In September 2007, we were
blessed with the most wonderful
gift from our children.
In the summer we put our 10 year
old Shih Tzu down, and were so
heartsick that we decided to not
have another pet for awhile.
While we were on vacation, our
kids searched for a Chinese
Imperial Breeder and found you.
You really worked with them to
have our baby delivered before
we returned from our vacation.
She was such a beautiful
surprise; all I could do was cry
happy tears when I saw her. We
named our precious princess,
“Hokulani” (Hawaiian for
heavenly star). She brings so
much joy to us every day. Hoku
is the love of our lives. It’s
wonderful to see how attached
Hoku and my husband are. She
shows so much affection to
everyone that she knows. My
husband says that one important
thing that she has taught him is
patience. How great is that huh?
There is so much I want to say
about her, but it would take
days…hahaha~
Although we have not
formally met, I feel like I’ve
know you forever. Thanks for
always answering my questions
and being a fun e-mail buddy! I
know you’ll be a friend for a
long time. Although my hubby
doesn’t know it yet, I know I am
getting another baby from you
sometime in the future. Thank
you Linda I will continue to
keep you posted on our little
one.
Aloha and Hug,
Jane
March 18, 2008
Dear Linda,
I am so impressed with your
generous spirit and grateful
that you were willing and able
to go out of your way recently
to help a 4-year-old autistic
girl by donating one of your
puppies. Anyone who knows
anything about autism will tell
you that they do not deal well
with change. Several months ago
this little girl's therapy shih
tzu was stolen out of her yard.
Her mother told her the dog was
"on vacation" and would
eventually return. Who knew that
you would be the angel that
could make that happen!
The story is an interesting
twist of fate. Several weeks ago
I was driving on a very busy
street and saw a woman following
a dog that was limping and she
was trying to get it off the
street so it wouldn't be killed.
I pulled over to help thinking
it was her dog. It wasn't. The
woman was just a good samaritan
trying to rescue a dog. Once we
got the dog, we realized it had
been hit and was hurt. Turns out
(after a trip to the vet) the
dog had alread been hit and had
a broken femur. This woman could
have ignored the dog as many
other drivers did and gone about
her business and her busy day,
instead, she chose to rescue a
furry little soul. I was
impressed that she would go out
of her way to do this. So often
we become consumed with our own
problems and trials that we
can't look outside ourselves and
give where we can. That was the
first miracle of my day. As the
woman and I talked about why it
was important to us to save the
dog from an untimely death, she
told me about her autistic
daughter and the loss of her
dog. The idea came to me to
contact you and see if we could
do something to help this woman
and her daughter. I got the
woman's phone number and told
her I would contact her about
our furry troubled rescue dog to
find out the status.
Immediately, I came home and
contacted you and explained the
situation. That was the second
miracle of the day. You
generously offered to donate one
of your puppies to this little
girl and had a puppy in mind.
After emailing me a picture of
the dog I contacted the woman
and made the offer. "How would
you feel about getting another
shih tzu for your daughter?" She
was polite and kind and said,
"Thank you, I will eventually
but right now I can't afford to
buy one so her dog is going to
remain 'on vacation' until I can
afford it." I then said to her,
"What if it didn't cost you
anything?" She was stunned. I
told her about your generous
offer and she burst into tears!
After arrangements could be
made, you were kind enough to
send photos of the dog to my
new 4-year-old little friend.
She bonded immediately with the
photo. Then she got the shih tzu
and the bond was finalized. I've
never seen such a little girl so
happy!
Linda, I cannot express in words
how kind you are. You made the
difference in a little girl's
life. As a follow up, the mother
was able to arrange for your
puppy to be trained as a therapy
dog and will be able to
accompany her daughter to school
and everywhere else she wants to
go. Thank you for participating
and facilitating this miracle.
Best,
Kammy Yorgason
April 15, 2008
To Whom It May
Concern
I have always
had indoor cats and never owned
a dog. My pure black Himalayan
cat, Pookie, passed away from
kidney failure on January 30,
2007, at the age of 16. He
weighed 12 lbs., was the most
exceptional cat in the world and
was so gentle & loving that
everyone that met him, wanted a
“Pookie.” I work out of my home
in Los Angeles, and every day,
he would lay on my lap as I sat
at the computer for hours. He
was my friend and my constant
companion. I was so grief
stricken when he died and I
couldn't imagine ever getting
another cat and never even
considered a dog.
About three
months after Pookie went over
the Rainbow Bridge, I went into
a store and a woman came in
carrying a bag with a pure black
four month old shihtzu hanging
out of it. He had such sweet
eyes and looked so much like
Pookie that I started to cry.
