A Breeder (with a capital B)
is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really
knows it all,
one who wrestles with decisions of conscience,
convenience, and commitment.
A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests,
finances, time,
friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile
carpeting!
A Breeder goes without sleep, but never without
coffee!
Hours are spent planning a breeding
or watching anxiously over the birth process,
and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or
cry.
A Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter
is due
or the babies have to be fed at eight.
She disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth
to save a gasping newborn,
literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless
creature
that may be the culmination of a lifetime of
dreams.
A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where
generations
of proud and noble champions once snoozed.
A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often
soiled,
but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of
a kittens wet nose.
A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic
from stooping,
bending, and sitting in the birthing box,
but are strong enough to enable the breeder
to show the next choice kit to a championship.
A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped
with abuse from competitors,
but they're wide enough to support the weight
of a thousand defeats and frustrations.
A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop,
support an armful of kittens, or lend a helping
hand to a newcomer.
A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red
(from being talked about)
or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a
phone receiver),
often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to
the whimper of a sick kitten
A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research
and sometimes blind to her own cat's faults,
but they are ever so keen to the competition's
faults
and are always searching for the perfect specimen.
A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can
recall pedigrees
faster than an IBM computer.
It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a
fuse:
it catalogues thousands of good bonings, fine ears,
and perfect heads...
and buries in the soul, the failures and the ones
that didn't turn out.
The Breeder's heart is often broken,
but it beats strongly with hope everlasting...
and it is always in the right place!
Oh, yes, there are breeders,
and then, there are Breeders!
Author
Unknown
