Chelsea's Story
I had intended on doing an article about hiking with your dog, but I'm afraid other things have gotten in the way. When I took Chelsea in to get her shots, I also told the vet about a sore on Chelsea's rump. The vet found a strange lump in her anal gland area. Chelsea went in for a biopsy today, but it will probably be 10-14 days before any results come back. So for now we play the waiting game. Any prayers you can spare are definetely appreciated.
So with the events of the past few days, I decided to forgo the hiking article in favor of a biography of my 85 lb puppy.
Lady Chelsea Capulet CD, TT, CGC, DSA was born of rather humble beginnings in July of 1991. My mother was dating her breeder at the time, so our number was one of the first that his daughter called with the news that “Dolly” had secretly emptied all of the shoes out of her father’s closet and deposited seven fat puppies in their place. I was the third person to actually see Chelsea when she was born, although I certainly have no idea which one she could possibly have been.
At the time, I was fresh out of high school, enrolled to attend a local university, still living at home, and desperately wanting a dog. Basically, I was already fond of Dolly, and I instantly fell in love with the litter, although I didn’t expect to actually own one. On the whole, I was very naïve about the world of purebreds. I had no idea what a backyard breeder was.
Actually, as far as BYB’s go, Dolly’s owner wasn’t exactly the worst. He loved his dog, who was actually a very nicely built girl. She was well behaved and very well cared for. Also, he didn’t just breed to any Rottweiler with papers. He was very sensitive to the sire’s temperament and home life as well as appearance. Also, in her lifetime, Dolly was only allowed to produce 2 litters instead of being bred every single heat cycle. But still, he was a BYB. To my knowledge, no health checks were done on either sire or dam. The pups also were sold at 5 weeks instead of the appropriate 8 weeks.
Because the breeder had to work long shifts, my mother and I would stop by to check on the puppies and feed them once they were weaned. During this time, we noticed something funny. When we entered the driveway, one solitary little dark head would pop up over the enclosure where they were kept – the smallest female. The little girl would bark one little yip, alerting the rest of the litter that someone was there. Suddenly six little barking mouths appeared. Meanwhile, as far as she was concerned, the little female’s job was done. After “informing” the others, she would drop down and go back to playing, or take the opportunity to help herself at the food bowl.
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