Let's see .... an arm, a leg, our firstborn, financial statement & a schedule of our lifestyle!!!
Just kidding about the firstborn! Our breeder is wonderful and I have come to appreciate her "pickiness"! We were working in Missouri at that time & she was located in Marietta, GA. Her vet, who directed us to her, lives about 45 min. from our home in AL. We met with Dr. Lucy a couple of times and I totally understand why one would drive all the way from Marietta, GA for her to care for their babies!! She is wonderful! She patiently answered all the questions and we have her on "speed dial" both at the office & at home and are encouraged to call her night or day with any problem/concern and believe me we have! We had a bzillion conversations with Ava before we actually had an opportunity to meet and that was a fluke. We have a very busy lifestyle and travel so much ... her first inclination was to turn us down flat! We happened to be home visiting in late October, 2003 and she happened to be bringing her clan to Dr. Lucy's for checkups, dentals, etc. BTW ... when she comes to the vet they proclaim it "Ava Day" and the office is closed. So ... we were invited to "Ava Day" and the rest is history!! Toto was 16 weeks at that time [although she did want to keep her for about 8 more weeks!!] and since we had "forced" a check on her for "pick of the litter" [which she never cashed!] .... she went back & brought out the first little darlin' and it was just an instant thing. We looked at Toto and that sweet little face with the sparkling, intelligent, black button eyes, and that tiny sliver of a tongue and she was silently stealing our hearts! We didn't even want to
see the others! We "negotiated" [my husband's profession] ... we signed contracts [in blood], we promised, we pleaded, etc., and finally, finally we took the first step of the most incredible journey of our lives and brought the tiny little bundle of energy home!
We, of course, stay in touch with Ava and feel so confident that we can and do stay in touch with her ... she is always happy to answer any of our questions and she wants to hear about her precious baby for her entire life!
BTW .... I hope every single one of you can truthfully make this statement .... "we have
more than lived up to our end of this contract and have kept every single verbal promise that we made"!! I know that everyone expects a breeder that lives up to his/her end of the deal but he/she should be confident that we will live up to ours!