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Cited byA Sorely Tried Kennelmaid to Our Dogs, 'Kennel Pupils', Our Dogs 82 (6th March 1931), pp. 644-645.
Description:‘Sir, - I cannot agree at all with your correspondent “A Happy Kennelmaid.” It is true that in all walks of life there are hardships, inevitable ones, but it is not these or hard work I or many others complain about. It is the quite unnecessary hardships far too many kennelmaids have to suffer that we protest so strongly against, and because we do protest it is nonsense to suggest we are not genuine dog-lovers. Suffering on our part does not help the dogs in any way.
The lot of all workers would indeed be a sorry one if they were to remain so loyal as to never raise any sort of protest against injustices done to them. It is noble, no doubt, to be willing to work for love of dogs alone, giving no thought to oneself in any respect, but I fail to see why anybody should be expected to do so. If people cannot or will not give their workers a fair return for their work, they ought not, in my opinion, to employ labour. Surely it does not conclusively prove one’s love for dogs is any the less devoted because one wants to gain through that love a decent living. Many kennel-owners make a very comfortable living out of their dogs, but nobody accuses them, for that reason, of not being true dog-lovers.
I wonder what your various correspondents call a good salary? Two posts were offered to me lately; in each case, I was to manage boarding and breeding kennels, also train pupils. My salary in one instance was to be the princely sum of £30 per annum, in the other, £36! It would be absolutely impossible to ever save enough out of such sums as these to start a kennel of one’s own; as that is my ambition, and one which I am determined to realise, it is evident I will have to do so by other means than kennel work, and so will other kennelmaids who have the same ambition – unless they are for ever going to put up with the second-best thing – looking at other people’s dogs.- Yours, etc.
A Sorely Tried Kennelmaid.'
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QuotesA Sorely Tried Kennelmaid to Our Dogs, 'Kennel Pupils', Our Dogs 82 (20th Feb. 1931), p. 491.
Description:‘Sir,- I have read with interest your correspondents’ letters “pro et con” the kennelmaids’ life as a career. Surely those who write so sorely about the hardships of the kennelmaids’ lot cannot be true dog lovers, for love overcomes all things. Hardships there are plenty in all walks of life, and so it behoves each one of us to look before we leap. Unless a girl is fully prepared to adapt herself to hard work and all sorts and conditions of life, she is quite unfit to attempt kennel work; but if, after she has given it a trial, she finds that her love for dogs is not strong enough to enable her to overcome and live down the unpleasantness which may arise, then, surely, would not be more loyal to the career that she once thought she fancied if she were to quietly retire from the field and take up another career more suitable to her tastes, instead of creating a bit of a stir in the hearts of other kennelmaids by publicly complaining of her misfortunes and running down her some-time employers?
I have myself been through some most unpleasant experiences – worse a great deal than many of the causes of complaint that have been stated by some of your correspondents – but it does not make me, as a kennelmaid, any of the less keen on the career. And why? Simply because love of the dog comes first, and unless this love does naturally come first, then, for the good of everyone concerned, give up the kennelmaids’ life and cease grumbling. If kennelmaids really loved their canine friend they would put up with their moral and physical discomforts for the sake of having the care of man’s truest friend, the dog.
Your correspondent, “A Sorely Tried Kennemaid,” states “that there seems to be no chance of advancement, no matter how hard one works or how much one learns.” I wonder if she is a qualified canine nurse yet? That is something to work up for. But if sick nursing dogs does not appeal, then be satisfied with a head kennelmaid’s post – not an easy position, but one worth working for; and for those who are really efficient there is a good salary to be drawn. If we are not fortunate to be able to save enough from our earnings to one day start a kennel of our own, then stick to the next best thing – namely, the care of other people’s dogs; and if we are dissatisfied, then, out of fairness to the dog, our employers, and ourselves, we ought to give it up and make room for the genuine dog lover, who works for the love of the dog, and not for her own comforts and financial gain.
I write this as I think it is high time some more kennelmaids wrote in support of their career when they see it publicly condemned. If one cannot remain loyal it’s no use being a kennelmaid. - Yours, etc.
A Happy Kennelmaid.’
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Quoted byT. Quick, 'Puppy Love: Domestic Science, “Women's Work,” and Canine Care,' Journal of British Studies 58 (2) (2019), pp. 289-314.
Description:'for some kennelmaids, an ethos of care for dogs could trump all consideration of working conditions. A correspondent signing herself “A Happy Kennelmaid” insisted that “those who write so sorely about the hardships of the kennelmaids’ lot cannot be true dog lovers, for love overcomes all things … love of the dog comes first, and unless this love does naturally come first, then, for the good of everyone concerned, give up the kennelmaids’ life and cease grumbling.” [note: 'A Happy Kennelmaid to Our Dogs, “Kennel Pupils,” Our Dogs, no. 83 (27 February 1931): 572.']' (308)
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