I can't say definitively other than the one occasion I was witness to. The pregnant Crested was due to whelp any day, and it was obvious she was carrying more than one puppy--more like four.  That evening when I got back from the pizza place, Amy's mother said the dog had just whelped one puppy. Throughout the evening I'd heard another three yelping sessions coming from Amy's room.

The following morning, where I expected to see at least four puppies in the whelping box, I saw only one hairless puppy, so I asked Amy. She claimed the bitch only whelped one puppy. Even if she'd said the dog lost the other three, that would've been more believable than saying she'd only whelped one.

But of the nearly 200 dogs Amy keeps at her home in tiny cages and x-pens, I've only ever seen TWO powderpuffs [Cujo and Dazzle RMT Right As Rain]. Could be she's just keeping the hairless ones and placing all the puffs in pet homes. But on the other hand, I've yet to see any powderpuff puppies--I've seen dozens and dozens of hairless puppies [pre-8 weeks]--but no powderpuffs. So unless she's giving the PPs away when they're weeks old, she's disposing of them in some other manner. It's up to you to decide.

[BTW, her mother Mary did explain to me on the above situation that Amy threw the smothered puppies in the trash. Her only explanation was that it was cold enough outside to do so.]

News Flash: I have heard Amy's showing a puff now, which is undoubtedly her lame attempt to dispel the culling rumors. Don't believe it--one puff does not several dozen make. Where most breeders don't ever produce the number of dogs she does, Amy's bred enough dogs over the years to make the ratio of hairless to powderpuff right about 50:50, so where did all the puffs go?

I've seen more than 150 dogs in her home at any given time but that was as of a year ago, so she may have more now. In fact I'm sure she has more, as she's bred at least 8 litters last year alone, and has taken in at least a half dozen "rescue" Chihuahuas.

Mostly her 80 year-old mother Mary. Amy's usually off at a dog show pimping her puppies to unsuspecting people, leaving her mother to tend to the dogs. One only wonders what will happen when her mother is too ill to take care of the dogs anymore.

Partly in her dining room, there are at least 12 crates, that house 2-3 dogs. Her entire basement is home to most of the rest. The entire space is wall-to-wall dogs. The walls are stacked five feet high with crates, and the floors are filled with x-pens. All but maybe one or two of the male dogs are kept down there.

What the truth behind the makeup rumors?

Unfortunately, the rumors are all true. Against all AKC rules to use makeup though, but that didn't stop the unethical handler Pam Laperruque from using it--in fact she felt entitled to use it, despite AKC rules. This was one of the main reason for my firing her. I'd told her not to use it and that I wouldn't pay for it. She continued to use it, and tried to cover up the expense on the billing statements, now reporting the stuff as "grooming" or "miscellaneous" supplies for which she mysteriously had no receipt.

Is this ethical, or legal to use such makeup on show dogs?

Not in the ring it's not. It's what's called a "foreign substance." It's unethical and violates AKC rules. Plus it just looks wrong and unnatural - like pancake makeup. Here are excerpts from an email exchange between myself and Pam where I was trying to get her to admit she's using the makeup, under the guise that I wanted to use some on my untanned Crested for a photo shoot:

My email to her on 11/30/99:

oh, and could pam send me some of the makeup for blue--the compact not the pencil. I really really need to get his pictures done before it gets too much colder--he's already lost all of his tan, so the problem is even worse than before. I was supposed to have this done in October, so the artist is gonna get really mad at me, if she isn't already.

Pam's reply to me on 12/15/99:

First, I'm not sure what you want for make-up as you said you did not want the eyeliners. That is the only thing that comes in colors for a blue dog and I have never done a blue dog. I don't know of any liquid that would take care of an untanned blue dog. If I had the dog I could experiment but I don't.

How does Pam Laperruque apply the makeup?

