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Off Duty Ranch came
into existence at the same
time my husband retired from
the police department after
25 years. We bought some
acreage and without
conscious effort became the
home of many abused and
neglected animals. From a
thirty year-old Appaloosa we
saved from auction to a
neglected pot-belly pig, to a
crippled miniature horse and
her foal and unwanted goats
-
if they needed a home we
give them one.
Unfortunately, it didn't
take long to realize that
caring for these animals
while trying to find them
permanent homes was
financially burdensome on an
officers pension. When we
decided that Dennis and I
would need to return to work
we knew we wanted to do
something from home so that
we could be able to tend to
the animals during the day.
Dennis, being a K-9 officer
for many of his years on the
force has a natural love of
dogs. Although he had a very
good partner in Sammy his
German Shepard partner, his
passion is English Bulldogs.
So we set out to acquire a
foundation for our breeding
program that would be
essential to those that
show, while still
maintaining the gentle
temperament that is true to
the bulldogs character.
We feel that we
achieved this goal with
choosing to carry on the C.H.
Cherokee Dakota Robert line
(see Bullies page). Once
that had been accomplished,
I set forth to pursue my dog
of choice - the Portuguese
Waterdog. I soon realized
this was not going to be an
easy task. It was quite
disheartening time after
time to track down one of
these elusive puppies only
to find that the breeder had
placed such stringent rules
on registration and spay
neutering contacts that it
was near impossible to buy
one. AKC rules dictate that
a dog must still be intact
to participate in the show
ring. One breeder declared
(before hanging up on me)
that if I didn't agree to
neuter my male, then I would
have to get another one
outside the country because
no one would sell me one
here. I decided to do just
that. Although it was never
my intention to breed these
dogs, I soon decided that I
would give the same
dedication to acquiring a
top line of Porties as we
did with our Bullies. We
soon decided that we wanted
to help this wonderful,
athletic family dog to
prosper in this country as
both a family pet, and a
show ring dog to anyone with
the patience and desire. It
took a few years, but we are
quite proud of the Porties
we've acquired overseas and
have placed some beautiful
healthy pups into the arms
of many happy owners. It is
the fondest wish of both
Dennis and I, whether you're
looking for a best friend
that's a couch potato, an
Olympic backyard swimmer, or
a "Bully" in the ring, that
you'll find our puppies as
special as we do.
- Sue |
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