The Rest of the Story

Mary-Ann Sontag June 18, 2021

People can and do change, and I think they usually deserve that chance. When it is clear the opportunity for redemption has been rejected, action may be required.

On December 30, 2020 I sent the following to the AKC:

The entire saga of the puppies and their rescue, referenced above, can be found HERE.

As per the June 2021 AKC Gazette, Angie Sargent has been fined $10,000 and has a lifetime suspension of AKC privileges.

I was the one who filed that complaint but I knew to do so because of information provided by others; if this is a victory of sorts, a team of caring people made it happen.

Lots of things in life are none of our business. The maltreatment and/or exploitation of animals and other humans, however, is not actually in the “None of Our Business” category. When there is a conviction for some type of animal maltreatment and the person is involved with the AKC, please report it to the AKC. It is easy peasy — they will do all the work.

In the future, I won’t wait to see if said person has learned a lesson; I will just report as soon as I know. Judging redemption is just such a tricky thing, and when the stakes are so high, it seems a job better left to experts.

Puppy Flavors

Mary-Ann Sontag June 17, 2021

Miss Moonshadow Maple Portia is staying at Camp Kaibab for a few days.

You have maybe heard of Coffee with Clark and Margie? How about Grass with Capella and Maple?

The differences between the puppies are interesting and I suspect reflective of the two litters. Early on I described the differences like this: The Moonshadows say, “OMG! YOU’RE HERE!!!!!!!!!!” and the Bright Stars say, “I have arrived.”

Maple is over-the-top thrilled for everyone and everything. Capella is quite friendly with all humans and dogs but in a more self-contained way — she is not such an externalizer as Maple.

Maple is Action.

That is not to say that Capella is not active — of course she is. But she processes internally — you can almost see the wheels turning.

Maple — like Daisy — emotes all her happy, joyful feels (and she has A LOT of them) with her body. Adorable.

Neither “flavor” is good or bad — the puppies are just different. But it does remind me that one-size-fits-all training is a bad plan. We have to first assess the puppy we have, and then train accordingly.

Maple gets cookies for not leaping on me and for staying calm, two things that Capella mastered easily because they are natural for her. Capella gets cookies for engagement and responsive actions (like recalls), two things that Maple does exceptionally well because they are natural for her.

Vive la difference!