Originally posted by kobieeli:
<STRONG>
I still feel guilty about having gotten Eli from a fancy-dancy breeder instead of from a rescue or a shelter, but we had our reasons. Kobie is a shelter-adopted female who's NOT good with other dogs, so we kept hearing advice to get a very young male puppy--maybe she'd feel maternal towards it and not fight constantly. Since finding male Aussie pups in rescue or shelters was impossible during last summer (and we sure tried!), we opted for the breeder. True, we got a wonderful boy who's just what we wanted--frisbee dog extraordinaire, loving and smart and hilarious--but it bothers me that some other Aussie went unadopted or unrescued because of us.
</STRONG>
Kobieeli,
You shouldn't feel quilty if you tried your best. Just think if you hadn't gotten your Aussie from a reputable breeder a wonderful dog may of gone to a not so wonderful home and may of ended up in the rescue anyway. You never know... and as it turns out you got a dog you really love. God works in mysterious ways so don't feel guilty.

As a reputable breeder, I have a contract on all my puppies that states if they have to give the dog away it can only come back to us so we can have some control over any dog we bring into the world not going to a shelter. We then look for homes for the dog all over again. We are also involved in Golden Retriever Rescue. I believe if you are going to bring them into the world, you better be ready to rescue them too!

So by now I guess you can all figure out that I would like more Goldens. The question is how many. The more the merrier. Male or Female doesn't matter, just having them is enough. They would all come from lines that had clearences on hips, eyes, heart, elbows. Since these problems are genetic, we try to breed to prevent them. My favorite saying is "MY BEST FRIENDS ARE PURE GOLD".

Have a GOLDEN day