Page 82 - Chow LIfe - Summer 2022

In Search of a Puppy

AKC Gazette Excerpt

By Love Banghart
CCCI Gazette Columnist

Gary and Joy are devastated. Their Chow Chow, who owned them for 11 years, recently
passed away from natural causes. He was their “child” – a loving and devoted companion
whose passing has left an incredible void in their family life. After suffering through the
mourning period, they decide that they must find another Chow Chow to become part of
their family. They immediately decide that the new addition should be the same sex and
color as “Bear” and also that they must have a puppy, since several friends who own other
breeds have informed them that Chow Chows are “single-family” or “one-man” dogs and
that only a puppy could bond with them.
They want to find a healthy, well-adjusted companion. They have seen the dreadful
exposés of Puppy mill breeding and know that they should find a reputable breeder from
whom to purchase their new puppy. Their first search is through the local newspaper
classified section. Due to the new county restrictions and requirements for breeders, the
classifieds have a limited number of dog advertisements, none for Chow Chows. They next
search the internet and find several articles documenting the breed-specific regulations
that many large homeowner insurers have imposed, a few articles documenting breed-
specific community legislation and also notice a couple of articles regarding airline
restrictions. They now understand why a breeder may be hesitant to advertise a new litter
in the local public media. Their love of the breed and personal experience with “Bear”
motivate them to continue their search.
Via the internet, they locate the website for the Chow Chow Club Inc. (www.chowclub.org)
and AKC (www.akc.org) websites.. Both websites contain many helpful articles which help
them to understand health testing, pedigrees and titles. They had not planned to travel
in search of a puppy and had not considered purchasing a puppy “by mail”, but decide
that they will contact a few of the closest breeders to discuss their requirements and the
availability of a puppy.
The Chow Club website offers a search capability of the membership database, sorted by
state and they are able to select only breeders who are currently advertising that they have
puppies available. After a few telephone calls, they find a breeder in a neighboring state
who has a young litter. There are 3 male puppies that are the same color as Bear. The
family eagerly plans a weekend trip to visit the litter, determined to bring the new family
member home. Plans are discussed with the breeder, who interviews the family to evaluate
the potential home. The breeder also refers them to a website that contains pedigrees and
photos of Chows of the past. The family is even more excited as they review the photos,
noting many OFA numbers, Championship titles and ROM titles in the pedigrees of the
sire and dam.
Three weeks later, Gary and Joy are happily owned by a healthy, happy new Chowlet. They
effectively used the available resources to aid in their search, thus shortening the time and
effort required to find a new family member. They decide to name their new baby “WEB-
ster”.

(This article first appeared in the June 2015 AKC Gazette and is reprinted with permission. To read the online Gazette,
visit www.akc.org/pubs.)
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