| Linda Linda, my first pet was a mixed Papillon-Chihuahua. She was an unwanted puppy, and came to live with me in 1992. She became my velcro in a matter of days and was a real blessing in all the years I had her by my side. We lost Linda at the tender age of 10. Since I knew nothing about Papillons, or where the store puppies are coming from, we went to a pet store looking for a Chihuahua that would resemble Linda as close as possible (big mistake). Ironically, in a cage they had two larger Chihuahua; a male and a female. The boy had Linda's same markings. Even though I was set on bringing home a female, I couldn't resist asking if I could hold him. Once in my arms, he grabbed my left arm and just wouldn't let go of me. The store owner explained to us that both Chihuahuas were just about to be shipped back to their breeder in Mexico, because they reached 6 months old and didn't sell. It didn't make sense to me why would returning to the breeder would cause a pup to act so desperate, until later on when I learned where the pet store puppies are coming from. The look in the eyes of the female we left behind is haunting me to this day. Yes, the boy -Linden, kept holding tight to my arm even at home. He never reached Linda's intelligence, nor her special way of being but he was cute in his own way. Linden Later on, we decided that it would be fit to bring Linden a play mate. This time we made plans to visit the local shelters. When we approached the quarantine area of the Humane Society, there was in a cage, a skin and bones, mix Chihuahua, shaking and vomiting saliva. When I called her she turned and looked me in the eyes. I just knew. I exclaimed: "This is her!" Nina was brought at the shelter infected with Parvo in the last stage, and was scheduled to be put down later that day. She was also abused by her previous owner, having the tongue clipped in three areas, and the tip of her ears missing. They agreed to let us adopt her after signing that we will be rushing her directly to the vet. Nina Nina's chances were 50%. If she would survive the night under intensive care, her chances would increase. She came home three days later. I will never forget the excitement when she took the first bite of food! At first she was afraid of men and to approach any bathroom. That made it easier to guess that she has been kept in a bathroom and that her previous owner was a male. Nina turned into a little princess in no time. We loved them both dearly but neither her, nor Linden could fill the void Linda left behind. I have the habit of giving our pups a last look right before stepping out of the house, telling them that I love them, and that I'll be back real soon. One afternoon I was doing the same thing and for some reason (that I understood a few hours later), Linden was unusually affectionate. The memory took me back to the day he grabbed my arm in the pet store but it didn't occur to me to pay more thought to it all. When I returned, about two hours later, both him and Nina were missing from the house. They got stolen. We placed fliers everywhere and visited the local shelters but we never found them. When any hope to find them was lost, back to the pet store we went. I was drawn to a mixed Papillon-Chihuahua male, but again, I was set on bringing home a little girl. I purposed in my heart to take the time and search for something real special. After several visits to the local pet stores - in order to learn as much as possible about personalities - we decided that Spirit, the mix Papillon-Chihuaua male was to be our new family member. Within two weeks Spirit changed our life! Not only that he filled the void our other pups left behind; he was so much more! He had qualities I would have never imagined to wish for. He was my constant companion; riding the car on my shoulders with his head under my chin, sleeping peacefully in my purse even in the movie theater and was perfectly behaved everywhere we went. Spirit My joy however was short lived. Less than two years later while walking in a park he was ran over by a car at my very feet! The driver was driving real slowly, but was probably looking for something in the car. He kept coming towards us until he pushed us into the bushes. Spirit panicked, looked at me for one last time and in an attempt to escape the leash he managed to stick his head right under the front tire which instantly crushed him. That was the end of my journey with my sweetest pet ever. Two weeks before the accident, we also adopted a female Chihuahua, Lilu. She was rescued from a trailer home, where she lived with other 23 Chihuahuas, breeding at random, and living in their own waste. Lilu When we returned from the park, with Spirit crushed in my arms, Lilu was so excited and happily ran all over the house. Deep down I always held that against her. Our personalities also never really matched. About a year later she moved to live with my parents in-law. Although she tried to find her way in my heart, I could never get myself to attach to her. Even today when we visit she velcros to my lap. Deep down I think she will always be grateful that I rescued her and she suffered because she couldn't take Spirit's place. One day, while Lilu was still living with us, since my two very special pets, Linda and Spirit were both mix Papillon - Chihuahuas, and because my experience with Chihuahuas was not the same, I started wondering how a pure breed Papillons look like and how are their personalities. When the first Papillon picture came on the computer screen I was instantly taken by their beauty, but what surprised me most, was the intelligent and somehow familiar look in their eyes. The more I read about them, the more I realized that the traits I loved at both Linda and Spirit, were from the Papillon side, and not from the Chihuahua's. I was so wrong all these years! As I now write, I wish that somebody would have also opened my eyes at that time and teach me that not all Papillons mature beautifully like in the pictures. I wish I would have also known where the puppies sold in the pet stores are coming from. Another sad story is about to come. I was now searching online for my special Papillon boy. When you type Papillons for sale or similar, most websites that appear first are places like Puppyfind, Petsland..... If you are not aware about Puppy Mills or Puppy Farms, you think that is so great to have that many puppies to choose from! The more puppies, the more chances to find your perfect