A Little History
I'd been involved with the purebred, show-line German Shepherd Dog for several years and saw things I did not want to be a part of.
"Purebred" shows lines are for the wealthy and the elite, and they are a tightly knit group.
I was born into a middle-class family, and growing up I never even imagined that I would have a 'purebred' anything. The money was simply not there to spend on such luxuries.
Kayla
I didn't get my first purebred pet until around 1996 - my wonderful girl, Kayla.
It turns out Kayla had Degenerative Myelopathy, which was apparently quite common in the German Shepherd Dog breed at the time.
She had a great life with us until the time came when her body was failing her, and we put her to rest.
Our Kayla lived for thirteen years and it was
Booker
Booker was my first "purebred" dog. He came from parents who were involved in the show world and were 'champions'. I didn't have a clue in those days, and Booker was my lifeblood. We did everything together. We did all the puppy stuff. We did agility at the local shelter's programs. We did it all.
Unfortunately, he only lived for one and a half years.
We had entered a dog show and won a bunch of ribbons (for doing nothing), and shortly after we came home he started having seizures. It turns out his breeder knew that his grandfather was a seizure dog too!
The day came when he started having a seizure, and even the emergency vet couldn't get it under control.
We put him to rest at only 1 1/2 years old.
