Where did your baby come from??

do not know the background on either Digby or Casper, but do I care? No, they could have 3 eyes, an ear in middle of their forehead, 6 legs, or whatever, we would not love them any less - they are truly our little gifts from heaven[/B]

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That is exactly how I feel about IzzyBella. We got her from a reputable breeder who has been breeding maltese for years. Her mother is a champion and her father is an up and coming champion. Does this make Izzy a hoity toity dog? NOPE, she's an up and coming junk yard dog.
The breeder was very strict with us and told us flat out that even if we gave her a deposit and she felt we weren't right for one another we couldn't have the little female. She sent us pictures periodically and we were so in love with Izzy before we even touched her. When we met with the breeder who lives 5 hours away, we felt like foster parents waiting for the adoption to go through.

It's about love, you know. We love our dogs no matter what their papers say. (Izzy doesn't care, she will pee on any paper!) We adopted a family member, we didn't purchase an investment.

This is my story.My daughter left home to go away to school two years ago.I was just lost with out her.So I ask my husband if we could get a dog.He didn't want a dog because he said we didn't have the lifestyle for a dog.(what ever) This went on an on for months.Then one day I sat next to him put my head on his shoulder and with tears in my eyes, I asked.Can we have another baby?Stunned and silence for what seemed like a long time then clearing his throat he said,So, what kind of dog do want?It worked I knew I wanted a small dog and I had seen a maltese puppy just months before and it was so adorable that I got online and researched everything I could on them.Then I started looking for a breeder.I found Barbara Davis at Veranda Maltese in Texas.I called her to see if she could lead me to someone that might have a puupy and it was by sheer luck that she had just had a litter of 3.Two females and one male.She offered me the male.I had already seen her dogs and looked at her pedigrees and loved the look of her dogs.I never even saw Rudy until the day we got to pick him up and she put him in my arms.My hubby and I both felt as if we had just adopted a new baby.In reality we had! We both adore him.We never sent his papers in to akc. We didnt want to show him and we had to have him neutered so why send the papers in.Rudy is a beautiful puppy from wonderful champion parents.But one would never know any of that when they see him on the weekends playing in water and running in the mud in our back yard.He is a member of our family and holds the key to all our hearts.We love him not because of his breeding back ground but because of his beautiful personality and the happiness he brought to our lives

I had been thinking about getting a puppy. Yes .. No This went on for a year.

We were camping one week end and visited a Pet Store. There were 2 of the cutest little puppies and were told they were very high breed Maltese (never seeing one before). Hubby tried to talk me into getting the girl, but I continued to say no. -_- While having a real big conversation with the owner, if they were so high breed what are they doing in a Pet Store. I never received the answer I was waiting for. I also refused to pay $1,000 for a puppy that I could not see the parents. While also thinking, how would I know these were the true parents, people do lie for a living these days. After saying bye to the little darlings, I left with a heavy heart. Thank God this store was not near my home.

A few months later, we were at my parents and I started talking about those puppies. Wondering if they found a home. The very next week my mom saw in the paper Maltese puppies. I again said no !! Hubby called the lady and made an appt. for that Saturday and I continued to say no. It turned out that the lady lived 6 miles from me and had only 2 dogs that she breed with 3 babies. They were not show dogs, just loving pets. This little one followed me all around the house..ok..he was the one. The spoiled brat that I now love to death...Puddles (with all his black points)!!

Here's our story -

A little history ~
My husband and I are serious dog lovers and have always had dogs in our lives -before and after marriage. The only small dog we ever owned was a beagle that we had terrible/horrible experiences with. Even so I had been asking for a small dog for a long time. I kept telling my husband I wanted a dog I could take places with me - a real companion. (We never did things like this with our bigger current dog. In fact she has become my father-in-law's dog since they're inseperable.) My husband kept coming up with excuses why I didn't want a little dog.

2004 came with many many changes that I won't go into. Then in the Spring I severely broken my ankle and had surgery for pins and plates, etc. I was enduring a long and uncomfortable recovery and was climbing the walls. I called my husband crying one day and told him I needed "something" and I really really wanted to get a dog. I promised him that if it didn't work out I would find her a good home. I also told him that life was too short not to have something you really want in your heart. He agreed.

I went to puppyfind and found and narrowed it down to 2 breeders that I was happy with. I had started doing research and knew not to go to a pet store, but didn't really know how to find a show breeder - especially with my very limited mobility at the time. I knew they were hobby breeders but I didn't care. Being my first maltese I was reluctant to pay over 1500.00

I finally picked one breeder over the other and have never looked back. Chloe is the light of my life. My vet is very satisfied with her state of health and all around she is just wonderful. Okay I admit I have one problem with her - she's spoiled and it seems to get worse with every passing day.

