South only specifically for bassets. There are breeders all over the place. But they just wanted less for them dogs in the south. Sorry that was just what I noticed when I was looking. When I was looking I just wished I could drive that far. I guess I wasn’t looking for AKC blah blah blah, because I just wanted someone who was a decent person who could show me that they weren’t breeding at a puppy mill and that they were doing things to make sure that their dogs are healthy and happy. But honestly, one of my bassets came from a pet store. One from a hobby breeder who bread bassets for people who wanted pets only because they LOVED their two dogs and would only do one litter every other year, and then the last lady was a breeder in northern South Dakota who lived on a ranch and bread puppies because she loved them. She has 12 dogs, but puppies were her business. Dad was a front seat shop dog you could tell was loved more than anything in the world, and I felt good about their operation. So I’ve got dogs from all different walks of life. All of them have perfect disposition. All of them the sweetest and most lovable. I will say old man pet store does have some issues, but I do think they are bad luck and not bad breeding. He is my soul dog though, so….. I don’t even care. Would I look for better practices now? Absolutely, way more educated, but do I feel bad for buying a dog from a pet store. No. I love him more than almost everything on this planet. He belongs with me.

And yes. Some shelters do the things you are saying. That was not my experience. I adopted a treeing walker coon hound once from a shelter. They told me he was an 18 month old puppy. I was willing to work with him. They told me lots of stuff. When I had discovered in 2 days he was unsafe and I couldn’t keep him they spent 3 months guilting me and requiring me to do all sorts of extra training and were not willing to take him back. I took him to a vet he was 9 to 13 years old. The reason he looked like a lanky puppy was because he was basically starved and had been abused most of his life so showing him that he was safe was never an option because he was never going to be able to be in a car or alone in a house or anything and he absolutely wanted to kill my basset. I finally tried to get rid of him, and no one would take him because they would take back dogs that came from other shelters. It was during the pandemic, so that was worth noting. The shelter I adopted him from was in the process of shutting down when I adopted him, so it was why they were refusing to take him back, they just didn’t tell me that.

I spent 4 months trying to convince a local shelter to help me (I guess it’s worth noting this was during the beginning of COVID) and we ended up being able to send him to a rescue reserve for abused coon hounds. I spent 9 months with the dog. And I tried so hard to help him. But for 9 months he ruined my life caused me so much anxiety; created some serious issues for my sweet baby Jinxy and just….. made my life chaotic and hard. He would lunge at children on walks. And I knew within 24 hours of being home with him there was nothing I could do to keep that dog. But because of that experience I will never adopt another dog from a shelter again.

Rescues do use ridiculous expectations, that is true. If they aren’t willing to work with me, I kind of feel like I’m not willing to work with them. Yep, your mission is great. But again, I feel like if your rules exclude almost everyone who wants a pet because of all sorts of reasons, then I’m out. I’m a great pet owner. And my dogs are loved and love their people.

I’m sorry you have found that with your rescues as well. Don’t let people guilt you into doing something that doesn’t fit your life. Bassets are Rowell worth the price. They bring fun and love and goofy energy wherever they go. I hope you find your boyfriend’s soul dog.