Our life has been in an uproar with our moving house.  We got possession on January 28th and the fun began!!–and what fun it has been.  We hired painters to paint (now I should be able to paint, but when I paint I get paint everywhere, mostly on me clear through to my underwear creating my new look in multicolored bras) We hired tile guys to put down really stunning porcelain tile in the rooms of the house which were not already tiled leaving only the bedrooms to worry about with sneaky little Cavaliers.  We hired a decorator just to put up the Staffordshire dog wall border that I have hoarded for 11 years for some reason never putting it up in our former home.  I guess I knew this home was waiting.  We love this house and its setting, truly love it.  The only flies in the ointment are that the dog yards are not finished due to weather and that we have not even had time to  get our former house and farm ready to sell. We moved in on February 21 and it has been non stop since.  Only a few of the dogs are with us as we have no fencing yet; we have barricaded the deck which connects the doors to the all season room that is going to be our dog room and the all season room which is already the family room/dog room. While the deck is an adequate size for the dogs to potty, we really want to be able to let our dogs run as they always have. Soon we hope!

These are two pictures of the outside of our new home.  It is so open and airy on the inside with two master bedrooms with their own baths on the main floor. Upstairs is an office loft with wrap around office set up, a bedroom with another complete office set up, huge attic rooms which could be finished as additional rooms, a guest bedroom and full bath.  It truly is the house for us.  We found it accidentally, and were under contract with all financing within two days. The way things happened could only be the work of God as I was so ready for a change and this house was the necessary impetus I needed.  I love my Cavaliers and still want to breed, but not on the scale we have done in the past with the search for the next great show dog or producer. For some reason, after all our success, joy and heartache of breeding and showing purebred dogs, I have lost my drive to succeed at the level that was so important to me in the past. There are so many interests that Al and I want to pursue together and independently right now; Al is my main concern  and I do not want to regret losing time with him because of the heavy show and judging travel schedules that have been my life in the past.  Al and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last Monday.  I cannot believe the years have gone so fast.  I got married later in life and Al has been my only husband.  It certainly has been better than following my original plan to go into the convent; I would have never been able to follow all, or to be truthful, any of the rules.  Just ask my poor husband!

Our biggest worry right now is selling our farm. Carrying two mortgages is going to get old fast. The housing market is absolutely awful here.  We have a great realtor who has been our friend for many years and we have a great property to sell, but the market is awful right now.  Ohio is one of the leading states in foreclosures and still new houses are being built all the time.  We have subdivisions standing empty.  The economy is really not good here with so many companies moving or closing and so many jobs being cut.  I pray that our next president will be blessed with the capability to put us back on track, address the many issues challenging us, and keep the good of our country and its future foremost in his or her mind rather than political party or personal gain.  May our next president have the courage, the fortitude, and the ability to truly chart a new course for us.  Would you not like to go shopping to buy products “made in America” rather than other countries.  I cannot believe how few product seem to be made in our own country!  We really do need a new direction!

As soon as we get our new home organized and really livable with most of the little odds and ends completed, I will be moving back to the old house where my friend Cindy has been staying with my dogs; when I planned on living in the old house to take care of the dogs and get the house ready to sell, our friend Cindy said she and her Boxers would move in and stay so that I could go with Al.  I do so appreciate her kindness;  I am up there to see our dogs every day, but am frantically busy here putting finishing touches on this house.  I am so ADD that I am always in a frenzy trying to find this or that in the upheaval of unpacking boxes.  I just get everything in order and one of us brings up another load of boxes.  My local friends have been so wonderful helping all they can despite their busy schedules.  

On a different note, more and more anti dog and anti breeding legislation is being introduced throughout our country.  If we do not band together and fight for the right to breed and own dogs and without so many specific breeds being banned, we must be afraid that dog breeding and maybe dog ownership will be challenged at every level.  It is the PETA goal, buried in their manifesto, to end the ownership of animals. With PETA’a organization, money, and political clout,, PETA along with the Humane Society of the United States, must be challenged as to their beliefs, practices, and actions. Please become proactive in this fight.  Keep up with what your elected officials are doing in your community and state before it is too late to fight back. 

Until next time… may God bless!

Well, my darling husband who was all set to move, has decided not to move–this is after I started the huge task of sorting through every hidden hoard of “STUFF” in the house. The property we wanted to buy that started all this moving business turned out to have serious flaws and we simply cannot find anyplace nicer than our place despite the work of this property. Al is now facing a couple of possible surgeries and now is not the time to take on the physical tasks that come with moving. I do not know how we will ever tackle cleaning out all Al’s stash of baling wire, string, tools, nuts, bolts, pieces of lumber he might just need “someday,” farm equipment, the hay elevator (which I bought for him for his birthday we first moved here–how romantic but you should see what he buys for me! This year I got a Mantis rototiller!); fencing; fence posts, lawn equipment; old lawn chairs that he might need someday–the list could go on. Al says not to worry, he will “take care of it.” Yeah, right! Men say that women are pack rats, but at least what we keep makes some sense. I have gone through years of dog magazines; clothes from my skinny days, to my really heavy days, back to halfway skinny days, back up rotund days, and now wherever the hell I am size wise;old books; notes from high school classes; old term papers; years of dog pictures of assorted breeds, furniture that just may have a spot someday; piles of clutter and more clutter. If I cannot fill up every horizontal surface of the house, I do not seem to be content. I am making a real effort to declutter, but not being as successful as I would like I am afraid. Still, in case we ever do move, I will be prepared . . . HAH!

