Trisha, I'm sorry to hear about the story of your friends. This is the situation those of us who are aggressively involved in public education are trying to eliminate. I talked with over 300 PPO's last year, sent out over 250 educational packets, and know the breeders on our breeder referral list spent who knows how many hours with PPO's. I always explain to PPO's how smart they are to be working through either regional or nat'l club, the pitfalls of buying from "bad sources," the rationale for having to wait for a puppy, etc. I think most PPO's, once they understand WHY, are willing to wait for a pup. I also try to help PPO's understand the situation from the breeder's perspective. I consider our breeder referral program a continual work in progress, but on balance, I think we have been pretty successful in hooking up buyers and breeders. And many of our success stories were first time berner buyers. IMHO, the reason things have worked is that our breeders are all on the same page in that we all understand that the enemy is the BYBer, the intenet broker and the renegade breeder and that by working together, we can steer PPO's away from these sources and toward the responsible breeders who are careful and caring. Have we eliminated the "bad" breeders? No, but I believe we have put a dent in their business, at least in our neck of the woods, and that's a start.
Mary and the girls, Laurel and Bailey Thankful someone took a chance on me as a first time berner owner not so very long ago. Breeder Referral Coordinator Chattahoochee Valley BMDC Fayetteville, GA
