Jennifer Merritt

I am, first and foremost, a person that loves dogs.  And like every animal lover, I was absolutely horrified by the events that led to NFL quarterback Michael Vick serving 18 months at Leavenworth Penitentiary for conspiracy related to his dogfighting ring.  What he did to those dogs was cruel and unthinkable and nothing can make that go away.  Recently, Michael Vick made news when he mentioned that he would someday like to get a dog for his children and I’ve been inundated with opinions from all sides.

Being diagnosed with Lyme Disease this past August certainly explained the mysterious range of physical and neurological problems that plagued me for months: the unrelenting fatigue, why I kept forgetting my client’s names, why my hands started to become arthritic, and why I started to lose interest in my business and everything else in my life.  

My treatment began immediately, with heavy doses of antibiotics.  The antibiotics would bring down the bacterial load in my system so that my immune system could do the rest.  But as the bacteria die, they release a toxin causing what is called a Herxheimer reaction.  This means that before you feel better, you feel a whole lot worse.  

I've spent to past several years indoctrinating my sister on the merits of reward based training.  Her family has raised a lovely Newfoundland using a very positive approach.  Although they have been quite frustrated that more positive group classes weren’t being offered in their area (in Western Maryland) and that her children could not get involved in dog sports with their dog.  4-H is very popular in her area and she was very surprised to learn that the national 4-H program lists a choke chain as the first piece of equipment needed to train a dog.  

So, she started a 4-H specialty club called Paws 'N Pals to offer a variety of activities for kids (and their parents) who love dogs and want to learn family friendly training. She found a reward based trainer that lived close enough to drive into their town to teach basic training classes for the club and they were off and running.

Within the past few months, I've had a boon of clients with puppies and dogs adopted through the online networking site craigslist. People list everything on craigslist from job listings to personal ads to items for sale including the kitchen sink (literally). There is little regulation of the millions of self-published ads on the site, other than ads being removed if fraud is reported.

Some dogs from craigslist were "free to good homes" while others were purchased or include a mysterious "rehoming fee" from private individuals. Many pups younger than 8 weeks old, in critical socialization periods and have already had a least one "owner" with ads that include similar phrases such as "moving and can't keep" or "son/daughter allergic".