You might be surprised, Taylor, how many of us have been affected positively by our furbabies, mentally and physically. They give us a reason to live; to get up in the morning. It has been proven that pets improve mental health and lengthen lives. I'm so glad that Callie is in your life.

I really agree with you here.

I hate that whole you get what you paid for thing. We spent $800 on Tucker. If I had to pay for the unconditional love, cute little quirks, and amazing personality of my completley opposite-of-standard yorkie, no money in the world could have bought him.

Tucker isn't standard by an stretch of the imagination (except that he has a silky coat). However, NO one can say that his breeder doesn't care about him or his health. We are still in contact with her - over 3 years later - and every time we talk she says "How's Tucker doing?" She loves him like crazy. Just because her yorkie litter isn't "perfect" by the standards that are written down on some piece of paper, that doesn't mean that she doesn't care about the dogs she bred. She cared enough to make sure that they would all be healthy, happy little boys and girls and continues to keep in contact with the owners of them to ensure that they remain healthy and happy.

AGREE 100%

Taylor, please don't ever let anyone make you feel that your Callie is inferior in any way. When we bought our Toto, yes, we could've paid many times over what we paid for her. We wanted more than anything to have a healthy baby .... one that wouldn't break my heart by leaving us too early. Yes, she is purebred, yes, she has an impressive pedigree and yes, her breeder is a very successful show breeder. None of those things have anything to do with the fact that my Patrick and I love her more than our own lives. We would do anything for her and would sacrifice anything that we own for her! She could have grown the size of a Saint Bernard and had floppy ears to the floor and we wouldn't care ... more to love! :p From the moment we held her, she has had us under her spell. She has gotten me through so many things these few years [almost 5] that she has been in our lives. When my Mother died in 2006 [on Toto's 3rd birthday] I couldn't have gone on had it not been for Toto. She held me together as she has all the crisis in our lives since she has been with us. It was her ... her little spirit ... her loving, funny little personality, that makes us get up every morning and brings so much joy to our day, every day!! It had nothing to do with her pedigree, her size, her cost, etc. It was that sweet little spoiled personality and we made that!! It had nothing to do with what we could provide for her or any advantage that she had ... it was simply the time, attention and love that we chose to invest in her. We made a committment to her and we are living up to that ever single day!! That's exactly what you are doing for your Callie! It costs absolutely nothing for us to love these fantastic little creatures and to give them all the time and attention that we possibly can ... that's what makes a quality Yorkie!! Sounds like your Callie fits that description to a tee!! :)

We have 12 Yorkies. I breed some of them but love them all. They have totally taken over our lives and we wouldn't have it any other way. I never would have gotten so many if I didn't truly love them. If you ever want a kissee bath, just come on over :D. As a breeder though, I have to be mindful of the breed standard, no matter my personal feelings. I really wish there was more than one category for Yorkies according to size, much like the Poodle. There have always been both large and small Yorkies since the beginning, also both flop and prick eared ones. To me, it's senseless to write a breed standard that excludes so many dogs. It's almost like wishing them out of existence. It's also one of the things that leads to bad breeding practices: breeding mis-matched dogs to try to conform to the standard. This contributes to the uncertainty of just what any given pup will turn out like. If there was a standard that included the larger Yorkies, there would be more people breeding better matched dogs instead of trying to 'bring them down in size'. Our dogs range from 3 to 13 pounds. We love them all and 'standard purists' don't know what they're missing out on by being dismissive of the bigger ones. They're all Yorkie, just as much as the smaller ones and NOTHING WILL EVER LOVE YOU LIKE A YORKIE!! When folks come over to see our pups, they always fall in love with Archie, and he's our biggest at 13 pounds but he is gorgeous and one of the most personable dogs you'll ever meet, no matter the breed. They ask,"oh, what breed is he?" and we say 'Yorkie". Then we have to show them some old pictures and drawings of the earliest Yorkies and explain that Archie is a throwback to that type of dog. They're always facinated by this because they all think a Yorkie is only the type you see on magazine covers and such. It's a shame that we can't breed him because of people's expectations of a Yorkie. People are really missing out on a wonderful dog by strict standards breeding them out of existence. The world will not be a better place when they are gone. To me, it's a sad state of affairs. :aimeeyork :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa :(

That was so interesting and well-worded. I would love to meet Archie! :)

:goodpost: :)

That (meeting Archie) will probably not happen due to distance. But Diane, I see you only have 2. You know, third time's the charm :D. Why not get a bigger baby to round out your family? :aimeeyork :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa :)

I agree with what you say as well as a lot of the other posts on this thread. Hot Rod is not a show quality dog, but I sure get a whole lot of "ooohhhs and aahhh's" when people see him. I totally am in love with him and I wouldn't change a thing about him (except when he plays finicky with his food). Our babies give us unconditional love and I feel that I should do the same for him besides, I don't fit into the Miss Universe and it doesn't matter to him! :D

LOL! We also have a 16 year old cat. I don't think the poor ol' girl can take one more. But one day.............................:)

:goodpost: I completely agree!

new baby boy
 

hi, not to long ago i had to make the hardest chose and had to put my 7 year old cocker spanial, Shasta down. ( cancer) worst day ever. My high school age kids are at school all day and i am home alone. ( live in japan cant work here) so as a wonderful surprise my husband brought home this little fire ball of joy. He is my first toy breed and am learning all about the breed. he is perfect!:) his name fits him Samurai ichi ( # 1 ).

i think as long as you have that in love feeling and know you will commit a life time to that dog go for it. anything you bring into your life as a part of your family should be loved and taken care of no matter what. there are times when you set out to do one thing and end up in a totally different direction and loving every min. of it:)

This is the second thread I have seen regarding yorkies and one's personal finance......I don't see the need for anyone to justify or explain their economic circumstances to anyone on the internet...whether it relates to supporting a dog or oneself.