First she starts with the eyeliner/eyebrow pencil [Revlon Colorstay - Brown] where she covers the dog from head to toe, nose to tail, in little groupings of line-by-line color marks. This process takes roughly one full hour. Between each ~1 inch square she stops to blend it in. [She once told me, you can't wait until the dog's body is all filled in to blend it--you have to do it in small patches, otherwise the makeup will be too dry to blend and you'll have to start all over again]

Next she uses a compact foundation makeup [May Eye Color] that she covers over the entire area again. This makes for the pancake effect.

Finally, she uses the "mysterious electrical tape-wrapped bottle", which is just a sealer. So the makeup doesn't rub off on say, a judge's hands.

Why did you go along with this?

Well I didn't, I just chose not to "out" Pam's past behavior with Bubblena. [I also have to add that I have it on VERY GOOD authority that Bubblena's owner/backer felt the same as I did about the makeup being used on her dog, but was just as unsuccessful as I to get Pam to stop using it.] The makeup thing was a very big deal to me. But then I found out, contrary to what Pam was telling me, she was covering my dogs with makeup too [two of them already had beautiful dark blue flawless skin]. As I said earlier, this is one thing that eventually led me to fire her [although Amy approved of Pam's unethical behavior.] As Pam justified on so many occasions by saying, "It wasn't until I started using makeup on Bubbie that she began to win." As if that statement somehow made it alright.

When did you first see a dog in Pam's care wearing what you thought was makeup?

On Bubblena. I hadn't seen Pam apply the makeup, just knew that's what the dog was wearing, it was incredibly obvious. Then there were drastic differences in the new ads photos placed. I'll post a few pre/post-makeup photos shortly.

When did you see first-hand Pam applying makeup to a dog?

At the 1999 World Dog Show in Mexico City--on my dog Ch. Razzmatazz Ultra Pink [Morgan].  I had spent a great deal of money to bring Amy, myself and Pam down for the dog show. [Although my original offer was just to invite Amy--but then she pressured me into bringing Pam for the sole purpose of showing Morgan.]

When Pam first used the makeup on Morgan at this show I was shocked--I almost had to pull him from Group competition because it was rubbing off all over everything. [That was when he actually won a Group 2 but Amy ineptly waltzed over to the Group 3 podium!] Then Pam even had the nerve to submit the receipts that she wanted me to pay. After that I told her not to use it, that I didn't approve and wouldn't pay for it, but she kept on as mentioned above. But then I got word that she was slathering both of my dark blue puppies with the same garbage--and saw it first hand at Westminster--I was incredulous.

What was your commitment to Amy about campaigning a Special?

After all my years of friendship and financial support, I felt I had earned the right to buy a first pick dog to special, but I only committed to having Pam show 1 dog [financially]. But the moment Pam started showing Morgan [RMT Ultra Pink], she decided she wanted to show Electra [RMT Shockwave] in the classes. And she would only show Morgan when she wasn't showing Bubblena--which meant never. Or basically one day in June, and Brush Prairie weekend [because it's my area's largest show. But the entire time, since March I'm paying board, thinking he was to be shown.]

[ok, now she has 2 dogs--1 special/1 class dog]

Once Pam finished Electra [which she wasn't supposed to do as I wanted her shown in Puppy Sweeps in New York], Pam still wanted to show Electra and Morgan, but now needed Flame [RMT Light My Fire] to show in the classes. Needing class dogs specifically to beat Janice--no other reason. This was a big deal to even send her Flame, as he was to be my dog to finish then special in the Northwest. But she whined and complained until Amy talked me into letting him be sent to Pam. The condition that all three of us agreed on was that he was to come home from New York with me.

At this point Pam even wanted to special BOTH Electra and Morgan--telling me to hire another handler so both dogs could be specialed against each other. This wasn't a case of her wanting to switch between showing Electra and Morgan--she wanted them both to be in the ring at the same time--every time. That was the only "argument" I ever won. Pam got her digs in though by making me out to be a cheapskate because I wouldn't go along with this plan and hire another handler to special my dogs against one another.

