... and yes, I do know the old adage about how dangerous THAT can be!
At any rate, I have been pondering a lot lately about getting another puppy/dog. I feel like it's the next step in moving past the depression and constant missing of Verity that has consumed the months since loosing her.
I have on and off been thinking of importing when I do so as (in a weird way) it seems it would be easier given that the US is simply more populous and hence has more available whereas because the breed is new and small here, with less people overall and less litters, finding one with lines I like AND the combination of sound conformation/health/temperament/drive/working ethics AND bred by someone who is similar in terms of ethics/puppy raising thoughts AND whom is going to have one in the nearish future AND whom having produced this very spunky, versatile pup is then willing to part with it. (Yeah I know, I don't want much hey!) Don't get me wrong, there are Aussie breeders here who fit the first two sets but the later two are more tricky! (Not a bad thing either, just not good for me! LOL)
The bug landed in my brain awhile ago, intensified when I saw a lovely male (the stunning Zoom) and then more recently noticing a breeding that is being done in the US at the moment which tugged my heart. The dam of the litter is Sierra's half-sister through their mum Handy. Which hopefully would mean that some of the wonderful qualities Si has would be there. It's a repeat breeding of a litter from a few years back so there's that to compare to and give an idea how they matured. The litter would also be loosely related to Verity via common or commonly-related ancestors of her sire for both the sire and dam of the litter a few generations back. Admittedly it's rather loose but is a huge heart-tug still. Veri was my golden girl, I would love to have a little piece of her heart, humor, beautiful spirit and joyousness in some small way. It would also have a tie in to a dog and bloodlines here, Gideon being behind the sire, meaning that any future breeding wouldn't be totally violent out crosses but still be able to maintain decent COI/COR's.
The minor problem being that importing is not inexpensive. There are more sensible things to buy. Even if I saved the money I should probably put it toward fixing bits of the house up or putting it into a savings or something. Security for the future and all that. We're a young family, we're on a single income, we've got house payments and school fees. I should be content with what I've got and not want so much. But still... my mind wanders to it, chides me not to be negative without even exploring options. Obviously THIS litter is out but perhaps another related to it might present. Which is probably a good indication I need to be hauled to the loony bin and given a coat that lets me hug myself but I digress.
In the thought of, "Where the heck am I going to get that kind of money?" it occurred to me I might sell sketches. I've never done so for a couple reasons:
* first I'm not a professional, I have absolutely NO training and my stuff isn't professional level. I'd love to attend courses and learn professionally eventually but for the moment, while it's not bad is IS amature so I didn't think there would be a huge market
* my preferred (self-taught) mediums are pencil and watercolour, whereas the portrait market seems to tend toward oil/acrylic paintings
* I didn't think the market that would exist for amature level works would pay more than $25-30 a piece, which wouldn't be worth it for the hours put in. (By comparison, some of the pros I admire charge $400-800 per commission)
* because we view our pets through our relationship with them and I wouldn't know my subjects it's entirely possible I'll spend the time making a portrait from a photo the person just isn't happy with or feels wasn't worth the money because it doesn't capture the essence of what THEY see in their pet
* I'd be ultra perfectionist stress head
* I've been a bit leery that doing it to order would suck the joy out of it
Buuuuuttt.... it wouldn't require I be outside the house or involve high set-up fees and could work around my schedule. All necessary to me as I'm not willing to compromise staying home with my children while they're small. (I'm greedy about my time with my small people, I won't give it up if I can help it!) Annddd... I've seen a couple of people around on various pet forums, facebook and such who are around the same level I am and still charging a decent amount.
I'm not decided. Mainly because I'm not sure about the market for it and if it'd be more hastle than it's worth for what it'd end up being. Just something to ponder for awhile I think...
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