I was absolutely and utterly appalled and disgusted at the stories being shared with me!  One particular individual went so far as to send me documents to prove the lies told about her.  I am glad she came forward and contacted me since I was lead to believe that this individual was the deceitful one of which caused me to think badly of this person.

Being deceitful and mean spirited gains the respect from no one!  Don’t these individuals realize that, in time, the truth is revealed?  Just how do they keep track of all their lies!  Why must this person, and others like her, feel the need to spew their nasty venom onto innocent people?

Karma: the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation

Another such individual to cause me heartache was the former owner of the cute puppy pictured above.  Zoe, who is from my Posh & Bezel litter from last May, went to live with an individual who enrolled his mothers’s poodle in a class instructed by my good friend Carol Schiefer.  Without going into all the details, Zoe’s owner no longer had time for her and stopped taking classes with Carol.  Carol went out of her way many times to give ‘free’ private lessons to Zoe and her owner and even took care of her for a week (again for free)  when Zoe’s owner went out of state. It was learned that Zoe was spending far too much time in a crate.   It became all too clear that Carol and I had been duped by this individual.

Early in February of this year, I had an email exchange with Zoe’s owner as he contacted me to tell me Zoe was at the vets needing surgery for a bite wound.  I was concerned and distraught for Zoe’s welfare of which I implored him to let me buy her back...to let Zoe live the good life here at Hob Nob farm or with someone of my discretion to give her the commitment and love she deserved being an active bc puppy.  I went so far as to offer him double what he paid for Zoe as his purchase price he paid to me was $1,500.  All this to no avail as he ended any further communication with me and Carol. 

A breeder’s worst nightmare of not knowing the welfare of one of your puppies is not something I wish on anyone!

I thought of Zoe often...

On Monday afternoon, March 28, to my delight (as I was working on the computer) an email comes through from Zoe’s owner asking if my offer still stood.  I jumped for joy and immediately found his phone number on his spay/neuter contract and called him...he answered the phone.  I was shaking...

What happened in the next 24 hours was a nightmare that caused Carol, my roommate Gail and myself such anguish! 

Zoe’s owner changed from hour to hour in his demands.  He would not accept payment from me even sent through paypal (which is how he paid for Zoe).  At first, he was accepting of a check from Carol and was to be at her house with Zoe by 7 pm that night.  8 pm comes and goes and no word from Zoe’s owner.  Carol calls him to find he has not even left his house yet and is an hour away from where Carol lives.  9 pm comes and goes and still no word.  Carol once again calls him only for Zoe’s owner to demand he now be paid the $3,000 in cash!!!!!  Carol pleads with him that she does not have that cash lying around and that he can trust her...that her check is good.  He tells Carol that he doesn’t trust either of us!!!!

My worst fear was happening in that he hung up on Carol claiming that he was the one being attacked by Carol and myself among other things!

I cried when Carol called me for the 5th time that night as I feared for Zoe!  I tried calling him again of which he would not answer the phone.  I had to keep my cool and left a nice message stating something like I knew he loved Zoe and that we all wanted what was best for her.  I just about groveled to him for Zoe’s sake.

I then wrote an apologetic email of which I cc’d Carol on and called Carol to ask her to respond and to apologize in order to placate him and appeal to his supposed love for Zoe.   Believe me when I say that what I really wanted to do was to cut his balls off, shove them in his mouth so he could choke!

He literally held Zoe hostage for this is how it felt to me much like parents whose kidnapped child is held for ransom and you do anything to get them back!

I slept very little that night but I thought of these words by Wayne Dyer:

"Change the way you look at things and the things around you change."

With these words still revolving in my head the next morning, I wrote another email to Zoe’s owner once again apologizing for causing him stress (I slammed my fingers hard on the keyboard writing these words and if we were face to face I would have had to bite my tongue from telling him what I really thought!)

I called him around noontime and left yet another message.  2 pm I got the call...it was Zoe’s owner acting all cool and calm telling me that if Carol came to his house with the $3,000 cash, she could take Zoe!  I could hardly contain my excitement as I thanked him...yes, I thanked him!  For what mattered most to me was getting my beloved Zoe back and away from him!  I cried when I hung up the phone but this time it was tears of pure joy and relief!  BUT, I still had to hold my breath until Carol could actually make that one call to tell me she had Zoe...it was another long 4 hours to go. I gave Carol instructions to not argue in anyway with Zoe’s owner and to just be nice to him.  I did not want a repeat of the night before and end up losing Zoe again.

Then THE call came from Carol...the one I was so desperate to hear...CAROL HAD ZOE!!!!!  By this time I was talking to Kim Terrill on Facetime with Gail standing behind me and we all cheered! 

Later that night I was able to see Zoe on my computer as Carol also has facetime.  Zoe was jumping back and forth on the couch with a toy in sheer unabated joy!  more tears of joy came forth:>)

Now that Carol had Zoe and her AKC registration application, I immediately went online and registered her as Hob Nob Second Chance Zoe!

Zoe is temporarily with one of Carol’s TRUSTED students who knew Zoe from a puppy and often had shared private lessons with Zoe and her owner.  This individual is working with Zoe and even brought her to Carol’s class last night and showed off her newly refound tugging skills! 

I can not begin to find the words to thank Carol’s student for opening up her heart and home temporarily for Zoe until she comes back here to Hob Nob farm and most of all to my very dear friend Carol for coming to Zoe’s rescue!  Carol is what true caring friends are made of!

In time, more and more people will learn the truth about these types of individuals but for now, I will move forward and follow these words by Wayne Dyer:

"how people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours"