A couple of months ago we were contacted by a kennel in Colorado who had seen Tucker on line and wanted him to sire their next litter of pups! After some conversation and swapping of tests and clearances, we agreed to collect and send semen via Fed Ex to Colorado for the insemination. Then came the long wait. 30+ days at least to know if she is pregnant. And she is! Pups due on the 20th of July. We don't know how many, but we are so happy that it was all a success! Way to go Tucker! Stay tuned for adorable puppy pics to come!
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Just a quick note - We will not be having the Art Show at the Rancho fundraiser this year. Although it is a super fun event, I needed to take some time off after a very busy 2022 and the last litter of 10 in 2023. I am hoping to reinstate it next year because it is such a fun event and such a great way to get local art noticed while fundraising for B.E.S.T.! 

 As a result of all the support, in 2022 and 2023 we have placed TWELVE puppies in service dog training! Veterans with PTSD, autism and other physical and mental challenges, a hearing dog and a gluten detection dog! With the last litter of 10, 7 were selected for service and 5 of those were flown out of state! We are national!

We are very proud of our breeding program and we are beginning to be noticed as the BEST place to get a potential service dog!

Again, we are so thankful for your support and look forward to 2024!!
In gratitude,
jan


Check out our wish list at Amazon.com!
https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/1LPDJU209F4MZ/ref=smi_ext_lnk_lcl_cl

All the placed puppies from our last litter seem to be settling in and learning new things! Word of our wonderful puppies and our mission to create independence through canine partnerships is spreading! 
We have reached the 5 years+ in this non-profit and we are still here! Even through covid. Here doing what we love. 

We have no plans for puppies for the rest of the year. Then, as things always go not according to plan, we may have a litter coming in June as Tucker is VERY good at opening doors, I found out!
One way or the other, we are ok with that. We have gotten many requests in the last few months for puppies and we have to turn people away.

On another note, our puppy Vincent Van Go, "Vinnie" is doing GREAT with his trainer at the VFW owner-trained service dog program for wounded veterans. I train every Saturday at the VFW post with Vinnie and Beau, a Border Collie. We are hoping to get a few more clients in the program: it's a great service for our vets, personal training for almost no cost to the veteran. So if you know of a veteran who served active duty that may benefit from a service dog (that they are willing to train). let us know at [email protected].

Thank you all for your continued support of our service dog organization. We are so grateful for you!
jan

Here is a pedigree of the puppies if you are interested in seeing these.

As you can imagine, taking care of 10 little ones is pretty time consuming! Mama Raven keeps it all going, round the clock, taking care of them, keeping them clean and the box clean as well. I am just the laundry maid! UNTIL it is time for solid food! Pups are now on puppy mash 4x a day along with nursing, so the pen is quiet the mess most of the time! Laundry maid is on it!  In about a week, the pen will change to expand their little worlds. No more towel bedding, separate sleep, play, poo areas. At 5 1/2 weeks I introduce them to the outside world playground! We will be setting that up for them as well as making sure they have a clean sanitized world to be safe in! 
They now have teeth and are trying them out on everything, especially siblings! So occasionally I hear a squeal, knowing that someone got it! 
I contracted covid last week, and things have been a lot harder to keep up with, but family and friends have really helped a lot.  Thanks for following along!

Raven Heart's puppies arrived Wednesday, January 18, 2023 a few days early. We were nervous that the pups might come and not be ready to be whelped. We ran to the vet to make sure that her bloodwork showed that yes, indeed, she was ready. We had a c-section that day and all 10 puppies survived! We are so happy. Five black, five yellow. 6 girls and 4 boys, split equally between colors. 
We have a waiting list started for service dog prospects and pet parents as well.  I don't think we are going to have any trouble placing these beauties. As I stated before their sire is GCH Intl/CH Spirithawks Pacino's Fame and their dam is Caercreek's Raven Heart at Casa de Oro. That is our kennel name, Casa de Oro. 
I want to document their growth as we go through the process of tiny blind and deaf puppies to service dog prospect! Follow along on Facebook @bestservicedogs.
Raven is an excellent mom, taking perfect care of all those little lives. Good Girl Raven Heart!

We just found out our Raven Heart is expecting a litter in January! Raven's previous litters have had tremendous success in getting appropriate puppies into service dog training! This will be her last hurrah however, because we don 't believe in having too many litters per girl. 3 litters max or until they are five years old, whichever comes first. Raven is just 4 years old and in great shape. She is SUCH a love. What a great purchase we made those 4 years ago. 
The sire of this litter is GCH Intl Ch Spirithawk's Pacino's Fame SF "Chino". He is a grand champion that is big and beautiful with a calm and sweet demeanor. We are excited to see how these pups do. 
We strive to get as many pups into service as possible. We have several service dog organizations we will be contacting first to see if they need pups, then we go to owner trained service dogs ( with a trainer in place) and if we have any pups after that, then they go into pet homes.  Our pet owners are over the moon with our puppies, so you see, we already have wait lists before they are even born!  
We will update in the new year. Happy New Year to all! 

We continue to train "owner trained" service dogs with a local VFW program that supports our combat veterans by helping them train their own service dog. We allow them to test an existing pet to train. If they pass our tests, they would be eligible to train for the program at very little cost to them. 
However, that said, service dogs are born, not made in my opinion. That is why we work so hard at providing health tested, OFA certified puppies to send to training. 

Some of the reasons a dog might not be appropriate for service dog training:
Aggression.
Too ball/squirrel focused.
Not socialized to other dogs and people. May be fearful.
No health clearances (while this might not be a stumbling block, they must be aware that if the dog is in service and has a health issue, all that training will be lost). They would need to start over with a new dog.
Fear.
Lack of interest in doing the job.

So you see, there are a lot of reasons that not just any dog can be a service dog. But we are willing to try! Some do succeed! But owner/trainers need to be committed to the year to year and a half it takes to train a dog to have public access and be a good service dog!
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All dogs can be emotional support and if that is what they need, that is ok too.
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