Griet's Story

Submitted by Evelyn Kiefer on Sun, 10/10/2010 - 01:30.

Griet South African Boerboel

My name is Griet. I am a South African Boerboel. You say you have never heard of a South African Boerboel? Few people have. I am a rare breed of dog, a very old breed that was revived in South Africa in the 1980s, in fact I was born in Africa. Boerboels are a type of mastiff. My coat is fawn, I have a dramatic black mask and black ears, and my tail is docked. I have a very athletic build and weigh about 140 lbs.

As a young dog I was brought to East Cleveland by Jordan Pittman of Ohio Boerboels to be a breeder. I have now born over 60 puppies. For over a year now I have lived with Evelyn and Norm Roulet. Last summer Jordan gave me to them with the intention of retiring me. I looked really haggard at the time, having just weaned another litter. Although I am a very  healthy and fertile dog, I didn’t like being a breeder. I hate taking care of my puppies. I always kill off the most annoying ones from each of my litters.

 

I am happy with my new family. I have a large fenced yard to play in. I have a new cane corso friend, Hexa. We are like sisters. I have two boys to play with me. They love me because I am gentler than their younger dog. I get lots of food and treats and I get to sleep inside at night. I am not really house trained but I am learning.

 

I was very happy until my old owner Jordan decided to breed me again. He came over to visit me the day before Mother’s Day, he saw that I was in heat and looking very well, and he took me away to be bred. My human Evelyn was home and entertaining some guests at the time. She agreed, because she has always loved raising baby animals, but with some apprehension. There was no contract, barely a verbal agreement but Jordan was considered a friend and he said that all he wanted was “a couple of puppies” and that he would help raise the litter

On the evening of July tenth I gave birth to fourteen puppies. I gave birth outside but Norm brought us all in to the breakfast room where we would be safe and warm. Dogs don’t even have enough nipples to feed fourteen puppies so my humans had to help feed them with baby bottles and goat’s milk. Jordan came to visit the litter and showed Evelyn and Norm how to bottle feed the puppies. They worked hard to feed the puppies those first two weeks when they weighed only a few ounces and were no bigger than rats. Two puppies did not survive the first night and three others died in the next few days. My humans had to watch closely that I didn’t lie on the puppies and crush them.

 

Soon a bizarre incident occurred which ended Evelyn and Norm’s friendship with Jordan. When my puppies were about two weeks old Jordan stopped by to visit and expressed concern that they were not doing well. He said they looked weak and dehydrated, despite nursing and bottle feeding with goat’s milk every four hours. He brought a large box inside the house that he conveniently had in his car. He wanted to take the puppies home so that he could take better care of them, giving them saline by IV he said. Evelyn and Norm would not let us go. Evelyn had a veterinarian who makes house calls come out the next day to check us.  The vet examined my puppies and found them to be in good health (not sick or dehydrated and in need of IVs) but she thought that they could benefit from a more nutritious diet than goats milk. She recommended Esbalac dog formula, Nutrical vitamin supplement and a gruel made from Royal Canin Baby Dog Large Breed dry food. On this diet my puppies seemed to double in size within a few days! You could practically see them grow. It seemed clear to Evelyn and Norm that Jordan’s concern for my puppies was really a ploy to steal them. After that Jordan was no longer involved in our care and had little contact with Evelyn and Norm.

 

After three weeks, once the puppies were quite a bit bigger, moving around and becoming more active I decided I had had enough. I started snapping at them and trying to crush their skulls when they tried to nurse. My humans relieved me of my motherly duties.  Evelyn became a devoted foster mother, though she felt guilty that some days it seemed she spent more time with her puppy babies than her own six month old baby girl.