My name is Jami and my little one is named Lacey. She came to me from a breeder in Pennsylvania. Took me a little over 9 months to find her. I had two dogs before I got Lacey... a black lab and a cocker spaniel. Both dried within a short period of time. My black lab was with me for 16 years which I have been told is a very long time for a black lab. He came from a backyard breeder...I didn't know any better but he was the best dog anyone could ask for. He was my son's "brother". They both grew up together. My cocker spaniel, Rocky, came from a very experienced show breeder. He was just beautiful. He died when he was 8 and we still don't know why. I was very sad after I lost both of my babies. Took me only 6 months to know that I wanted another little one and this time I wanted one for me. Both of my children are grown and away from home so this dog was going to be truly for me. Lacey is the love of my love. I have people who think I am crazy for the way I feel about her but we all here know what I am talking about. When I am at work I think about her and call home to my husband to see how she is...he works from home. He also has fallen in love with her. I told him if we ever separate we would have a custody battle on our hands and he told me "no we won't, the hole in backyard will be for you." LOL
I am very thankful I found this site with ALL of you wonderful people with all of your wonderful knowledge and helpful support. Thank you.

I am one of the "torn" Malt lovers, I advocate buying from reputable breeders but I also advocate saving those less fortunate, I bought Sampson from a "backyard" breeder years ago, he was the only survivor of 3 (i think it was), he has been completely healthy other than alergies and they have subsided since we moved from an apartment to a house, may have been what they treated the grass with

a "backyard" breeder has its ups and downs, some know what they are doing, some dont, when i bought Sampson I didnt know the difference, I didnt do alot of research, he was somewhat of an "impulse" buy, luckily the person i bought from was smarter than I and educated me on my initial visit, me and my son were there and all 3 of us "bonded"

I learned alot from the web before my next Malt and was determined my next would be bought with more thought and Sampson was, I gave way to traditional thoughts and went again with a "backyard" breeder, the same one I bought Sampson from, 3 years later Maggies was part of her next litter, this time, me, my son and my wife visited her and Maggie sprang from her crate, licking us, jumping on us, attacking our shoestrings, Maggie isnt a direct sister but a close realitive of Sampson and they get along great, both very healthy, both from the same "backyard" breeder and both a member of our family

I'm just saying, there is right and wrong and there is "gut", trust what is natural to you

I got Brinkley from...I would call her a "hobby breeder". She is not in the category of backyard breeders-her pups are raised underfoot. She takes wonderful care of her babies and knows a lot about the breed. But she doesn't show, nor do I THINK there are any champions in her bloodlines...(I don't know that I asked that, because I really didn't care.) I found her online through breeders.net. She had a website posted there. Her prices were within my budget. She was very patient with all my questions, answered all of my emails, sent me pictures, seemed very honest, yet down to earth. It was one of those "gut" things-it felt right, I liked her, and I went for it! She was also willing to keep him until we were able to pick him up after vacation. She drove to meet us so we wouldn't have to go so far out of our way in the opposite direction before heading back to Tennessee.

We still keep in touch by email to this day, we send pictures back and forth all the time. If I can work it out, I would love to get a female from her down the road sometime. Brinkley has been a WONDERFUL dog, and so far he has been very healthy. I am very pleased with my decision and would have done it again in a heartbeat!

We got Miko from a backyard breeder although we asked so few questions that its possible we were wrong about him. As I mentioned on other thread, he has 2 luxating patellas. I attributed this to the backyard breeder of course, but the vets we have seen (including the orthopedic surgeon) insist that this occurs from any breeder (including very reputable breeders) and is due to inbreeding which allows recessive traits to show up.

On another forum, there is a poster who obtained their dog from a very reputable breeder who definitely shows. This dog is 10 lbs at 1 yrs of age, has luxating patellas and what looks from picture not to be a great coat. I think this dog also has some dominance behavior issues and separation anxiety. This isn't at all to say that you shouldn't go to a show breeder but I just have trouble understanding how this can happen.

My new boy (not the one in the picture) came to me from Italy. His father had a nice career here in the US, then went to Europe to compete and get championships in a number of countries there. His maternal grandfather did the same thing. His mother has some of the top European lines in her dam's side, so I feel very fortunate to have so much to work with in him. The breeder I got him from has some of the top dogs. She has some of her dogs showing in Europe, Canada, and the US now. Some of my pup's other older brothers and sisters are showing in a number of countries. It has really been interesting getting to know these people. I must tell you though that the first international call didn't go through, and instead of dialing their international code, it went in as 911, and the police showed up here thinking I had an emergency. By the time they arrived, I was on the phone with the people whose daughter speaks English. Here I am trying to carry on a conversation which is being translated and deal with the police at the same time.