Dear Past and Future Puppy Owners, 

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When I say no, I don't have a puppy for your family. I have my reasons. I am responsible, I am reasonable. I have been educated over many years of puppy placement, even prior to having my own puppies. I do know life happens, circumstances change but I am here to help you and guide you. My job doesn't stop the day you take your puppy home, in many cases its only the beginning. Cocker Spaniels are extremely loving and loyal family members. They are great with the elderly, disabled and children who are able to treat the dog with respect. They live to please you and be with you. Cocker Spaniels make wonderful service dogs, for the hard of hearing, and as medical alert dogs. The police even use them as drug and weapon detection dogs. 

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THEY WILL CAPTURE YOUR HEARTS

AND GIVE YOU THEIRS

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AND I LOVED THEM FIRST

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I thought of you years before you even realised. I planned for and cared about your baby before you even thought about adding to your family. I worried about your future with my puppy even before you knew there would be a future puppy.

There were hours and hours spent researching lines for the parents of your puppy. Speaking with mentors, looking for the "right" girl not just as my well-loved pet but the future mum of your puppy. Worrying if you would be happy, worrying that the puppies would grow up happy and healthy. Trying hard to make no mistakes because after all your puppy depends on me making the right choices from the beginning. 

Then there is the years waiting for the parents to grow and mature hoping they make good parents. Waiting for health clearance results keeping me up at night. Is their temperament good enough to pass on to puppies? Praying that they are good enough and healthy enough to pass on the best of their traits to their babies.

Finally it was time to put the parents together, for the next 63 days I worried, I obsessed, I got hopeful and then excited. I watched mum closely making sure she was ok and researching what diet was best for her while carrying puppies. She ate better than I did. I spent countless hours watching her tummy grow and waiting, never leaving her side in the last 10 days. We  re-arranged the bedroom to make room for her private den, placed right next to my face so that I could listen for any squeak once the babies arrived. I sat all night, sometimes for 2-3 nights when she would start digging and scratching the bedding, asking to go to the toilet every 5 minutes through the night. Then the time is here and I sit on the floor next to the pen awaiting the arrival of the first baby, would it be ok? Is the labour progressing well, what more can I do to make the labour as comfortable as possible for my girl. Then the babies arrive, the relief and elation at the first squeak and the sadness when there's no life, despite my best efforts to revive the lifeless little body. Once everything is done and mum is cleaned up and I then get to work taking hourly temperatures of the whelping box, making sure everyone is getting fed, finding the puppies who have wandered away from mum and crying because they can't find their way back. I love each one already. For the next 8 weeks my mind was consumed with babies, first making sure they were warm and well fed, then watching them flourish a bit every day. Soon I started to expose them to the sights and sounds of family life. Was everyone eating well? Is there something more I should be doing, are they getting enough socialisation time, getting vaccinations and worrying that the vet might find something wrong with my little babies. After all I was the first person they saw when their eyes opened. I spent weeks playing with them and keeping them safe. 

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I searched for you and interviewed you. As you spoke I tried to read your character. Would you love them as much as I do? Would you bring them in as part of your family? Would you care for this tiny life that I brought into this world that I am responsible for? Some of you were turned away but some of you were welcomed into our family. The day you took your baby home was harder than I’d ever let on. I was excited for you but I was also terrified. Had I chosen correctly? Were you who you seemed to be?


My love and worry didn’t end there. I thought about your baby regularly, saddened when I didn’t get updates, ecstatic when I did. I hoped you were caring for your baby the way I care for mine. I answered your questions happily and answered them again just as happily to your baby’s siblings’ new parents. When your puppy’s sister ate a couch I stayed up that night she was at the vets, waiting to hear that she was ok. When your puppy’s brother’s parents decided he no longer fit in their life I welcomed him home, sorry that I had chosen wrong for him and promised him it wouldn’t happen again.


I loved your baby first and I will never stop.