 

By four weeks old all of my puppies had been given a name. They each looked unique (at least to Evelyn and Norm) and they all had unique personality traits. They were growing up to be such exceptional dogs. But their future remained uncertain. Jordan’s demands became more unreasonable as time passed and it seemed doubtful considering the state of Evelyn and Norm’s relationship with Jordan, that he would provide their papers. Jordan’s expectations changed from “just a couple of puppies” to half the litter, and soon there was also a stud fee. Unfamiliar to the dog breeding world, Evelyn contacted other Boerboel breeders to find out what typical stud fees and breeding arrangements were and to find out what Boerboel puppies without papers typically sold for. Stud fees are usually around $1500. but Evelyn and Norm had never met the stud or his owner, and didn’t know what his arrange if any was with Jordan. It was weeks after I was breed that Evelyn found out that there was a stud fee involved. She initially had assumed that Jordan breed me with one of his own males.  

 

What troubled Evelyn the most was Jordan’s demand for half the litter. Over time she came to the conclusion that his methods of dog care and the accommodations he has for his dogs are not up to her standards. She had grown very attached to all the puppies and couldn’t imagine turning any of them over to him. She raised my puppies in her home and spent hours with them each day. As they grew older they spent time outside but still slept inside the house each night. She was beginning to train them to sit and walk on a leash. Most of them knew their names and they were all so friendly. Evelyn and Norm had purchased their dog Hexa from Jordan three years ago and Evelyn remembered well the bleak conditions where Hexa grew up. Hexa’s litter lived in a shabby garage at an unoccupied house that Jordan owned. Evelyn was also concerned about Jordan’s practice of feeding his dogs chicken bones. Any veterinarian, including Evelyn’s own brother, would advise a dog owner not to feed their dog chicken bones. Broken chicken bones can be very sharp and puncture internal organs.  There were also specific incidents which happened while Evelyn and Norm were raising my litter that caused them to doubt his ability to care for dogs well. Two of his adult dogs escaped and were captured by the police. They were found loose in a busy area where they might have been hit by a car or the police might have chosen to shoot them. Another sad incident, a cane corso puppy fell into a drain and died.

 

My puppies are now getting big. Some of them have already gone off to their new homes. My son Klaus moved to Florida and my son Halcyon moved to Philadelphia. Beauty is moving to Arizona and I think Elegba and Handsome will stay in Cleveland. Lucy almost went to a farm on St. Thomas, if only Mastiffs were allowed to fly when the temperature is over 75 degrees. I will be happy when they are all in good homes and it is just me and Hexa and my family again.

 

AttachmentSize
Dare__Oba_238_realneo.jpg162.36 KB
Hal_face_5_weeks_014_realneo.jpg178.52 KB
max_face_realneo.jpg175.41 KB
Griet__Claes.JPG124.34 KB
Griet__Claes.JPG124.34 KB
Griet_Head.JPG112.18 KB
( categories: )

Disturbing posts

Needless to say, this whole recent exchange on REALNEO is extremely disturbing. 

Sadly, we call animals pets, but they are really enslaved.  I am hesitant to support the pet industry and to have pets for the very reasons illustrated at this page. Breeding "pets" is also extremely abhorrent to me. 

Unfortunately--the original mission and goals of REALNEO--to bring about a dialogue to improve the quality of life, all life, in NEO--is missing from this recent flurry of posts.  But, it's a sad reality that we need to address and to not look away from.  Protection of animal rights is just as important to me as protection of human rights.  We consider ourselves a "good society."  I think we still have a long, long way to go.

I agree that the protection

I agree that the protection of animal rights is just as important as the protection of human rights. In the future it would be great to  see Realneo used as a place for that kind of dialogue. Citizen journalism could do a lot to protect animals in our community. 

We felt like we rescued Hexa and Griet from Jordan

We felt like we rescued Hexa and Griet from Jordan

And Griet is definitely DONE having puppies - we had to rescue them from her - the animal world is vicious!

Time to feed the dogs!

Disrupt IT

Universal Mother

Thanks Evelyn--I know that you have possibly the biggest heart in the world.  I wish we could mother everyone and everything to make it right.