[ok, now she has 3 dogs--2 specials/1 class dog]

Then Pam had to have Pongo [RMT Spitfire] to special as well when she didn't think she'd win with either Morgan or Electra. I just about went ballistic at this point, but it was also the time my job was getting extremely busy, so didn't have as much time as normal to tend to their madness.

[ok, now she has 4 dogs--3 specials/1 class dog]

None of this was to go on after Westminster because I kept reminding them both of my commitment to special only 1 dog. And up until a few weeks before Westminster, it was known that Pam was to decide which dog to continue on with...Electra or Flame and whichever she didn't pick would come back with me--leaning towards Flame. Yet no one even bothered to tell me "the plan" had changed and that BOTH dogs were going back with Pam [discussed in 2.4]

Why did you put up with Pam's disrespectful /dishonest behavior?

After putting up with Pam's way of constantly putting Amy in the middle of things she had a professional obligation to discuss with me, I told Amy that if she wanted to continue having Pam show dogs for me, then she [meaning Amy] would have to "officially" take care of handling things with Pam [she was doing it "unofficially" anyway]. This only made sense as Pam never discussed anything with me, and having me constantly berating her about it would only make matters worse. Again, not for one minute would I normally put up with disrespect of this nature--but was doing it out of a misplaced sense of loyalty and responsibility towards Amy. However, upon learning of her new role in our dog campaign Amy went ballistic and her true colors suddenly came to light.

Why did you bring Morgan to the World Show then? How did that come about?

Having Morgan being shown was an after-thought of Amy's. Since Amy & Pam couldn't convince Janice to send Pam with Bubblena to the show, they both started work on me. [Of course at the time, I had no idea why Janice wouldn't want to have her dog shown down there by Pam--everything in hindsight.] Keep in mind, I didn't want to spend my every moment at the dog show--I was really looking forward to being just a spectator at the show for a change--without the worry of getting a dog ready for competition. Plus I was more interested in visiting Mexico City. But as always, I eventually succumbed to Amy's pressure.

Anything else "exciting" happen during Westminster week 2000?

Now that you mention it...why yes. Do you know why Pam missed the Puppy Sweepstakes on Saturday? It's because she took so long putting the makeup on Light My Fire that she missed the classes. Yet she still expected me to pay her handling fee for that day!

This is most interesting because I hadn't wanted Pam to enter Flame at the Saturday show anyway, but Pam whined and whined until I agreed. And the agreement was that since she was only going to show the one dog, she could certainly go to the show by herself, and Amy and I would be free to visit together or go sightseeing. Amy agreed to this too, as she didn't want to go to Saturday's show either--this is what Amy told me of course. But at the last minute Pam proclaimed that she couldn't manage one dog on her own, and then told me that Amy promised to go with her. And that if Amy didn't go with her she would refuse to show my dog altogether. [And if she did that, she said she'd also refuse to show Electra at Westminster and the National!!] After all, as she explained, if Amy and I got to sightsee, then she should be able to do so as well. That it wasn't fair to her to have to show that day, when we could take the day off.

For some strange reason, Pam couldn't ever understand that she was WORKING those days, and not free to sightsee. That she was specifically being hired and paid handsomely for her services--to show the dogs. Pam did the same thing in Mexico City though, whining and carrying on about the fact that I left the show to sightsee. At this early stage of her employment by me, she didn't yet have the nerve to refuse to show my dog.

I find this behavior reprehensible. Think for a moment if your job sends you on a business trip, say Monday thru Friday. So you go, but refuse to work on Tuesday, because other people you know are going to Disneyland. Weren't you sent there to work? Weren't you paid to work? So why do you expect to be treated as a tourist. Sure I can understand her wanting to visit some sites, but only if it fits in between showing, in other words, in between the times she's financially being paid to perform.

I do know she did this all the time to Janice too. This is a big part of what separates Pam from a "professional" handler. A true professional handler knows what services they're being paid to perform, and what takes priority. They wouldn't dream of refusing to show a dog simply because the financial backer chose to go shopping. That would be like hiring a guard to watch your dog at the Garden, but then have the guard walk off the job because you wouldn't stand there with him all day. This is EXACTLY what Pam does--and fully expects is her right to do.

