I got my first pekingese when I was sixteen and I did not choose the breed of dog I wanted...the breed chose me. I've always felt this way.

Yes, I've had other dogs and loved them dearly but the pekingese simply has my heart. I've almost always had a pet peke since then and helped with rescue every chance I could. I belong to all the local Humane Society's and have been a member for many years.

After my mother passed away I got another little girl peke and after I took her to a fun match, I realized that I loved showing.

(Almost as much as she did!)

That began my dog show days. I went on to buy a Canadian Champion male and showed him to his championship in the US. Then I bred a beautiful boy and he received his championship status at fourteen months old.

Showing dogs is fun and although it is a very expensive hobby, I enjoy it very much as do my pekes.

It wasn't long before I was being told that I could not be a breeder and also do resuce. My question, as usual was...why not? I've been rescuing for years and will not stop but if I breed a peke that loves to go to shows, then I will do that too.

I breed very selectively and rarely, carefully checking blood lines and pedigrees as well as the overall structure and health of the pekes.

I believe that sometimes people can get one mind-set and determine that all breeders are bad and that all dogs should be neutered/spayed. Would they also have it that there are no more dogs in our world? We've enjoyed their companionship for centuries and it has been proven they are great therapy for many people. Why should we want them to become extinct now? Because there are bad people who mistreat them? I would much prefer stronger, more enforceable laws to control those people.

I believe breeders should be checked to ascertain they are breeding properly and taking good care of their dogs. I believe stronger laws and better enforcement would make a difference and that making all cruelty laws felonies would put some people behind bars where they belong. I also believe that some people should be banned forever from having dogs. And I believe these wonderful companions are a true gift form God Himself who loves them too.

I realize how the bad breeders and puppy millers have put us reputable breeders in a bad light but people should keep in mind, there is good and bad in everything in life. There are no perfect people, but there are most certainly some perfect dogs.

So yes, I am a breeder and if that leaves a bad taste in your mouth, perhaps you should be more opened minded and not have such a one-way mind set. I don't think you would like a world without dogs unless you just don't like them in the first place, which is something I can never comprehend.

And yes, I am also a rescurer of those dogs who someone bred and didn't love. I am, and will always be there, when a pekingese needs me. I will drive long hours and take them from the shelters they were dumped in because no one loved them and I will show them love, maybe for the first time in their lives and they will know...they are truly special at least to me. I will nurse them back to health and pay for a veterinarian when necessary. And may God help me to help them and when I must suffer a broken heart because I could not save one, may He be there to bring me comfort and to tell me that... "Yes, you can be a breeder and do rescue too."