Virtual Breeding 2

To: The Handel Family From: Sue Samuels Subject: your pup Date: 20 January	Hi there. Well the good news is that George is doing fine. He's a lovely little boy and I know you'll be happy with him. He has got an outgoing temperament, without being too boisterous. It will be important that when you get him home in a couple of weeks that his socialization continues. The most important days of his learning are now and up until he is 16 weeks old. I'm sure he will bring you many happy years, and I'm sure you will enjoy his company and vice versa. As you know, we only place our puppies in homes that will feed an all natural diet, so please ensure that you maintain this diet. Feeding a natural diet will also ensure that his chances of ever getting hip dysplasia are greatly reduced. And remember - there is no need for him to ever have grains or any grain based foods. If you have any questions at any stage, please feel free to call me or contact me via email. I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks to pick up your boy. On a final note, we will require the rest of the payment for George before you pick him up. Best, Gretel.
To: Jeremy Withers From: Gretel Cosby Subject: puppy Date: 21 January	Hi Jeremy, just a quick note to say it was great that you were able to come over yesterday and evaluate the litter. I think the boy you have chosen is lovely. Gretel
To: Gretel Cosby From: Sue Samuels Subject: Amy Date: 26 January	Hi Gretel - just to let you know that it is not looking good for Amy. We are evaluating now when she will cross the bridge. She seems to be quite uncomfortable at times. Because of the drugs she is having to ease the pain, she sleeps most of the time. We will let you know when the time comes to say goodbye to her. Sue.
To: Bart Betcham From: Gretel Cosby Subject: your pup Date: 28 January	Hi Bart - thought you'd like this picture I took of Alan your new pup, the other day! He'll be ready to pick up next week. Let me know what time is best for you - although Wednesday afternoon will be best for me. (I'm taking the afternoon off from work) As you can see Alan's appetite is increasing every day! You'll find that in the next 4 months he will actually eat more than he will when he is mature. You will wonder where he puts it all. Mind you, this raw meaty bone he's eating in this picture, disappeared fairly quickly. I don't think he ate it all, but he certainly had a very good go at it. You should be very happy with him. Gretel
To: Sue Samuels From: Gretel Cosby Subject: update Date: 10 February	Hello Sue. I hope you are feeling ok. I can't imagine that anything right now would soothe you. I was so sad to hear that Amy passed away the other night in her sleep. I guess she's in a place now where there is no pain. I'm thinking of you at this very sad time. Things are relatively quiet here. Five of the puppies went to their new homes over the last three days. I have just the one girl, who I've called Gil, who I will keep. Jeremy thought that she looks like a real chance at being a show dog. However, as we both know, what looks great at 8 weeks, may look completely different as a mature dog. I'll let you know what happens. Cammy seems to be very pleased to be free of the troup of puppies, and she's more than happy to be able to snuggle up with me every night. Her scar is still prominent where the vet did the c-section. I guess it will always be there. Gretel
To: Sue Samuels From: Gretel Cosby Subject: update Date: 20 March	Sue - how are things? They are pretty busy here. Work is over-whelming. I have had so much to catch up on, and given how much time I had to take off for the puppies, I am trying to get back into my boss's good books. I have noticed something a little strange with Gil. She doesn't seem to have as much energy as what I would have expected. I'm off to the vet's on Saturday morning to see if she can diagnose something. Gil is eating well, but just appears a little too breathless after exercise. I'll let you know. G.
To: Sue Samuels From: Gretel Cosby Subject: update Date: 30 March	Sue, I have some more bad news. I've spent some considerable time with the specialist and sought a second opinion before I thought I'd tell you. It appears that Gil (registered name: Ozewok Ming Dynasty) has juvenile cardiomyopathy. I've just come off the web after doing some more research. This is an awful disease. It's caused by a recessive gene. This means that both Cammy and Swift must be carriers. This means that potentially it's a problem in both your lines, and the lines of Pam and Louise. And now of course, perhaps Jeremy's too. It seems that juvenile cardiomyopathy is present in many different breeds, and of course in cross breeds (it's been harder to track the cross breed occurrences of this, as rarely are these problems identified properly). I'm having a great deal of difficulty in writing this, but it does appear that Gil will die shortly. There is no cure from this disease. Apparently puppies rarely live past 6 months of age. This means that if any of the other puppies have it - and the chances are that 2 of the other 5 will have it, they will die to. Responsibly, it means that none of the puppies should ever be bred from, as it well may be that those that survive are still carriers. I will talk with you soon.
To: Rottie email list From: Gretel Cosby Subject: juvenile cardio Date: 3 April	Hello, as many of you know, my bitch gave birth to some puppies last December. It was a rough start and we lost three of the puppies at birth. The remaining puppies have all been doing well until recently. Gil, the pup I kept, started showing some signs recently that something was amiss. After specialist consultations, we have now discovered that she has juvenile cardiomyopathy, which is considered a terminal condition. She will be lucky if she lives another 4 weeks (or so the statistics tell us so far). While being a very harsh start for me in the breed, I guess this, if nothing else, is a important reminder that no matter how well you do things, no matter how much planning can go into a breeding, that problems can happen that we don't foresee. I haven spoken to all the puppy buyers and have offered to take back the pups and refund the purchase price. The stud dog owners and myself have talked at length and our discussions remain private. Meanwhile please keep Gil in your prayers as I ensure the last few days of her life are beautiful and wonderful.
To: Rottie email list From: Gretel Cosby Subject: RIP Gil Date: 13 April	Hello all, This is just to let you know that Gil passed over the rainbow bridge last night. She had been getting progressively worse, and we took her into the vet's late yesterday afternoon. In her final hours she got to do the things she loved. She went and played by the water, and sat in the sun with her mother and me for a couple of hours. She chewed on her favourite bone and travelled home from the park with her head in the breeze of a half opened car window. In the end her passing was quick. The vet did an analysis and the news was very bad. He said that her little heart could work no more, and that she was starting to exhibit much greater signs of distress. He let us take Gil outside where he gave her the final injection as the sun went down over the river. She quickly passed. We took her home and buried her in special place and will have a memorial plaque made up for her. I have two of her brothers returning to me next week. Their owners felt that they didn't want to have to see their pups die (not that this is guaranteed), so they will stay with me forever now. thank you everyone for all the kind notes you've sent me over the last few days. I really do appreciate your thoughts. Gretel

Decision Point

If you would like to proceed with the story of Gretel and her rotties, click here. (there is only one more part to this story)

or,

if you have had enough, and you really want to wind back the clock to August last year, click here to go back in time.