match! We purchased a boy from Petsland in California. His eyes reminded me of Spirit. We named him Sunny hoping that he will be a sunshine in our lives. Sunny Two weeks later, I woke up as usual to take him out potty but our boy was having a seizure! I had a panic attack as I've never witnessed a seizure before, which, at the emergency room proved to be an advantage. Sunny's seizures occurred every two weeks and each lasted about 7-8 hours which is not a normal pattern. Seizures usually last less or about a minute. Would I have known that when he had his first episode, I would have had a much worse reaction. Sunny has been seen by five doctors. All the tests came back normal except a lower T4 which still did not explain his 7-8 hours long seizures. At the age of 6 months, his last doctor placed him under the anesthesia for a spine X-ray which could have pointed to the Wobbler's Syndrome. As it turned out, his spine was fine but the second day after the anesthesia, he started a seizure and this time he no longer snapped out of it for two days. A few days later he had another very long episode. His condition worsened unexpectedly and everybody around us gave up on him. We've been suggested over and over to do the "right" thing. My husband was the only person who kept saying "Why is everybody burring this boy alive?" Sunny would sleep in my arms, and during his episodes I would hold his head under my chin, with his nose pointing to my hand so I could feel if he is still breathing. When I think of those nights, the first things that come to mind are tears and endless prayers. After his spine x-rays we've been on our own. We could have either increased his drugs, to which he never responded anyway, or discontinue them and try natural remedies, which is exactly what we did. I started searching neurological conditions in animals and humans; studies about supplements that helped, and so on. The journey to success has been an emotional roller coaster and very time consuming but today Sunny is living a normal life with our parents, seizures free. We've been asked several times; out of all things what do we think helped him most? The answer is simple; it was God's guidance and Him answering our prayers. Going back, when Sunny's condition worsened, my husband suggested that we should start looking for another puppy, to be easier on me in case we will loose Sunny. Having the information on papers, we decided to contact Spirit's breeder directly, inquiring for a puppy if possible from the same combination. The breeder was no longer planning to do the mix but she was just having a litter ready to leave to the same pet store, sired by the same father. I committed to buy one of the boys, a pure breed Papillon. We named him Sp-J (Spirit Junior). Sp-J at 2 Months Old Sp-J is now 4 years old and lives with us as neutered pet. Sp-J's ears had a hard time standing up naturally and we had to tape them several times, until he reached 11 months old. The taping done in the third photo was done by our vet, but we only kept the wrap on for three days and would never use this method again. Sp-J is far from being show quality, but he is a very special boy. For some reason he was more taken to my husband and is now his favorite and constant companion. In 2005, Sunny and Lilu moved to live with our parents. Papillons are one of the few breeds that can live in large packs without an alpha leader but because of his condition, Sunny was always allowed to have everything his way. He was also much larger than Sp-J and would not part the attention or toys with him. I wasn't willing to take the chance and limit his boundaries because of his neurological condition but a few months after he stopped having any seizures, we decided to separate the two. Since Sp-J is Spirit's half brother, I decided to part with Sunny and Lilu. Sunny, Lilu & their new Mom Being raised with two pups around, the transition proved to be very difficult for Sp-J. He is an innocent boy with the sweetest, unselfish heart! It was heartbreaking to see him sad and looking for his friends all over the house and yard. About a week later we entertained the idea of bringing him a play mate. Drained by all of our previous experiences, I decided that I will do whatever it takes to only bring home a healthy and beautiful Papillon, just like in pictures. I started browsing websites after websites, this time studying show quality Papillons. I started learning about conformation and genetic aspects and to pay attention to the pedigrees. When I came over Golden Leaf's website, I was totally taken by the consistency in quality of their beautiful Papillons. Lena Hellborg was the first breeder I emailed but as I learned, the offspring she expected to be born, was already promised. One evening I came over Vangelis website. They had a beautiful puppy boy, that stole my heart the moment I saw him. As I found out, he was promised to a show home in Norway. After exchanging a few emails with Sanna Nylback, the owner of VanGelis kennel, we started developing a close friendship. She then convinced the breeder in Norway to let me have the boy, Haremet's Revenue (Chester). Sanna and Lena Hellborg have not only been a friend but also my best tutors. They taught me how to evaluate a Papillon, and opened my eyes about genetic issues. I became fascinated by how careful responsible breeding is being done, having all details in view when deciding for any combination. Always aiming to improve the breed and striving to breed the perfect Papillon. Later, I was also able to import our first show girl (Neola), from Bitte Solvberg with Zkarabis kennel. In the winter of 2006 we had our first litter of puppies! Neola proved to be an excellent mom, making our first breeding experience very pleasant. Out of the three puppies we kept home a boy and the girl; Juno and Jasmine. In February of 2007, Lena Hellborg finally agreed to let me have her Swedish champion and Best in Show placer, Golden Leafs Vision. In February of 2008 we had our second litter, this time sired by Vision. One of the girls, Abigail, is living with us. For more information and pictures of our Papillons, you are welcome to visit our other pages. We hope you will enjoy your visit and have a pleasant time browsing through our website.. |
| I decided to write this page after being asked every so often for the past years some of the same questions........But mainly to let people know that my life is not different than any other. |