like you.”
There was a short, reasonably comfortable silence, and then Scott reminded Drew why he came.
“You need to tell me more about the altercation you had with Theo,” Scott said. “You didn’t mention he was your landlord. You also claimed you didn’t recognize his body, but you called Hannah this morning and told her he was dead. When you lie to me and leave stuff out, my imagination fills in all sorts of horrible reasons why.”
Drew stiffened, and at first Scott thought he was going to deny it, but then he sighed heavily.
“Okay,” he said. “You were probably going to find out anyway.”
Scott sat back and sipped his tea while the vet talked.
“Before I took over the practice I looked at the books, so I knew a large part of the revenue came from being the official vet to Theo’s breeding business. He paid Owen a set amount per month for vetting all the dogs, plus bonuses for each litter. I recently discovered, however, that there were no litters, except on paper.”
“What do you mean?”
“Theo had a kennel full of male dogs he would stud out for a fee, but Owen’s files contain documentation, including AKC registrations and vet records, for females Theo didn’t have, and litters that were never born.”
“I don’t understand,” Scott said. “How can it benefit him to have fake dog papers but not dogs?”
“Let me explain,” Drew said. “Theo probably figured stud fees were easy money. He takes a horny male dog to a bitch in heat and nature takes its course 99.9% of the time. Whether or not a litter results, Theo gets paid something. If there’s a litter he gets paid more, or gets his choice of pups, depending upon the deal.”
“How much did Theo make on each try?”
“Anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand is my guess. Breeders are willing to pay more for champion bloodlines, and to prove lineage he needed AKC registration papers, health tests, and vet records. He probably started out with some purebreds, but those dogs are expensive. Also, breeding dogs is a risky business. Bitches and pups can die in whelping, there’s no guarantee any of the pups will be show quality or good breeding stock, and it’s a lot of hard work.”
Drew took a moment to swallow some tea and then continued.
“Due to the limited availability of new breeding stock, dogs will sometimes have medical problems due to line breeding, which means a breeding couple has at least one ancestor in common. When this happens, some offspring may display genetic mutations, like odd color coats, physical defects, or behavioral problems, which keep them out of competition. If the breeders don’t put them down as pups, they have them neutered so undesirable traits won’t be passed on.”
“Put them down for the wrong color coat? That’s pretty cruel.”
“It’s called culling,” Drew said. “Raising and showing dogs is expensive. You are making an investment you hope will pay off in titles, stud fees, and puppy sales. Why would you waste money on stock that will never earn its keep? Breeding champion bloodline dogs is not a business for the faint-hearted.”
“I had no idea,” Scott said.
“Most of the breeders I know personally are in it because they love the dogs,” Drew said. “They make sure healthy, non-standard pups are spayed or neutered so as not to be bred further, and then they keep them as pets or find homes for them. In this way, they keep their reputations and the integrity of their businesses intact. But you can see how indiscriminate breeders might create a surplus of non-revenue-producing dogs.”
“Disposable mutts.”
“You could say that. I think Theo got his dogs from disreputable breeders, or picked up dogs that were not actually from champion bloodlines but looked enough like purebreds to pass. He then created paperwork as if he bred them. He started with females which existed only on paper, claimed one of his “champion” males was the sire, and falsified
There was a short, reasonably comfortable silence, and then Scott reminded Drew why he came.
“You need to tell me more about the altercation you had with Theo,” Scott said. “You didn’t mention he was your landlord. You also claimed you didn’t recognize his body, but you called Hannah this morning and told her he was dead. When you lie to me and leave stuff out, my imagination fills in all sorts of horrible reasons why.”
Drew stiffened, and at first Scott thought he was going to deny it, but then he sighed heavily.
“Okay,” he said. “You were probably going to find out anyway.”
Scott sat back and sipped his tea while the vet talked.
“Before I took over the practice I looked at the books, so I knew a large part of the revenue came from being the official vet to Theo’s breeding business. He paid Owen a set amount per month for vetting all the dogs, plus bonuses for each litter. I recently discovered, however, that there were no litters, except on paper.”
“What do you mean?”
“Theo had a kennel full of male dogs he would stud out for a fee, but Owen’s files contain documentation, including AKC registrations and vet records, for females Theo didn’t have, and litters that were never born.”
“I don’t understand,” Scott said. “How can it benefit him to have fake dog papers but not dogs?”
“Let me explain,” Drew said. “Theo probably figured stud fees were easy money. He takes a horny male dog to a bitch in heat and nature takes its course 99.9% of the time. Whether or not a litter results, Theo gets paid something. If there’s a litter he gets paid more, or gets his choice of pups, depending upon the deal.”
“How much did Theo make on each try?”
“Anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand is my guess. Breeders are willing to pay more for champion bloodlines, and to prove lineage he needed AKC registration papers, health tests, and vet records. He probably started out with some purebreds, but those dogs are expensive. Also, breeding dogs is a risky business. Bitches and pups can die in whelping, there’s no guarantee any of the pups will be show quality or good breeding stock, and it’s a lot of hard work.”
Drew took a moment to swallow some tea and then continued.
“Due to the limited availability of new breeding stock, dogs will sometimes have medical problems due to line breeding, which means a breeding couple has at least one ancestor in common. When this happens, some offspring may display genetic mutations, like odd color coats, physical defects, or behavioral problems, which keep them out of competition. If the breeders don’t put them down as pups, they have them neutered so undesirable traits won’t be passed on.”
“Put them down for the wrong color coat? That’s pretty cruel.”
“It’s called culling,” Drew said. “Raising and showing dogs is expensive. You are making an investment you hope will pay off in titles, stud fees, and puppy sales. Why would you waste money on stock that will never earn its keep? Breeding champion bloodline dogs is not a business for the faint-hearted.”
“I had no idea,” Scott said.
“Most of the breeders I know personally are in it because they love the dogs,” Drew said. “They make sure healthy, non-standard pups are spayed or neutered so as not to be bred further, and then they keep them as pets or find homes for them. In this way, they keep their reputations and the integrity of their businesses intact. But you can see how indiscriminate breeders might create a surplus of non-revenue-producing dogs.”
“Disposable mutts.”
“You could say that. I think Theo got his dogs from disreputable breeders, or picked up dogs that were not actually from champion bloodlines but looked enough like purebreds to pass. He then created paperwork as if he bred them. He started with females which existed only on paper, claimed one of his “champion” males was the sire, and falsified
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