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My true love is our Labradors. My earliest memories include our family black lab running around the yard with me while I rode my Big Wheel, and laying by my side while I pulled carrots in the yard with my mom. The first "child" my husband and I had was a black lab and as our three children came into our lives, we always have had a Labrador Retriever with us, adding happiness and joy.
In 1992 we had our first litter and have had the honor of breeding labs off and on for families ever since. Labrador Retrievers are a special breed and have been number one with humans for more than 30-years for a reason. Labs are empathic, smart, inquisitive, happy, endearing and simply a very well-rounded working breed. They love their people, and are people pleasers, this in combination with their intelligence make them easier to train than most, it also makes them great candidates for working positions such as Service and Therapy. I have struggled with depression and anxiety a large part of my life. In 2018, during a time I had been in a toxic and abusive work environment for almost 2-years, I had a depressive episode and after suicide ideation, I spent time in a mental health outpatient program and was diagnosed with Severe Depressive Disorder, PTSD and Anxiety Disorder. My yellow Labrador who had completed her first year of training towards her career as a service dog helped to save my life. I know that I am truly blessed that I have a family who cares about me and supports me greatly, not everyone does so well. I don't know where I would be today without the support of my family and my service dog. It has always been a priority to me that I and my family give to our community. I have done that with my husband and children in many ways; through service, time, goods, relationships, and funds. With my children grown and out of the house, I started to do more with our Labradors, and in doing that I wanted to be able to share them with those who need them. I have seen how mental health disabilities effect people and those who love them. I have seen the damage that self medicating this disability with drugs and alcohol does. I feel that if more people who lived with mental health disabilities had the option of a quality service dog it would be life changing, or life making, as I found. Therapy dogs can be $20,000 and Service dogs can be upwards of $50,000. This puts them out of range for a majority of people who need them, but can't afford them. We provide for low income based on what they can afford, not what they make. With this in mind, I wanted to work with organizations that have like-minded goals and help people in need of support to live their best life. I know this can happen with a well-bred Labrador. Sadly, thousands of puppies each year come from back yard breeders and are sold to unsuspecting individuals, families and service organizations. Because of backyard breeding, all breeders have been given a bad name. There are many wonderful breeders out there, some hiding in the shadows for fear of being criminalized for what they do. I AM PROUD TO BE A BREEDER! I am an ethical breeder who fully health tests before we even consider breeding, working in partnership with a highly trained reproduction Veterinarian to breed healthy and not quantity. In addition, any dog intended for our breeding program that does not come back completely clear, we spay or neuter and help them with a career change. This typically means they go work with a family or individual who will give them their best life. We spend a lot of time socializing our dogs and paying attention to temperament, personality and body size/shape before looking at breeding pairs. Our vow to you and our community is to Be Better, Breed Better. Our goal is to provide education and support so others can breed better. Breed better puppies for service and therapy and to deliver these puppies through our grant program and Accredited Service Dog organizations who share our vision. Lastly, we want to support first responders and families as they navigate disaster zones by brining in ESA Therapy trained dogs to help them decompress with unconditional love and light from a LAB HELPING HUMANS HEAL. |
