bending, and sitting
in the birthing box,
but are strong enough to enable
the breeder to show the next choice pup
to a Championship.

A Breeder's shoulders are stooped
and often heaped with abuse from competitors,
but they're wide enough 
to support the weight of
a thousand defeats and frustrations.

A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop,
support an armful of puppies,
or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.

A Breeder's ears are wondrous things,
sometimes red ~ from being talked about ~
or strangely shaped ~
from being pressed against a phone receiver,
often deaf to criticism,
yet always fine-tuned to
the whimper of a sick puppy.

A Breeder's eyes are blurred
from pedigree research
and sometimes blind 
to her own dog's faults,
but they are ever so keen
to the competitions faults
and are always searching for
the perfect specimen.

A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces,
but it can recall pedigrees faster
than an IBM computer.

It's so full of knowledge that
sometimes it blows a fuse.
It catalogues thousands of good bonings,
fine ears, and perfect heads,
and buries in the soul,
the failures and the ones
that didn't turn out.

A Breeder's heart is often broken,
but it beats strongly with hope everlasting,
and it's always in the right place!

Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then,
there are Breeders ~

Author unknown.