FROZEN SEMEN SCANDAL :

Since Douma/Dykstra seeks to vindicate herself with mis-information, here are the facts with correspondence that PROVES that MARGIE DOUMA/DYKSTRA (Blythmoor Labradors) IS A LIAR AND A THIEF... You need time to read all this but if you feel you're that involved then you owe it to yourself and to me to get the picture straight.

First of all, a big general thank-you to the many, many people all over the U.S. (and elsewhere) who, having read the sad story of Charlie's stolen semen rushed to reassure us that all Americans do not act like Douma/Dykstra. I just feel we have to mention the overwhelming support we received but I didn't really need all those honest and profoundly shocked people to decry Douma/Dykstra as a second rate person NOT typical of the Lab world or Americans in general : having spent 3 years in New-York I wasn't going to imagine that all Americans would act so shabbily. Thank heavens, for the sake of international relations !

I can hang ALL my laundry out with pride, it's clean and if some of it appears to have a nasty smell, this very particular Douma/Dykstra smell will be easily dissipated by airing. I can also look at myself in the mirror every morning when I wake up, and although I may find a new line or two (it's normal at my age) I see an honest person smiling back at me.

As Douma/Dykstra well knows, I am English and not French. But isn't it so much easier to stir up hate against the French than against the English, the latter being by tradition long time friends with the United States ? When talking about the Charlie semen scandal in continental Europe, the immediate gut reaction of non American-friendly europeans - particularly the French - was 'what did you expect from Americans...'. No Comment.

Let us get this quite clear from the start. We are breeding Labradors for quality not quantity. We are not trying to make money out of dogs but simply trying - if possible - to get the dogs to pay partially for themselves. I bought Charlie at 10 months old, I campaigned him all over Europe to 6 different champion titles and was prepared to send him to a top trainer for 3 complete seasons of Field Trials. He became the only dog - and still is - to be 6 times a French Show Champion and a French Field Trial Champion 'à l'anglaise'. The trainer's fees came to $13000. I never expected or expect to recoup even a tenth of what it has cost me to realize Charlie's potential but given what he is and what he produces it would seem perfectly normal that a contract covering sale of his semen should be honored as it was written. This is the story of honor not of money.

Indeed, I agreed to send frozen semen to the U.S., and Douma/Dykstra found the stud fee reasonable (Proof 1) but AT NO TIME did I urge Douma/Dykstra to import any particular quantity (Proof 4 and Proof 9), the decision on the number of straws was entirely hers but of course although the cost of shipping was the same whether the container was full or not, the cost of collection depended on her decision.

It was not until she had decided on the number of straws (Proof 6) that I could calculate the cost of collection. the veterinary school is 370km away from my kennel so each trip costs the price of road tolls and petrol as well as the cost of collection.

Her choice of 142 straws (Proof 8) meant sending the most potent collections, which I had already collected AND PAID FOR for my own personal future use. Wanting to do my very best by those who chose to use Charlie in the U.S., I thus kept the less good quality for myself. To petrol costing $1 per liter and road tolls at $49 per trip must be added an outlay of $666 for 4 collections (this compares favorably with $300 per collection in the U.S.). This makes a total of $1266 BEFORE shipping. Shipping costs were initially $316 (Bill 1 and Bill 2), bringing the total to $1582. This does NOT include the $180 that it cost me in customs tax (Bill 3) when getting the container back as Douma/Dykstra had failed to mention that it was a borrowed container belonging to the veterinary school in France and not new goods imported from the U.S. (I was nice enough never to mention this to her until she got nasty).

I rounded the sum DOWN to $1500 which thus covered as stated, collection and shipping : BUT NOT THE SEMEN ITSELF, and this sum did not in fact cover my total costs nor endless telephone calls, faxes, photos, etc.

Nor does this sum cover the $250 paid to have the heart scan on Charlie at Douma/Dykstra's request (Proof 20, Proof 24, Proof 25, Proof 28 and Proof 33). This is not something that anybody in Europe requires since there has been no history of heart disease or rumors of such. I had the scan done as Douma/Dykstra sent me an absurd fax on the subject and demanding official clearance for Charlie. Proof 33 highlights that Douma/Dykstra is both mad and bad.

On September 3rd 1997, two weeks prior to shipping, Douma/Dykstra faxed me a contract project (Proof 11), something that I didn't anticipate as I tend to trust as I expect to be trusted. She said that the original would arrive by mail. It never did. She also asked 'is this OK, perhaps we Americans are too contract oriented !'.... now I can see why.

She had asked me for transfer of ownership of the semen into her name (Proof 3, Proof 5, Proof 10, Proof 12, Proof 13 and Proof 14), stating that this was necessary according to AKC regulations. I only discovered in June 2000, when I contacted the AKC myself - something I should have done from the start - that this was absolutely untrue. It is to be noted that Douma/Dykstra prepared from the start a foolproof contract including provision for credit card numbers sent to anyone interested in using Charlie's semen, wherein she appeared to be the owner both morally and legally. With hind-sight, the lie told to get transfer into her name, the fact that I never received the original of our agreement, the immediate preparation of a foolproof contract for users of the semen in which my name appears nowhere as the owner and she as the custodian (Proof 1) and the subsequent theft of stud fees convinces us that at no time did Douma/Dykstra plan to honor our agreement and that the whole situation was carefully planned in advance.

