BUSTER’S VISION NONPROFIT STORY I am the founder and a representative for Buster’s Vision Nonprofit. I was blessed with a wonderful family, two beautiful grandchildren, two amazing labs, an education, years of experience in legal employment, a wonderful experience breeding my dogs, a creative outlet for business and a passion for children and puppy dogs. I bred my chocolate labs, Kepler (Named after Johannes Kepler, Astronomer and Mathematician, famed for the Three Laws of Planetary Motion.) and Galileo (Gal for short. Hence, female.) Kepler and Gal are the descendants of the American Field Line Chocolate Labradors. Kepler (Sire) and Gal (Dam) had a small to medium size litter of seven puppies, five males and two females. The puppies were born on October 17, 2010, during the San Francisco Giants World Series Games. I named the pups after all my favorite players which was a huge challenge because all of the SF Giants Rock and there were only seven pups. I created three iMovies of the pups. If you wish to view the YouTube iMovies, see links on Buster’s Vision Nonprofit “Puppy Supply & Demand” Page. As a breeder, I kept an extensive Puppy Data Sheet consolidated with all the puppy information relating to daily development (wt., eyes open, first solids, etc.), vet information with Puppy Check-‐Up, registration/tag numbers for shots and deworning, AKC registration numbers, information for Kepler and Gal’s (parents) and grand-‐parents (three generations). Data Sheet was sent out via email to a “Buyer’s Distribution List” to keep them informed with the development of their Pups. I did due diligence dog research on the Web. I sent on-‐going information, pictures, and iMovies to the Buyer’s Distribution List. I did everything I could to protect the welfare of the Pups and the Buyers. Not only was the electronic Buyer’s Distribution List a wonderful opportunity, it created an open forum (e-‐community) for the buyers, me, and ELC Veterinary Clinic (my vet) to learn and share puppy information. Everyone was very excited about their new Puppy. Email flurries were abundant with buyer’s research and shared within the open e-‐community. I gave each buyer a personal Puppy Folder File, “Full Disclosure”, enclosed with their Puppy’s: *AKC Paperwork, *Extensive Puppy Data Sheet, *ELC Veterinary Clinic Receipt with Puppy Check-‐Up Health, Registration Number for Puppy’s 1st Distemper Vaccine Shot and Deworming, etc. When the Puppies joined their new families, my entire life turned up side down. I received an email from the Wallace’s. (Fictitious name to protect the interest of the original buyer.) I was very excited. I thought the email contained new pictures of Buster. The email was one of my saddest moments in life. I was told Buster has Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS) or Dry Eye Syndrome (DES). Buster has no tear production. He needs three different drops per day, three times a day or his eyes will crack. Buster will eventually go blind or worse yet loose an eye. The drops will be administered for the duration of Buster’s life. I thought, how could this happen to 1 me. As a professional breeder, I tried to do everything possible to protect the puppies. Then I realized this was not about me. This was about Buster and the Wallace Family. I know how much the Wallace Family loved Buster. This was their first puppy. They have careers, a mortgage and children. They were spending their children’s college fund money on Buster. Buster was visiting eye specialists and going to UC Davis to find a solution to his DES. The Wallace Family hired a professional to come in-‐house to help administer Buster’s eyes drops. The Wallace Family was doing everything they could to keep Buster. At six months of age, a big, lovable, 92 pound, yummy chocolate lab was returned to me. All I could do is cry when Mr. Wallace left. I could see Mr. Wallace’s eyes weld up with tears when saying his good-‐byes and farewells to Buster. My heart broke; pain went out to that family. Vivid images of their children came to mind. I can’t imagine being a child and having my dog taken away from me. I found a wonderful family, the Robnetts, in the Oregon Cascades (base of Mt. Hood) to adopt Buster. I pay for Buster’s eye drops. A monthly expense of approximately $100+ per month. (I call it Doggy Support since I was the breeder.) The Robnetts manage all the remaining expenses and provide Buster with the time and love required for his DES. We found a wonderful vet, Barlow Trail Veterinary Clinic, in Sandy, OR. Dr. Katy administers Buster’s quarterly eye check-‐ups to make sure no ulcers develop on Buster’s eyes. Barlow Trail Vet Clinic gives us a huge discount for Buster’s vet visits. Huge Blessing. Without Barlow Trail Veterinary Clinic’s help, Buster could not live a healthy, happy dog life. Our church had a four-‐part series called the Ripple Effect. Richard Stearns, President of World Vision came to our church to inspire us. It wasn’t long before I figured out how to be a part of the Ripple Effect. I had been sitting on the bench for a long time. The term “Puppy Mills” is becoming a household word. The new buzzword surfacing in dog communities is “Kill Zone.” Education needs to be implemented effectively and efficiently to protect dogs, buyers, respectable breeders and businesses. The Internet dog industry is catapulting at a starting, uncontrollable rate. The dog industry combined with commercial and family breeders, pet food, supplies, prescription drug, and non-‐profits has mushroomed into a multi-‐billion dollar industry. As a nonprofit I cannot lobby for laws. I can only educate people about dogs and higher standards of business conduct and practice for the protection and welfare of dogs. I came from a family of 13 children, three sets of twins (includes a set of Irish twins), raised in Fargo/Moorhead. My mother was college educated. My father was a war veteran from the Korean War. He worked 32 years for Ma Bell. His work was brutal and sometimes downright dangerous with the Minnesota blizzards. My father would bring home homeless dogs and cats. (In that era, dogs and cats were not spayed or neutered.) When my father would leave for work in the wee hours of dawn, he would take animals in his pick-‐up truck and find homes on his route, usually the prairie farmers. 2 My parents, Jack and Jean Evenson passed away in 2011. My mother first, shortly there after my father passed from a broken heart. How it is possible they left an inheritance for thirteen children is beyond disbelief. Because of my inheritance (the seed money for Buster’s Vision Nonprofit) I was able to launch Buster’s Vision Nonprofit. Buster’s Vision Nonprofit is a Memorial and Testimony of my parent’s tremendous love and devotion for all animals. Quote: Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night
saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me. ~ Steve Jobs
Thank you for reading my story. Bobbi Evenson 3