| At Left: You know what I was born to do. I have been told by my mother that this was a preview of things to come. At Right: The makings of a great breeder. This is myself at age 16 with my first ever litter of Cocker Spaniels. The love of being a dog breeder to spread smiles, beginning with mine, started here. Below: I would like to share a cherished poem. My favorite part being italicized, bold and underlined in relation to breeding the colored Bostons. |
| Cypress Farm Kennel About the Breeder Linda Johansen |
| I would like to tell you a little about myself and my love of animals. To begin at the beginning, I will start with my first horse, one of those large spring toys which I received my first Christmas. It didn't take long to wear that one out. My Mother tells me I was already horse-crazy at age 2. She couldn't sneak me by any mechanical horses outside of the local stores. I HAD to have a ride. I would have had a real horse the year I turned six but my Dad died that year so I was eight before a good friend of our family bought me a horse and kept it on his ranch so that I could ride. I was soon taking riding lessons and eventually became a member of a girl's drill team performing at various rodeos. During high school I competed in contests to become a rodeo queen and was crowned queen of one such contest. While in college I joined a group of older ladies who also performed for rodeos. We did square dancing on horseback and rode several times in the Rose Parade. Meantime, our family has had every kind of pet imaginable: dogs--St. Bernard, Samoyed, Cocker Spaniel, Weimaraner; Heinz 57s; cats and their litters; puppies from various ones of our dogs; birds--cockatoos and finches; a skunk; hamsters; white rats; a squirrel; fish; rabbits; chickens; and my brother was always trying to sneak in a snake when Mom wasn't looking. Naturally, all of these animals led to my desire to take Animal Husbandry when I was in college. That along with my EMT course gave me a good background on how to raise fine animals - with care in breeding and lots of love. I have raised several kinds of dogs and love them all. Right now I am concentrating on the ones featured in these pages. My Mother says I can't be happy without animals around. Fortunately we have had large enough property at our homes so that I can indulge my love and hobby. My husband, daughter, and son all have a hand in what goes on around the farm so our puppies are all handled daily and given plenty of love and treated like family so that they will be pleasant and happy additions to your life. Thank you all very much for visiting my site and enjoy the rest of your stay at our home online! |
| "What is a Breeder?" 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, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting! She gives up the dream of long luxurious cruises in favor of turning that all important show into this years "vacation". The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry. The 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 puppy's 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 pup to a championship. A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, enviers and nay sayers but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations also straddled in thousands more accomplishments with hard work. A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer. A Breeder's ears are wonderful things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being against a phone receiver), Often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy. A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog'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's always in the right place! Oh yes, there are breeders, and then there are BREEDERS!!! author unknown |
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