In March 2013 Bruce and I went for a 2 week holiday to New Zealand.  While we were away animal activists, posing as a potential buyers of Nyora in Condobolin, were taken to view the property  on the 3rd of March. Under the guise of making a second inspection they made an unaccompanied visit and took photographs of the kennels, my old house and the dogs, and stole old work diaries.

They provided this information to the RSPCA and the Animal Welfare League who inspected the property immediately. The inspectors found no cases of neglect but were concerned about the lack of records and some minor hygiene matters.  They were told we were nearly finished building new kennels and so they took no further action. The activists provided the same information to Channel Seven who ran a brief story on their evening news – this will now haunt me forever on the internet.

This all happened because of my involvement in the Australian Association of Pet Dog Breeders. I started the AAPDB because I wanted to improve animal welfare in dog breeding. The AAPDB provides the only animal welfare focused quality assurance audit for dog breeding anywhere in the world. It is a small association but is growing rapidly and so attracts Animal Activists  who oppose dog breeding – believing that stopping breeders will prevent dogs being euthanased in shelters.  I am proud the role I played in the development of  AAPDB which also played an important role in developing the PIAA rehoming policy.

Our family moved to Bathurst in 2006 in response to the drought and financial pressure. By then I had developed a comprehensive protocol for the smooth running of the kennel. I formed a partnership with my friend and employee Joanne, who moved into our home and managed the kennel. I travelled to Condobolin to keep the veterinary service going for another 5 years.

After 3 years I became aware that the operation of the kennel was in difficulty. Joanne’s health was not good and the management was too difficult for her. Jo’s not good at paperwork and our infrastructure was becoming damaged and not properly maintained. We decided to rebuild a different more easily managed facility on our property in Condobolin. We built an all weather road and a prepared a pad for the kennel and after 12 months we were ready to start building.

As the concrete pour was about to begin Joanne’s health broke down severely and we agreed that continuing with the kennels at Condobolin wasn’t a tenable proposition. It then took another year and a half to get kennels built in O’Connell and move the dogs here.

I was able to move the dogs in May 2013. In the mean time I travelled to Condobolin regularly to help Jo, we employed extra staff when there were numbers of litters in the kennels and we ensured that the dogs remain well fed, healthy and, regularly clipped. We were in a difficult situation – spending money to maintain ageing kennel infrastructure while building new ones wasn’t economically feasable.

The illegal raid on our property happened two months before our new kennels were finally ready.

The supportive response from many wonderful owners helped me through what were very dark days

The rewards from dog breeding are endless: the excitement of seeing puppies you have planned for years finally being born. The triumph of finding that a combination is everything you hoped it would be. The joy  of watching a bitch with her new puppies. Watching excited children meet their puppy for the first time. The  most rewarding of all are the many emails from owners, when their old dog has passed away, thanking me for  the years of joy their dog has brought them.

I’ve been retired from veterinary practice  since 2015  and  I look forward to breeding great dogs for many more years to come. My new kennels are fabulous and great to work in and we are much closer to Sydney now so people can visit easily and are always welcome.  You may have reservations about professional dog breeding – we do get bad press – but to balance the picture please read my comments regarding the pressure to ‘rescue’ rather than buy a deliberately bred puppy.