9/30/97-4/08

Nakita, shown here with her buddy Torus shortly after she had moved in.
Despite all she'd been thru, Nakita outlived two of her siblings
 and was euthanised at almost 10.5 due to Kidney problems and weakened rear.

Nakita at 7.5, with her new buddy & nephew Boris

Nakita was the spoilt rotten pet of Nancy Mueller in Delhi NY.

Nakita had her very own couch, in her very own home, with her very own Borzoi boy to chew on and play with, and was the apple of her owner's eye. She was a very much loved and spoilt pet, and was in a home any breeder would love to have their pups in. But her life didn't start out this grand, it wasn't until she was saved from her cobreeder that her life turned up.

Nakita's Story

Little did I know, when I sold this sweet girl to her first home at her co-breeder's back in 97, that the home would turn sour. Despite reassurances that she would be shown, Nakita never left her former owner's farm until the day she was again sold at 18 months.

Months before she was sold, I got a gut feeling something was wrong, yet her co-breeder evaded my questions on if she was going to keep her, insuring me she would be shown, that she was happy with her, that all was well. Unbeknownst to me, she was already looking for a home to dump Nakita into.  I have since learned, this is normal for her. I am not the first, nor was I the last, to be victim to this buyer's fancy.  She has bought at least 4 other dogs, and they've disappeared or died of mysterious causes.

Nakita was sold in February of 1999, to a friend of mine in San Angelo TX. We arranged to have Nakita picked up at the  San Antonio dog shows in March by another friend, Liz. When she approached the former owner, she was asked to come back later, giving the seller time to get her out of the GOAT trailer she'd been taken to the event in, and bath her.

When Liz returned after Groups had been judged, Nakita had been abandoned in a crate in the seller's grooming area. The seller's other dogs and all possessions not usually left at a grooming site were gone, the seller nowhere in sight. Nakita's SIGNED papers were sitting on top of her crate, along with a FORGED rabies certificate. On close examination, this certificate was clearly written out for a Great Pyr named Sugar. Great Pyr had been X'd out with a pen, with Borzoi written in.  Texas was in a rabies epidemic and this was irresponsible (not to mention I'd wager Illegal) of the seller to do.

After the sale had taken place, the seller took to saying Nakita was stolen from her grooming area when she wasn't there, telling multiple people that I drove down there from NY and stole her while the seller was ringside.  The seller also reported the papers as being stolen, so as to insure the dog couldn't be reregistered. Yet, the seller didn't notify anyone of authority of these 'facts'. Smell something fishy?

Guess it was CONVENIENT that signed papers, signing her over to Alice, the woman who had paid for her, had been left on top of the crate, CONVENIENT that no police report was issued, CONVENIENT that she never said anything to Liz for the rest of the weekend of the San Antonio cluster.   It was also rather inconvenient for her, that I was in Detroit at the MBC specialty that same weekend.  I must've flown by my super powers down to TX gathered Nakita up in my arms and flown back. LOL

I don't know about you, but if I had a dog stolen at a show, everybody and their mother would  know about it, the cops would've been called, it would've been posted all over the internet (which she did have access to).  But then, I also would never lie like this.  Things that make you go hmmmmm.

Nakita came with a sore about 4 inches wide on her side that slowly healed on the outside, only to fester beneath the skin before erupting again.  After her vet performed surgery to remove fistulas that had spread throughout her sides, we were told it was from a foreign object, which had not been taken care of properly by the former owner.   The infection caused damage to her heart valves, and she will have problems the rest of her life. Sadly, that life will probably not be of normal length due to the care she got as a youngster. This is according to a BOARD CERTIFIED CARDIOLOGIST.  Her new owner has been wonderful in helping me research these problems, and wastes no money in talking to specialists.  You couldn't ask for a better home for a special needs puppy than this.

Despite having obvious faults that made her a pet quality bitch, the seller had tried to convince Alice not to spay her, but to show and breed her. Thankfully, Alice sold her to me, where she was placed in a wonderful pet home and quickly spayed.

The seller is still buying and selling dogs, and I've heard of others who've bought dogs from her in poor health.  Karma's a bitch, and one day, it'll come back on her. This could happen to ANYONE out there, and as many people have told me, they never thought it would happen to them, but now they're sorry to admit it has.

At 7+ years old, none of her siblings suffer from any of the problems she has.  Just this poor girl who had crappy care by her first owner. Pat Hardy & I are aghast that she was treated this way

Due to the care (or lack thereof) she received in her previous home, Nakita will have long lasting health problems for the rest of her life. Thankfully, unlike her previous home, Nan loves her regardless, even if she isn't conformationally correct and never will be a show dog.. I could not've asked for a better home for this little girl, and am so thrilled that she is in a forever home.
 

Due to this instance, the incident with her brother, and other issues, I have cut off all dealings with the breeder of her mother.

Motto of this story:
DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!

Before selling your dog to anyone, do your research. If that buyer is a breeder, contact the breeders of her/his other dogs. Ask them if they'd sell a dog to this person again. And WHY? I didn't find out until after the fact what kind of fruitloop this person was, and sadly, Nakita suffered for it. Each day, the world gets smaller and smaller do to the Internet. Use it to your benefit!

I've always been told that a responsible breeder does what's necessary to insure the good life for their pups, no matter what it takes. I stand by that. They didn't ask to be here, so we should do what's necessary to make sure their life is good, and if they're pet quality, they should be altered. There is no need for pet quality Borzoi being bred when there are plenty of great breeding quality Borzoi out there. There are too many of our beloved breed in bad homes being bred for quick cash, or sold to pet stores as it is, we should do our utmost to insure that no dog bred by any of us ends up in those type of homes!

Please, require spay & neuter of all pets!