update: does anybody remember Johnie Walker Red the puppy? affectionately called "JohnJohn" - ? I might have only told FPH about him given the name thing. JohnJohn was the pup that the breeder had set aside for a stud. he was actually bought by them from show dog stud stock for $2k and I just loved that pup - every time I was coming and going with Jedi and then he had to be returned bla bla, every time I'd see JohnJohn and he'd leap into my arms and literally howlgroan with recognition and pleasure. even if I had matched the 2k, which would have been crazy, still they couldn't let him go as he had been specifically chosen for the lines he came from to infuse the bitch stock with supplemental genes to offset their bites and coats in various ways. a beauty that puppy was, glossy red triple coated so when he laid down on the floor he looked like a small exquisite yoga rug. I told him, "have crappy little testicles or something and then we can be together". the breeder overheard me and chided me a little, bc after all they'd invested a lot in that stud muffin and they're not rich people . . . and the breeder remembered what I'd said to the dog and wrote to me today when JohnJohn decided to drop only one of his nuts and remove himself from the stud business before he even got started. the breeder says I cast a spell on the pup. obviously, I don't NEED a dog. but, welp, I told JohnJohn that we could be together if that's what he wanted, and having grown quite careful about such statements, I intend to mean what I say. and thus the breeder is giving me the dog for free since obviously that was really the puppy I went there for, fatewise, such that even the dog himself concured.