The agreement she made out which stated the responsibilities of the stud dog owner and her own has been met to the full on my part. However none of the clauses that concern her have been fulfilled.

In June 2000 the AKC informed me that there had been 8 LITTERS FROM CHARLIE registered in the U.S. - September 1997 to September 2000 equals three years yet Douma/Dykstra states (Proof 34) 'those (3) were the only breedings done in 3 years' - see AKC records for proof of eight successful breedings to June 2000, and to date there are eleven and one up-coming. And of course this does NOT include litters born elsewhere (Canada for exemple, where Douma/Dykstra cunningly and without having been approached, proposed semen in return for a puppy back - this way of course she could not be accused of selling semen since it was an exchange deal).

I got paid $850 with appropriate papers - late - for the first litter. For the second insemination, I received $820 five months later with clearance papers. Then dead silence for 18 months. The only other payment received was $805 in April 2000 with no clearance papers of any kind.

Douma/Dykstra wrote (Proof 8) 'I will of course pay you on the number of bitches bred', in my letter (Proof 9) it would appear that I had total trust in the custodian and that I was in no way pushing either for more money or to sell more straws. Shipping and all other costs were perfectly clear (Proof 10) by September 3rd 1997 as were the terms of our agreement (Proof 10 and Proof 11) and shipping was then scheduled for September 15th and at any moment until actual shipping Douma/Dykstra could have called a halt to the entire process.

Douma/Dykstra's bitch inseminated (dixit Douma/Dykstra) at 3 nanograms (i.e. no hope of conception) 'did not conceive due to a veterinary error' (dixit Douma/Dykstra) (Proof 28) a situation of which I was informed 6 months later without having had of course a stud fee. Far from being furious (Proof 34) I replied a full 10 weeks later with sympathy for her (Proof 29).

Douma/Dykstra stated that I had already collected the semen not as a result of her request (Proof 30) but it would appear evident to anybody normally intelligent that this collection HAD ALSO ALREADY BEEN PAID FOR and thus the expenses incurred should be reimbursed. Far from 'collecting stud fees' at that date I had had two - one of $850 and one of $820. When you deduct the container 'import' taxes, plus telephone, plus faxes, plus photos, plus the doppler, plus the initial diminution of expenses the net total to me was $1040 and not $3000.

With reference to Douma/Dykstra's email to the Reynolds (Charlie's breeders) (Proof 32) First Prize to Douma/Dykstra for 'arse-licking' and the contents don't really need any comment. I guess Douma/Dykstra just didn't realize that Carol and Mervyn are not only personal friends but above all they are HONEST.

Funny how she states she understands the deal she made (Proof 33) and wants us to believe that she's upset to be shown up as a cheat but FACTS BEING FACTS and that to date we have had three stud fees - two of which were amputated of $75 for HER bank charges while she has collected a total of 10 stud fees for the US born litters plus... I wonder who got the financial gain ? (Proof 34) but doubtless Douma/Dykstra has a lot to teach us about high finances in Labradors and also how to go from being a custodian (Proof 16) to being an owner (Proof 34) in one easy stride.

However she does seem much less clever at avoiding trains, (which she probably mistook for a herd of pink elephants) and we send our heartfelt sympathy to the train in question. What she hasn't stolen, but really has earned, is her appalling reputation for dishonesty and any 'emotional torture' (Proof 34) might just be due to a lingering vestige of guilty conscience. Her reputation as being an odd-ball with a drink problem is probably closer to home than the so called reputation she's invented without proof for me.

Careful Douma/Dykstra ! - Just when you think you've seen the light at the end of the tunnel you may find, too late, that it's another train coming towards you.

We send our very warmest regards to all you Labrador breeders who are, as is our breed, friendly and full of integrity and wish much success and pleasure to the owners of all the Charlie children in the U.S. despite our utmost disgust with this whole situation.

Charlie on his 10th birthday

Proof 1 - Proof 2 - Proof 3 - Proof 4 - Proof 5 - Proof 6 - Proof 7 - Proof 8 - Proof 9 - Proof 10 - Proof 11 - Proof 12 - Proof 13 - Proof 14 - Proof 15 - Proof 16 - Proof 17 - Proof 18 - Proof 19 - Proof 20 - Proof 21 - Proof 22 - Proof 23 - Proof 24 - Proof 25 - Proof 26 - Proof 27 - Proof 28 - Proof 29 - Proof 30 - Proof 31 - Proof 32 - Proof 33 - Proof 34 - Bill 1 - Bill 2 - Bill 3

Felicity and Kira Leith-Ross
Tintagel Winds Labradors
January 25th, 2002