Recently (like yesterday) another breeder of Ridgebacks accused me of telling her some 'gossip' (over a year ago) and then spent what I think is the better part of several days, or possibly weeks, stewing about it to everyone but me. She thought I got the information from my own mentor, accused her, and then when that was flatly denied, I was confronted.
Imagine my surprise at being accused of spreading rumours about a bitch I didn't know existed. At this very moment I still can't tell you the bitch's registered name because everyone has been using call names only and I don't know who I am supposed to have criticized. So add to the strange circumstance of having someone accuse you of something you didn't do the inability to even research the dogs you are supposed to have talked about.
What I did, and I'll be honest, is tell this breeder that I wouldn't use the lines she is using because a health concern crops up unpredictably in the offspring but originates at one single dog. This is public knowledge as the dog in question can be researched online. According to this breeder, my research is classified as 'gossip'. Huh, better tell all the researchers in the world they are just a bunch of over-rated gossips.
What I do know is that the actual 'lie' I am being accused of she has attributed to the wrong dogs. Which makes it more funny because I do remember which are the right dogs and who bred them. I'm not telling her who they are though, that would be gossiping. (smirk) Added to which, the dogs I know of are not the only ones who are guilty of this little 'issue', nor the corrective measures taken to rectify it. I am also not the only one who is aware of these 'corrective' measures and it makes me think I am some sort of scapegoat. Stay back or I'll eat your hat.
It's weird because I have never been accused of something by someone who has flat out refused to accept my denial. Naively I believed that if I said I didn't do it I'd be believed. People who know me know I am not a liar. I am in fact, a terrible liar, even via email. I have a hard time being dishonest and I'm not sure why. I can bend the truth, sure, but I can't straight up lie very easily. If someone asks me a direct question I am compelled to be honest, it's a sickness I know. So to have someone repeatedly call me dishonest and a liar, when I know I am actually not, is a bit disconcerting. Never mind, I'll get over it.
Anyway, it has culminated, as it was bound to, into a legal threat on my part to stop her ridiculous attack. Would it hold up? Who knows, I'd have to prove loss of revenue, damage to my character, libel and slander, all very hard to build a solid case upon. Plus, since I'm 'not important enough' in the Ridgeback world I guess there may be little damage done. I know this, I would rather breed healthy, sound, stable dogs than be 'important', especially in the eyes of someone like that.
Yes, dog people are crazy, but then, lots of people are crazy when they are passionate about something. However we must learn to keep things in perspective. As my mentor said, these are our pets, they should not define us as people. Sadly some people are just plain ol' crazy to begin with and that never ends well.
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