An open letter to my family, friends, clients, supporters and enemies,
by Jeannine DePalma on 10/13/10
Throughout the many years I have been associated with dog breeding I have tried to be the best I can be. With that said I have won many shows and I have lost shows, I have made friends and I have made enemies. I have bred many guardians which became champions, some dogs were not breeding quality. I have judged and I have been judged both in and out of the ring. Because of the heights I have soared to in this field I am held to a higher regard as I should. I have taken on back yard breeders and unethical people who are breeding just for the money and not the love of the breed.
I petitoned UKC to take the breed and was thrilled they did. I have taken on the AKC so the breed would not be watered down and can stay true to their working dog heritage. I have defended the breed to the point of blood, sweat and now tears. I have done too little to protect an animal from an unethical person and that dog paid the price, I regret that,
and I have done too much to protect the dog and I have paid the price, I regret that too.
I am not perfect and never have claimed to be.
Over the last decade there has been a “cold war” in the Ovcharka world. Started by a person in Ovcharkas years before I got my 1st CAO Tasha.
Over the same time I have stayed true to being an ethical breeder . By only breeding the best dogs possible and proving each generation. This is a hobby and a passion, not a business to live a luxurious lifestyle. Without going into details I did what I thought was right to protect a series of dogs that were not being breed or treated properly. I tried everything I thought would help and every time I tried to protect these dogs and stop the unethical people I would get backlash so then I had to try other avenues to protect these precious beings,
unfortunately they are still breeding unethically.
I have worked so hard at my goals and one of the goals was to become a UKC judge. That is not an easy thing to do and can take many years . Last year I started this process a little girls dream coming true. I judged some great dogs nnd met great people this year. Im watched my Juniors grow up into young ladies with serious handling skills. It is sad that before the Premier during and after the dog show , a group of non professionals with personal agendas to protect less than ethical people would try to take that away from me. With no basis on my judging skills or dog breeding resume.
Over the years I have been accused of so many things like being over the top towards people who conduct themselves or have allegiance to unethical people, but no one has ever and will never be able to say that I did anything unethical for the breed and the protection of these living
beings without bending the truth or straight up lying as my enemies have tried to do.
In June 2010 I was involved in an incident while driving home from Premier dog show. I am not going to rehash the situation. But below you will find a link not only to the original story but also the follow-up story. After the incident I was so proud of not only my puppy but thought it would be great to show the better side of a breed that that was one of many recently banned in Denmark. As soon as the media hit ,came a shock and awe campaign from states as far as Texas and Virginia. Unethical breeders and friends of theirs banded together to slur my name showing years of internet arguments with a one sided view. Without any proof other than my word and contacts from the people who hate me the most. I was judged guility before I was even spoken to in person. I was charged with embellishment of a story. What that means is since I could not prove that the two guys that were near my car were there to hurt me or not, I could not prove that there was or was about to be a crime. My dog Primo stopped them based on my reactiom two men being near my car with the car door opened and alone on the 90., I could only speculate what their intentions were. This is what I was charged with embellisment not faking it . The friends and breeders insisted on posting assumptions and completely fake facts all over the net and a create a blog dedicated to their twist on the story. They call the town of Brant so many times , I am guility before I arrive.
Finally when my court day arrives my lawyer is not prepared . He convinces me with the help of strangers, my family and my husband to take a plea to disorderly conduct. They all state I can not expect to get a fair trail with all of the dog people calling the little town court. I fought him and wanted to go to trial. . This small town should not have to foot the bill to bring that group to town so I could prove my side of the story. Contrary to what the group would have people believe, there was no one up in front of the judge but my lawyer and myself.
There was no investigation or anything like that. Because of the amount of contact made by the group to the town, police, news, and court house, the group made it impossible to be able to get a fair trial. I reluctantly took the plea and walked out of the courtroom not feeling satisfied at all and not at all relieved. The next day repeated calls were mad to the court
house by the same group to the point that they started sending the calls straight
to the judge. To be frank I wanted to be able to show my side of the story
about the vendetta associated with me. So now that that is over with I am
able to move on with my life and live everyday knowing that I am only human,
I can only do so much to protect the incident animals of the world and I can
not change someone’s ethics no matter how hard I try.
I would like to thank everyone that has stood by me namely my family and
the great group of amazing friends I have made throughout the years. The
other side tried to ruin my life and destroy what I have worked for so long.
The mission was a failure. My friends have showed their true respect and loyalty to me.
My family has become closer than they have been in years.
My dogs are safe. I am safe. I am happy. The groups attacks have shown how
much hatred is on the other side and has shown not only me but the people
involved with the breed what those people are really like.
In closing I will say that this was a lesson learned on multiple levels and
I am much stronger now. I will use the knowledge obtained during this
situation and move forward a more rounded individual and more focused on the
future and not just today.
Sincerely,
Jeannine DePalma
