My daughter's boss raises and sells Viszla puppies. Recently his (how do I say this nicely) bitch gave birth to a litter of 10. And more recently these 10 puppies were ready to go forth into the world, weaned from their mother.

These puppies sell for $800.00 each. I don't think that I'd pay that much. But apparently there are enough buyers out there to keep Viszla breeders interested. And yes, the care of puppies isn't inexpensive. So even the luckiest breeders don't clear more than, oh, $600 or $700 per pup.

My daughter was over to the house last weekend and was telling me that her boss, let's call him Ron, was only able to make about $5000 from the recent litter. It seems that he had promised a puppy one of his married children. The appointed day arrived to deliver the dog. To make sure that the little tyke didn't suffer from loneliness on the ride over Ron took along a litter mate companion.

The afternoon went well. Ron stayed at his son's home through the afternoon and enjoyed a nice dinner. All through the visit the dogs played outside. And, not surprisingly, these two small Viszla puppies were spotted by two little girls. Sisters, 4 and 6 years old and neighbors to Ron's son.

Well, these little girls fell in love with the puppies. And when they learned that one was available they quickly headed for home to make sure their parents also fell in love. After a few hours of play the neighbor dad and girls approached Ron about making a purchase. When Dad found out the sticker price, $800, he gave a gentle but firm no. Pleading did little to soften his resolve.

So as the puppy was loaded into the car for the ride home, Ron's wife consoled the sisters. She mentioned that perhaps these girls should sell lemonade, save the proceeds and earn enough to get the puppy.

The little girls spent the next week making and selling lemonade. It was summer and they had the time. They saved every cent, ending the week with 4 dollar bills and some sticky change. By Saturday they had convinced Mom and Dad to take a drive to see the puppy.

They had a happy reunion and ran off into the yard to play. Ron's wife had learned about the lemonade sales. She thought it was sweet and told Ron about it. Ron thought it was cute, but remained unimpressed. At least until his wife related the rest of the story. About how the lemonade stand was her idea. And about how dedicated the girls had been all week.

So Ron talked to the girls and asked them how much money they had earned. They excitedly told Ron that they had made four dollars. They ran to get the money to show him. When they returned Ron helped them count the money. There were for dollars in bills and another four dollars in lemonade encrusted change.

Ron, being a bit soft-hearted, took the money and announced that they had eight dollars total. He then told them that four dollars was all he wanted for the little puppy and that the girls had given him eight.

Without missing a beat one of the sisters said, "then we'll take two."

So much for trying to be nice. I didn't hear how Ron got out of it. He ended up selling one Viszla puppy to these girls for four dollars. He told my daughter that giving away $1600 was a bit more than he was willing to do.........
8:48:28 PM    comment []