spiritdogs
Posted : 1/25/2009 11:28:34 AM
From the article:
In
1990 she acquired two solid red dogs that she thought were purebred
Jack Russell Terriers. These two dogs however were the result of a
cross between a Jack Russell Terrier and a Border Terrier. Deciding to
go another way and create a new breed, Lauren crossed these two dogs
into her line of Jack Russell Terriers. Lauren also had a line of Jack
Russell Terrier/ Patterdale Terrier crosses at the same time, and she
began blending these two lines together. Wanting to make her breed even
more special, Lauren found a line of Rat Terriers used for hunting that
had the merle gene. Incorporating a merle male from this line and his
son, a merle Rat Terrier/Patterdale Terrier cross, gave her the
foundation for the Atlas Terrier.
Just as the piebald gene carries defects, so too does the merle gene.
With this in mind the Atlas Terrier Association (ATA) was created in
2001. Though careful breeding and rigorous health testing it is the
goal of this association to keep the Atlas Terrier free of the many
health concerns that sometimes plague its ancestor the Jack Russell
Terrier.
This about says it all for me. A "breeder" who cannot recognize her own breed, and uses unregistered dogs to pair? Then, when things go obviously wrong, she justifies it by saying she will "create a new breed"? (Haven't we heard this for years from the designer dog people?) Next, to make things even more "special", she adds Rat Terriers (so what about piebald did she not get?) And, to add insult to injury, she introduces MORE health problems, not fewer, by adding merle dogs into the mix. Careful breeding???? Rigorous health testing???? You thought piebald gave problems so you added merle???? Jeez, I must be the one missing something here. Ya think?