In a word...Amy!

What happened was, weeks before the garden Amy told me explicitly NOT to bring any dogs, that there wasn't any room between all her dogs and all the dogs Pam was bringing. I even talked to Amy several times about my disappointment as to having nothing to show--being just a spectator then [or "just the checkbook".] So AFTER I get home from NYC, in one of Amy's particularly nasty emails to me, she explained how "disappointed" she was with me that I didn't bring any dogs to show--that she was "dismayed" that I didn't think enough of her to prepare dogs to show!! What was this--she had said beforehand NOT to bring any of them--even when I balked about it. Then she does a bi-polar and chastises me for it!!

But your dogs won everything at Progressive 2000, aren't you happy?

What was to enjoy. The moment the dogs won on Friday Amy screams at me, "are you HAPPY now"...well I was until she said that. Like I'm some ungrateful, spoiled little kid. [I said nothing]

Amy and Pam even went out of their way to keep me from walking in with a dog that day--knowing how much I wanted to exhibit a dog and not just be a spectator. When Flame won Winners Dog, I asked Amy who would take him in for Best of Winners [as Amy was on Morgan, Pam on Electra]. I didn't say "can I take him in", I asked "who". Amy said me of course.

So I put his armband on and got ready, when Pam rushed up and said she'd like her friend to take him in. Ok...I gave the armband back. Then when it looked like the bitch was going Winners Bitch, I asked who would take her in. Amy again said me of course.

So as I'm looking around for her armband...and the dog, Amy says her mother's got her. I then turn to see Mary standing in the ring with the dog, so Amy says I guess she wants to show her. Ok...fine. But the moment Amy and Pam left to go in the ring, Amy grabs her friend Polly, has her go in and take the dog from Mary. [I said nothing]

I'm sure most who were at the National on Sunday witnessed a very similar "changing of the guard". If Amy and Pam had not done that, we probably would've done better that day, but I could clearly see the judge's head was spinning from all the handler switches going on.

Even the strategy about who was showing whom for Westminster was changed by Pam at the last moment Monday morning. She was to show Electra [as she'd been training her specifically for these shows since JUNE] and Amy was to show Morgan [whom he knows very well]. Morgan was just a placeholder dog anyway, to give Amy something to show. But in my opinion, he'd really fallen apart by this time, with his rear broken down and most of his teeth missing. But Amy needed something to show--so I went along with it.

So at the last minute Pam passed Electra off to Amy and went in with Morgan. I was shell-shocked. Of course it totally threw Electra off, as she was looking for Pam the entire time. Pam was even stupid enough to stand in Electra's direct line of vision the entire time making her bob and lunge back and forth trying to get to Pam. [I said nothing]. When I mentioned this to Pam later she thought it was "cute" that Electra missed her that way!

Why did you stay at the Penta rather than Amy's house--don't you usually stay with her?

This was another brilliant idea of Pam's--to get me to spend even more money for nothing. On Pam's insistence I booked a hotel room at the Penta for 3 nights--for the sole purpose of being across the street from the Garden for Monday's show [primarily because Pam did NOT want to take the subway from Queens--oh the horror of it all]. I didn't want to do it [book the room that is], as I've always enjoyed staying with Amy more than anything else, but did it because it's worse to hear them both bitch. But even that, I was promised I would not have to stay there any night other than Sunday--but that's not what happened at all.

Originally I was only going to book the room for 1 night [Sunday] but that wasn't good enough for Pam, as "what if" she wanted to drop some stuff off [a dog maybe?], so I booked the room for 2 nights, Sunday/Monday. NOT GOOD ENOUGH for Pam. She needed me to book it for Saturday as well, so she could drop her stuff off for Sunday night because there wouldn't be time to do it during/after Sunday's show.