NAPS NEWSLETTER Q2 2020 – VOL. 3
A Rehoming Success Story
Moshi’s Journey – By: Calvin Harpe
It is a dreary and somber morning in northeast Ohio in early June. There is no sun to be seen at today’s sunrise. Perhaps that is fitting for the emotional roller coaster I’m riding.
Not many talk about the emotional toll and investment there is to being a quality dog breeder. The financial aspect is often talked about, as many non-breeders like to tell me how much money I must be making. They never seem to compute all the money I spend. However, the emotional investment of being a quality dog breeder far exceeds the financial investment. There are emotional highs and lows from many directions. Some deal with the dogs directly. Some deal with the politics within your chosen breed. Some deal with the relationships between the people. As two long term breeders told me when I began Oxbow Kennel in 2005, “you must have thick skin if you want to be a dog breeder”. One of those breeders has always been a very good friend and was genuinely looking out for my sometimes fragile being. The other was a person that portrayed friendship only to drive the daggers into my back at every opportunity that arose.