(Yes--Debra--I would agree with you that a lot of women are MEAN.  And, I see that they have coined a new phrase for the syndrome "Sanctimommy.")

Hexa is part of our family

Hexa is part of our family and Griet was too.

They protect us from the humans.

Disrupt IT

nice blame the victim mentality, Laura

Norm and Evelyn did not invite this whack job to assault them online.

When you have an open forum, it is vulnerable to something like this. That is not a reason to change it. If it were, it would not be an open forum. Get it?

And pets are "really enslaved"? What a narrow minded view. ALthough, I think Guy would agree with you. I think various species were put on this earth together and we can certainly live together. We advantage each other. Maybe a better approach would be to set a good example, yourself? I know our pets are VERy well taken care of and vERY happy.

I know there has been quite a controversy about Amish dog breeders over the past few years. Thats obviously the story behind the little guy we found running through route 39 outside of Berlin yesterday. Apparently they are breeding custom blends - mostly with the small breeds, but with larger breeds as well. We have either a Boxerbull or a Boxweiller. And I think the little one we picked up yesterday is the same (they both have bobbed tails).

In researching online, trying to figure out what these two boys are, I came across a lot of online discussion regarding Amish dog breeders. There were various opinions for both "sides" of the issue. I came away thinking that although there are definitely breeders who cross the line into neglect and abuse of the animals, on the one hand, Amish also understand the nature of dogs and don't over sentimentalize them (ascribe human emotions, motivations and feelings to them).

Meanwhile, we've been reading and watching alot of Cesar Millan, who in my opinion is a genius. We have a bit of pack taming to do.

We didn't invite him to get Griet pregnant either

We didn't invite him to get Griet pregnant either. Let's just say he is a very imposing personality.

Disrupt IT

you guys are way too patient!

and your care for those puppies, Evelyn has been beyond reproach.

I'm sorry some psychotic has chosen to stalk you online...

It is all politics - dirty Democratic East Side Politics...

It is all politics - dirty Democratic East Side Politics...

We ain't seen nothing yet... these corrupt motherfuckers will not die peacefully.

I asked Jordan's father to help deal with the political corruption and pollution in EC and he went the OTHER WAY.

The Norton stolen porn way... what a Kappa.

The stealing Norm's computer way... stealing Norm's intellectual property way... the fuck with Norm's life way...

Fighting power plants is not safe and not easy.

Disrupt IT

Victim mentality

Is killing US....I hope that poor Griet has been spayed....god knows, we can't neuter...in America.

This post and the others should highlight the need to discuss how America treats women, children and animals.  And, how men of all color are really messed up in this country...

I see that the B-word cropped up in the exchange (BTW-the "psychiotic stalker's" account has been deactivated)...sadly, even with the recent GLBT stories about bullying, America doesn't get it...I found myself smiling at this video...and then I thought...what's wrong with me?

-

How do you protect puppies from Lead Poisoned Clevelanders

How do you protect puppies from lead loisoned Clevelanders.

Get them out of the state.

Off to Arizona.

Disrupt IT

 Hi, your blog post has

 Hi, your blog post has been linked on a Boerboel message board. It seems that you have learned first hand what the rest of us have known for years. Jordan Pittman is infamous in the Boerboel world for being an irresponsible dog owner and puppy miller. He has on more than one occasion threatened physical violence against various message board posters who have criticized his methods.

The Jordan Pittmans of the world give dog breeds and breeders a bad name. I'm sorry that you had to learn about the real Jordan the way you did, but at least you've spared this one dog and her puppies from his hand.

 

Thank you for the validation about Pittman

Thank you for the validation about Pittman as a breeder - we've been through hell and still have a few wonderful puppies if you know anyone looking...

email evelyn [dot] kiefer [at] case [dot] edu

On the bright side - we love Boerboels!

Disrupt IT