She had bought him at a very
exclusive pet store near my
house. When I called them, the
owner told me she would try to
get me a black shihtzu from one
of their breeders. I thought
this would take months, but she
called in a few weeks and said
she found one and e-mailed me
his photo.
At
that point, I started
researching the net for
information on shihtzus and
breeders. I learned that full
grown Imperial and/or Toy
shihtzus are small (7-9 lbs.)
and that standard shihtzus can
weigh up to 13, or even 15 lbs.
I e-mailed and called countless
breeders throughout the country
and found that many told me what
they thought I wanted to hear,
even though this wasn't
necessarily true. I was also
given erroneous information
about some catteries, which were
turning dogs out like puppy
mills. Some told me that their
shihtzus would stay small, had
specific genetic tendencies,
etc., but when I called
references, clients, and other
breeders, I got conflicting
information.
Discovering
Linda Duncan was a gift from
God! After calling lots of
people and leaving messages and
sending e-mails, I was referred
to Linda by three to four
entirely different sources. I
saw some very cute shihtzus on
her website, but not a black
one. When I called her and
explained that I was looking for
a black shihtzu, she told me she
did have a 1-1/2 year old, solid
black female who had given birth
to two boys a few months before,
but that she wasn't actively
trying to sell her. She
e-mailed me some pictures of her
and I fell in love. Linda told
me that Smoochie was a really
sweet and loving
- 2 -
dog, but that she
was not a community animal and
would be much happier in a home
where she was the only dog and
would receive lots of attention
- this match was made in
heaven! Linda said that she
loved her so much that she
really didn't want to let her
go, but that she knew it would
be better for Smoochie to be
with the perfect family. After
talking for over two hours and
getting to know one another,
Linda agreed to let me fly to
Las Vegas the next day to pick
her up.
She took her
to the groomer for a bath in the
morning, bought a crate at Petco
so I could transport her with me
on the plane and met me at the
airport with the cutest dog I
have ever seen in my life.
Having never had one, I knew
nothing about dogs, and for the
first few weeks, I called Linda
at least once a day, usually
several times, with a myriad of
questions. She gave me so much
information and assistance and
was always available to help
out, whether I had questions
relating to diet (raw food vs.
standard), toys, crating,
training, doggie door, wee wee
pads, treats, bathing techniques
(she taught me on the phone how
to bathe Smoochie, which I do
each week), grooming products,
leash training, commands, etc.,
etc. She was always very
patient with me, listened to
what I said very carefully, and
offered kind encouragement
whenever it was needed.
My husband and I
had plans to go to Mexico last
December for two weeks. I
expressed my concern to Linda
about leaving Smoochie at home,
as I wasn't sure if my daughter
was going to be in town to take
care of her and I was going to
have to find a 'stranger'
(someone Smoochie didn't know)
to stay at our house to care for
her. Linda was incredible!!
She not only offered to have
Smoochie stay with her in Las
Vegas for the two weeks, but
also thought she could arrange
for her ex-husband to pick
Smoochie up in L.A. and drive
her to Vegas, so that I wouldn't
have to fly her roundtrip.
Luckily, my daughter stayed in
town and was with her during
this period.
Smoochie is the
'dog' version of Pookie and has
been a wonderful addition to our
family. She is the absolute
sweetest dog in the world and
follows me everywhere, all day
long, which makes my heart
really smile. She loves my
husband and our three grown
children, their mates, and our
two grandsons. Whenever they
are around, Smoochie
automatically (& immediately)
rolls over on her back for a
tummy rub (her favorite
activity, except for sleeping).
She also loves playing “pig
ear.” I throw the ear in our
backyard, and she runs and
fetches it.
- 3 -
Everybody that
meets Smoochie is astounded at
how sweet and loving she is and
how much she resembles Pookie.
She lays in the exact position,
on the exact same throw rug in
the kitchen that he always laid
on, and she jumps up onto the
back of one of the large
pillows on our sofa and lays
there for hours, just like
Pookie did.
Incidentally,
I've kept in touch with the gal
who had the black shihtzu that I
first saw, and at the age of 6
months, he was already bigger
than Smoochie was at two years.
I also, subsequently found out
that the dog the pet shop owner
was going to get me was not a
“Toy” shihtzu and would have
been as big as “Buster.”
I have
recommended Linda as a Breeder
every time I hear of anyone who
wants to buy a shihtzu, and if I
was ever to buy another dog, I
would definitely buy one from
her. She has had so much
experience and truly loves and
understands each of her
puppies. She takes such good
care of them and you would be
very lucky to take one of her
dogs home. She has made our
world a much happier place!
If you have any
questions or would like more
information about my experience
with Linda, please call me at
(310) 271-4377.
Very truly
yours,
Patti Green
