9/30/97-4/08
For tips on how to
find a responsible breeder, visit
here.
If I'd known half of that, none of this
would've happened.
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 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 first owner that her life turned up.
Nakita's Story
Little did I know, when I sold this sweet girl to her first Home at
her first owner 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 first owner 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 that 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 without the first owner notifying me in February of 1999, to a friend of mine in San
Angelo TX. Because of my gut feeling, I had asked Alice to
approach her owner and ask if she had any young adult show bitches
for sale and she was offered Nakita. My gut had been right.
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.
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.
If you would like the
name of the first owner and links to other stories of interest,
please
email me.
Due to her law suit happy behaviour, I am unable to name her on my
webpage.
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 had problems the rest of her life. This is
according to a BOARD CERTIFIED CARDIOLOGIST. Her new owner was
wonderful in helping me research these problem, and wasted 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, bad bite,
toed in, almost roman headed, the seller had tried to convince
Alice not to spay her, but to show and breed her. Thankfully, Alice
sold her to me when she ended up not being show quality, 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 witch,
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 suffered 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
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 had this 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 fruit-loop 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!
This site is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Schatzi, Gossip, Pandora, Obie, Sushi, Cleo & all my other loved ones waiting patiently for me at the Rainbow Bridge