"Always Do What You are Afraid to Do."

This is by Emerson and one of my favorite quotes.
Okay, so this is what I am going to do that I'm afraid of, or at least nervous about. I'm going to visit Winnie's breeder. This might not seem like much, but Winnie is likely from a puppy mill.
Puppy mills are places where they breed lots of puppies for profit only, with no thought on the health of the puppies born or, most importantly, the dogs who are bred. Often they live in small, dirty, cramped cages and never let out and never touched (at least kindly touched) by a human hand.
I didn't know about puppy mills when I bought Winnie. I consider myself educated and well-informed on most social subjects, but did not know. If I knew I was going to buy a puppy, I would have researched it and found out.
My kids and I would go to a "pet store" by the mall to look at the cute puppies. We did this quite a lot and just did it for a smile. We weren't going to buy a puppy until our other dog passed. But one day, Winnie was there. She literally playfully herded us inside her little Plexiglas box and wouldn't stop playing even after we held her and put her back in her box. She was too special to leave there. So, we brought her home (it was Mother's Day 2007). At once, I eagerly research on the Internet to find out about her cute, country breeder in Mo...only to find that if you bought your puppy from a pet store who was bred in Mo., the new light of your life was likely from a puppy mill and you were a bad person. Of course, you don't take back your puppy. You love your puppy, you try to educate others and you become involved in animal rescue (which explains the other dogs we have now).

Okay, so it hits me last week. I'm going to Mo for a herding clinic. Winnie's breeder is in Mo. I did research and found the breeder is registered with the USDA and I got the address. I'm going to go there. I know that not all breeders in Mo run puppy mills. I am hoping I will find just a small, normal family operation who loves their dogs, but also makes a few dollars breeding. If so, I will introduce Winnie to them and let them know they are breeding shelties with good performance and herding instincts. If it is a puppy mill, I will be careful. (I have visions of angry men in ball caps with shotguns not wanting snooping city folks checking out their operation). If it is a puppy mill, I will try to buy Winnie's mother and bring her home with me. So, I'm scared, but I'm going to do it.
Stay tuned.