Why I began breeding

I grew up in a dog-loving family. I can’t remember a childhood memory where we did not have a dog. The hierarchy in my family is as follows:

1. Kids
2. Grandkids
3. Dogs
4. Son-in-Laws

And sometimes, let’s be honest, the hierarchy changes!

So why/how did I begin breeding? When I first met my husband, he had an older black lab named Caesar. He was super smart, loyal, calm and easy-going. I knew that someday, we must get another Lab like Caesar. After buying our first home, we excitedly added a beautiful yellow lab named Lucy to our family of 5. Oh, how we loved Lucy! She spent 13 years with our family, and I still miss her. She was a hiking buddy, slept with our 2 boys, and happily spent every single day with us.

My husband encouraged me to have a litter of puppies with Lucy, just to give our kids the experience of it all. I was hesitant at first, but after lots of research, testing, and help from a good vet, I took the plunge… and the rest is history. I so enjoyed that first litter! Lucy had 14 puppies the very first litter. Yes, 14! And they all survived and thrived. I spent such a ridiculous amount of time with the litter that one day my middle son, Kris, said to me: “Mommy, we don’t want cereal for dinner again. Please come back to us.”

I slowly added 2-3 more Labs to our family, trying to improve on the breed with each addition. I have met the nicest people through ‘puppies.’ I never intended to breed— I studied music in college— but breeding English labs is what I was meant to do. No doubt about it! My husband and our 3 kiddos (and nieces and nephews) have been a huge part of every single litter. It’s hard to believe that I began breeding over 20 years ago. Every single litter is still just as exciting as the first. God sure knew what He was doing when he made the labrador retriever!

Please note that our property is protected by a 24/7 security system