Dog wise, we are raising a couple of lovely litters and may let a couple of puppies go to show homes as we are serious about not showing dogs. I am looking at a couple of really super looking puppies and when I feel myself weakening, I just remind myself that the last thing that we need right now is the effort it takes to show dogs at the level we have shown. We have just let a few puppies go on our regular spay/neuter contracts to spectacular pet homes in Florida, Oklahoma, and Ohio over the last month or so and gritted our teeth as we kissed the puppies goodbye as they were really nice show prospects that we would have liked to evaluate longer. One of them went to our friends Melissa and Marshall Gimple who just lost their Bounce son at over fourteen. So now they have a ruby Bounce son in their home to be company to their ruby girl “Tessa” who they got from us several years ago.

We have never sold many show dogs as we keenly feel the responsibility of protecting this breed and have been control freaks about where our dogs go. Sadly I have made grave mistakes in judgment in choosing a few show homes; even on co ownerships one cannot control what others do once a dog leaves one’s property. One can hear horror stories in all breeds about co ownerships and selling show dogs; sadly many of the stories are true. I have also been so lucky in continuing to co own dogs with Margaret Valentine and Sherri Meyer who have become very close friends and great partners. Cindy Chandler and Jeff and Tami Byroads have also been wonderful to work with our dogs in continued co ownership and friendship. There are a few people out there whom we consider totally trustworthy enough and we look forward to perhaps seeing a few Rattlebridge dogs continue to be shown in their hands. Of course the puppies we are looking at for show prospects may not turn out to be show dogs and we may then be looking for wonderful pet homes for them.

I am now deep into working on HB 223/SB 173 which is being proposed in both houses; termed the “puppy mill” bill, this bill has real ramifications for legitimate show breeders. My friend, Bobbi Brady, AKC delegate from the Central Ohio Kennel Club, and I have succeeded in meeting with two Ohio Senators, including the sponsor of the bill. We will meet next week with the sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives. Walt Bebout, director of legislation for the AKC has been most helpful to us. So far our legislators are at least willing to listen to our concerns. The wave of anti dog and anti breeding legislation throughout our country is very scary. The so called animal activists are well organized and well financed; our ability to own pets is being challenged as if one reads the fine print in Peta’s manifesto one would see that Peta is against any ownership of animals.

Enough for tonight. Thank you to my friend and webmaster, Roxy Hayes, for continuing to monitor our website and news items.

In our rural county, dog fighting has been a long time concern. It is barbaric to be sure and goes on in many venues from rural areas like ours, to deep country, in well to do areas hidden by security fences, and of course in urban areas.  Dog fighting, like cock fighting, is barbaric and in fact goes back to less civilized times. Dogs have been used to bait bulls, bait bear, and fight each other since very early times.  In fact some breeds were developed from these earlier uses of dogs.  One would think that in our society today, such horrible games would not be taking place, but then one would think that mankind would no longer be practicing genocide and waging war.  The veneer of civilization is indeed thin.

We all know how our country seems to revere celebrities and watch and sometimes copy every thing a celebrity does.  I feel celebrities have a real responsibility especially to our youth to set examples for moral and lawful behavior.  Many celebrities fail in setting a rightful example; headlines center around drugs and rehab, public fights and disturbances, outlandish behavior and so forth. For Michael Vick, a big time NFL celebrity, hero and role model to our sports crazy youth, to be brought up on charges on a felony so heinous as dog fighting, is not to be condoned in any fashion.  In this country, one is innocent until proven guilty; Michael Vick may be innocent, but dog fighting is so horrific and ugly, that Mr. Vick should be suspended from the NFL until his innocence is proven.  The case against Mr. Vick seems solid. Other athletes have been suspended pending investigations and so should Mr. Vick.  If you feel the same way as I do, let the NFL know how you feel.  Dog fighting is immoral.

Please read the following letters to the NFL (permission to cross post has been given)from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America at    http://dpca.org/Legisltv/documents/Roger_Goodell_Letter_July_20.pdf

and the American Kennel Club letter which I applaud is below:

RONALD H. MENAKER                            DENNIS B. SPRUNG

Chairman of the Board president and chief executive officer

July 20, 2007

Roger Goodell

Commissioner, National Football League

280 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Dear Commissioner Goodell:

As the Board Chairman and President & CEO of a 123-year-old sport-governing body, we are very much aware of the conflicting pressures you face in the matter of the Michael Vick indictment.

Michael Vick is not only a nationally known superstar, but he is also the face of the National Football League?s Atlanta franchise. The Atlanta Falcons will not take any unilateral action on the matter because of the negative impact both in their financial liability and their on-field performance.
The buck thus stops with you as NFL Commissioner.

It is easy to take the position that you will just let the legal process play out, and that he is innocent until proven guilty, which is what the NFL and the Falcons, as well as the players association, have done to date. However, the nature of the crimes described in detail in the indictment in this case are so heinous and repulsive that they should be strongly condemned by any civilized person. This activity is anathema to everything the American Kennel Club stands for, and the millions of AKC registrants and competitors, many of whom have been NFL fans, unilaterally condemn it and those who perpetrated it.

It is common for state laws to recommend the immediate suspension of a teacher when charged with certain crimes. To acknowledge the severity of Mr. Vick?s charges, we urge his immediate suspension.

Respectfully,

Ronald H. Menaker Dennis B. Sprung

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer