March 8, 2007

RE: Sheila Wagner aka Sheila Tay

Having been to Skansen, and having had a relationship with Sylvia for nearly 10 years, I know that this pathetic woman is lying through her teeth for her own purposes. Her drivel could be easily dismissed, were it not for the fact that, for some reason, she feels a compulsion to drag Sylvia and Skansen through the mud. That’s what gets my goat, and I can’t let it pass without comment.

Both her story and her photos range from misleading to downright dishonest. Clearly, the woman has never owned a Schnauzer. Here’s a good example: She shows a photo she claims exemplifies dirty, matted feet. Look at the dog in the photo…if it was neglected, the BEARD would be matted, and it is not. It’s beautiful and silky. The dog just has dirty feet! Dirty feet and matted feet are two different things. My Skansen Giant loves all things wet. The wetter, the better. She will swim for hours, and when a lake is not available, her puppy pool or a bucket of water will have to do. Perfectly groomed paws look like the ones in that photo in one big hurry! A stomp in the water bucket followed by a little dig in the dirt produces paws that look precisely like that! And, by the way, with Schnauzers, mats HAPPEN. When Sammi is fully coated out in the winter, and walks around for 15 minutes in a foot of wet snow, if I don’t comb her out immediately, by the time she dries thoroughly, I need to drag out mats on her legs. If Ms.Tay is averse to mats, she should buy a greyhound or, better still, a Vermont Teddy Bear. If she buys a Schnauzer, she will need to deal with mats, more often then she would like to believe.

As for the scabs she felt on some of the dogs, I’m laughing my butt off. This lady is clueless about how the terrier temperament in the Schnauzer manifests during play. Nipping is a given. Yes, enough to produce a scab. For 9 ½ years, my Giant and her “brother,” a 145 lb Rottie have played rough. They still do. We call it “The Clash of the Titans.” Butts in the air, they stare each other down. One looks off to the side playfully and takes off like a bolt of lightning. The chase is on. They come together and jump up at each other with their front legs, then chase some more. During these meetings, they’re nipping. Oh, yeah. One nips too hard, and the other dutifully reminds him/her that it was a bit over the top, and performs the mandatory disciplinary nip. The result? Two scabs! We have never had anything that even comes close to a fight, but we do have scabs! Often!!! Big freakin’ deal. We get scabs from tick bites too! A little tea tree oil mixed with olive oil, and they’re fine. 9 ½ years, no infections, no stitches – just scabs.

The story about the green water and the absent kennel help is just plain excrement and it stinketh. I just don’t believe it. Sylvia cares so much about her dogs that she would be out there at 3 in the morning changing water if need be. This woman found a gruesome looking bucket and took a picture. She should come into my kitchen. She’d probably think I’m an animal abuser too! Here’s my guess as to what happened: Sylvia’s staff feeds the dogs their usual dinner of bones, plus meat and vegetable mince. Lots of nice greens in that mince. They’re GREEN, Ms. Tay. The dogs get considerable quantities of evil colored food on their beard as they happily munch. Then they proudly wear the meat and veggies from their dinners, until their beards find their way into a water bucket, or their owner washes their face under the spigot in the bath tub. The latter isn’t happening in a kennel J So, they take a nice long drink to wash dinner down, leaving all that was previously on their beard in the bucket, along with a slime slick on the surface of the water. Yech. From my own experience, the bucket in my kitchen can change from pure, crystal clear water to something that looks like the River Styx, in a matter of seconds. It’s Schnauzers, Ms. Tay. Their dining habits are not for the squeamish. Other breeds with nice, clean, pointed noses aren’t so sloppy. Oh, just as an aside, after that drink, they will use you or your couch for a napkin if you don’t clean them up with a paper towel. Get ready for that too. I really think this lady needs a greyhound. But I digress…

Yes, this is a kennel environment, not a home, so the dogs do get dirty in a big hurry. Life is a bit different in a stable pack. Just ask The Dog Whisperer. Digging and rolling in dirt and grass gets dogs dirty. They especially like to do this immediately after a bath and grooming. Following a digging and rolling stint, a stomp in the water bucket is great fun on a warm day, and is another effective, fun way to turn water the color of the Chicago River on St. Patty’s Day in a heartbeat! There are visitors in that kennel every day of the week. If there was anything resembling a sanitation or animal cruelty issue, I’m sure this would have come out long before Ms. Tay’s words of “concern” for these poor abused animals.

On to the double fencing. Hmmmm…her photo points out the double fence, but it appears that the dog in the photo is not in the inner part, but rather with its nose pressed to the outer fence where a visitor could touch the dog! Odd. Anyway, regarding the need for double fencing in a kennel environment, does Ms. Tay understand the significance of the term “bitchy” in a dog weighing some 100 pounds? I do. Also, does she know what happens to some testosterone-laden males when they know that there is a bitch in heat on the property? Heck, it’s bad enough with human males, let alone dogs!!! Just go to a Little League game to see testosterone in action! Protecting unaccompanied visitors from a situation that could produce serious liabilities is not cruel – it’s smart. “Unaccompanied visitors” brings another thought to mind. Would a kennel that has anything to hide allow dozens of visitors to walk freely around the property? I doubt it.

My back yard is fenced. If I could afford it, I’d double fence it, just from a liability perspective. Every dog I have owned since the 70’s has been friendly with visitors who come into the house. Conversely, NOT every dog has been friendly when someone approaches their fence. Double fencing for some dogs is just plain smart, and is in no way indicative of bad temperament overall. Dogs who do not meet Sylvia’s standards for temperament are immediately removed from her breeding stock, not hidden from visitors.

Then there’s the part about 4 consecutive breedings for Sylvia’s bitches. She says that Sylvia spays the bitches and gives them away. HA! Wrong again! Wow, I’d love to see how long Ms. Tay’s nose is. She must make Pinocchio look like a Pug! Sylvia restricts her brood bitches to 2-3 breedings, then they are GIVEN AWAY (not sold!) still fully intact to her existing puppy owners, many of them champions. The new owner is under contract to spay her. Sylvia’s newsletters list the bitches available for adoption. They are way too young to have experienced 4 consecutive breedings. Chalk up another set of lies.

Keeping Ms. Tay away from the puppy whelping area is smart. I wouldn’t want to risk exposing a pup in its fear period to a self-absorbed fool like this woman. Socialization of puppies is a task that Sylvia takes very seriously, and she had never allowed hordes of people to pour through the puppy area. This kennel receives too many visitors for that to work. In a home environment, socialization with outsiders is far easier to control than it is in a larger kennel, and if that’s your preference, fine. Nobody would quarrel with that. Sylvia’s system has worked very well for her. Deal with it, Ms. Tay – it’s not abusive.

Here’s my story: My beautiful Skansen’s Bewitching Samantha – Sammi -- is now 9 ½ years old, but don’t tell her that. She thinks she’s 2. I flew into San Francisco from Connecticut to meet several puppies, and Sammi picked me out. To get to the kennel, I followed the website’s directions from the airport, and it would take real talent to get lost. That was before Map Quest or navigation systems became available too. When I arrived at Skansen, Sylvia immediately dropped everything and ran to my car with a tray of Beluga caviar and martinis, so apparently she has been slacking off in that regard. Sorry…couldn’t resist. Truth is, I bought a bottle of water on the way up. There were probably 8 or 9 other visitors at the kennel at the same time that I was there. She would need a full-time waitress to bring coffee and drinks to all the visitors to the kennel. That’s a ridiculous expectation.

Prior to my visit, I had filled out Sylvia’s puppy buyer application, talked with her several times by phone, sent a deposit, and was fully briefed on her contract and expectations for the lifetime nutrition and well-being of my new baby. At Skansen, Sammi was raised on the BARF diet consisting of raw meaty bones, and she has eaten that way every day of her life with me. How can I be sure she was fed this way? No problem. On the way to the hotel from Skansen, Sammi got a bit frightened and sent back her breakfast, chicken wing included. Clearly, an abused puppy. You will not find many breeders who wean their puppies to human grade food the way Skansen does.

Sammi has been a once in a lifetime pup – a totally lovable, playful, loyal Velcro dog. Sylvia’s quality breeding and effective socialization produces this type of temperament time and time again. During my visit, I spent time with Sammi’s father, UPS (a happy-go-lucky guy himself), her mother, Temptation, and even her grandmother, Macaroni, when I was at the kennel. I was encouraged to walk around and visit as many dogs as I wanted during the visit. I never observed any signs of neglect, and talked to numerous other visitors and puppy owners that day who had several generations of Skansen puppies, loving every last one of them.

Throughout all 9 ½ years, Sylvia herself has been available by phone to chat about problems (yes, even to help with Rottie problems that my boy’s breeder was unable to handle) and, of course, her favorite topic – nutrition. We have spent many hours on the phone over the years, chatting about our mutual passions. My most recent call to Sylvia was made with a breaking heart. I called her for guidance on how to deal with a skin cancer – a squamous cell carcinoma -- that had developed in one of Sammi’s toes back in November. We spoke several times on that, discussing veterinarian input, tests, options, risks, and supplements to help Sammi in the aftermath of her surgery. I’m happy to tell you that Sammi is doing well 3 ½ months after her toe amputation. You bet she is taking the supplements Sylvia suggested. She’s back to her old self – the happy-go-lucky playing machine puppy that she has always. We hope she will be with us until she’s 20!

I hope Ms. Tay learns to manage her anger and resentment before it destroys her. Skansen’s loyal puppy buyers will never let her destroy one of the finest breeding kennels in the world. Don’t mess with us.

Christina A. Mancini