Luvmypets Journal: A New Season

luvmypets

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Popped in just because today and saw that it was my ten year anniversary on BYH. When I first made this account I was 12 and I remember I was at my dad’s apartment sitting at the kitchen table.

Man I’m 22 now so much has changed. I wonder what my younger self would think if she saw everything ive been through. I made a lot of friends on this site and have met a lot of knowledgeable and likeminded folks. Always felt like I had a home here. And its funny cause even though I don’t have animals anymore I always find myself checking out this site every now and then just for old times sake.

I still struggle with a lot I won’t lie but I recently started a new job after over two years of being out of work. Its only a few hours a week but I get to work with dogs so its a good a place as any to start. Im actually finally starting to make efforts to moving out of my mom’s house. Its slow going but I have found an amazing partner and for the first time in years Im ready to get my life started.

I hope all of yall are doing well, this community always has a special place in my heart
 

Bruce

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Im actually finally starting to make efforts to moving out of my mom’s house. Its slow going but I have found an amazing partner and for the first time in years Im ready to get my life started.
I'm late to the party, as always.

Very glad to have you pop in and share your thoughts.

You had a rougher last 10 years than a lot of people and with things that are harder for a young person to deal with. I'm glad you are reaching the light end of the tunnel! I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking you have the skills to do well in life.
 

luvmypets

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I got a call yesterday afternoon from the woman who took in my sheep. Clover passed away after losing her battle to parasites. They did everything they could for her but she is older and Ive heard the parasites are especially ruthless this year. Even though I am sad I was filled with an overwhelming sense of peace knowing that Clover lived an amazing life and was so loved. I haven’t talked to the people who have her in over a year. Apparently she had triplets this year and was the best mom they have ever had. They said that yesterday, clover got up walked all around the property before finally laying down and going to sleep. After all the **** that happened when I lost my dad I feel beyond grateful I was able to get her and the others to a safe and loving home. She still has many offspring with her sons Simon and Mochi who were born on my property. Then she has twin girls she had last year, sara and ruth. And then the triplets from this year however I only know about the one which is a stunning ewe named Latte.

I visited Clover about two years ago
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Here is her son mochi he was born a few months before I had to give them up.
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Here are her twin girls
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And here is her most recent daughter who is just stunning
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luvmypets

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I was working for a backyard breeder disguised as a reputable one. On paper everything looks great, they do health testing socialize the pups early on etc everything looks perfect. The dogs live outside in kennels with a big yard they rotate groups in, and all seem happy and healthy. But the thing about when things look perfect they often aren’t. Red flags started months ago but I ignored them as I was just trying to get some cash. To be honest my intuition was telling me something wasn't right far before my brain did. The first thing that really annoyed me was they had a pup that wasn’t selling so what did they do? They sent him to a shelter which to me seems wrong because if you bring an animal into this world it is your responsibility to ensure it finds a home. With livestock I find an exception with it but for a pet it just seems wrong to me. Shelters are already overrun as it is.

One day several months ago I did some digging online to see what other customers were saying about the dogs. I did a deep dive going as far back as a decade ago and the results stayed consistent. They had happy customers with well bred dogs until that wasn’t the case. The complaints have been the same for years: selling sick dogs, dogs with genetic defects, lying about health certifications, selling puppies they promised to buyers, stealing money?, being rude and unprofessional. On google reviews they reply to bad reviews very unprofessionally. In one instance someone said they got a puppy with coccidia, they 100% did, and the owners threatened legal actions calling out the persons mental health issues. I know the customers story is true because from that litter there was a puppy that was very unwell and was always laying off in the corner while the other puppies did puppy things. I remember the day I came in for my one shift and i saw the lethargic puppy wasnt there anymore and the negative review came shortly after. Oh and the only way you can contact them is through email and they only accept payments in cash. Im not an expert but that seems extremely shady to me. By the way these dogs arent cheap, they are easily several thousand dollars.

My time working there my love for the dogs grew into frustration as none of their dogs are trained. The only way you get respect from them is if you scream and that only works some of the time. I am not someone who yells i actually despise yelling. And yet I was repeatedly told the way to get respect is to be louder. Fun Fact, its extremely hard to work when you have 80+ lb dogs jumping on you constantly. Especially when you get the dog off and you and it jumps right back up. They have a lot of dogs yes but your breeding stock should have manners. They probably have 30+ dogs including puppies. Im estimating its probably more

Their breeding practices have no structure. It was just who is in heat and hasnt had a litter in a few months. The breeding stock has proven to not be up to snuff and yet they continue to pump puppies out. There are recent reviews saying they have dogs with genetic issues. A dog that was just a three month old puppy when I started was bred at eight months. I remember the days she bred vividly because she was screaming during knotting and it broke my heart. I remember the one owner complaining to me that the puppies weren’t selling and then they had four more litters within that month. Or recently they have the same complaint and are dumping five puppies at a shelter while having three litters under weaning. Oh and I saw two dogs knotting the other day. There is no excuse for this, because now where are these 15+ puppies going to go. They also had a puppy with a heart murmur that ended up at a shelter. Or how they brought in a completely new breed of dog because its popular. They have a thing with breeding certain colors of certain breeds because thats what people want. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Im trying to keep this as vague as possible for privacy reasons.

I was also verbally bullied by the one boss, nothing I did was correct and they spoke to me as if I was stupid. We are both adults I genuinely don’t understand why they treated me as if I was a dumb kid. I admit I am not perfect I make mistakes and sometimes struggle to understand things on the first go and when I asked for clarification they got mad at me. Me personally I do not feel comfortable doing a task unless i fully understand what is being asked of me. Especially with the one boss as i would do something they told me but then got scolded because I didnt do it right. Several instances I was given attitude as well because the two owners didn’t communicate that things were being done different on that day. We have all dealt with bad bosses but when everyday was just having my every action nitpicked and being talked down too it was exhausting. One day when the bullying became too much I stood up to them and they were nice to me after that for a few months. That was until I went on a vacation and when I returned I became their personal punching bag again. The only way I got respect? I was about a minute from quitting on the spot and then they apologized to me saying they were stressed and we talked it out.

All and all I am done with that place and I am not looking back. I hope that something changes there but it probably wont. More dogs being pumped out for the sake of money its just sad. So many beautiful babies in shelters just waiting to find their homes. If you made it this far thank you for reading a let me know what you think. There’s honestly so much more I could say but I think ive written enough for now.
 
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