About Us
Marigold Mini Doodles is the newest part of Marigold Mini Farm. I have always had a great passion for dogs, and have been heavily involved in rescue and shelter organizations since I was a young child... a passion that I shared with my mother. It was rare for us to only have personal pets in our home, we usually had "foster dogs" waiting for a new family to adopt them as well. Due to this background, I thoroughly understand the overabundance of stray dogs here in the United States... and calling myself a breeder has taken some time to get used to! Many of my rescue friends were horrified when I brought in my first breeding dog from out of state- not technically even a purebred, but a "designer dog," and they ask WHY would I do such a thing?!
As much as I praise the adoption of stray and abandoned pets, I have seen the good and the bad of adopting rescue animals. Families with good intentions often adopt a stray puppy without knowing its full size, and it is difficult to predict a stray puppy's future temperament without ever meeting the parents. Along with this, pups rescued from backyard breeders and puppy mills, will often have a myriad of emotional issues, physical abnormalities, and/or genetic problems that can shorten the lifespan of the dog causing major heartbreak for unknowing adopters. I experienced this personally when I rescued a miniature poodle, my first dog after leaving home. "Alfie" was 3 years old, and in decent health. He was from a backyard breeding situation, his "breeder" advertised that she had bred poodles at home for 15 years. He had a severe underbite, was "parti" colored, and his front feet pointed outwards. He was unusually long for a poodle and I always wondered if he had dachshund somewhere in his lines. Alfie had severe seperation anxiety, and though I had worked with many rescued dogs to overcomethis problem, Alfie could never be fully cured. He refused to eat healthy and balanced dog food (wet or dry) because he had been fed human scraps his whole life. At the age of 5, my sweet boy developed a genetic spinal problem common in dachshunds which is the equivalent of a slipped disk, and often had to spend weeks in his crate on pain medication to recover from attacks. Luckily his disease was a mild, in normal and more severe cases the paralysis was permanent while his would only last for a few days.
Alfie was a rescue, he was an adult when I got him so I knew more what to expect, but I spent more on Alfie's care than I would have spent if I had bought a poodle from a health-testing, certified breeder. Due to his separation anxiety, I realized that leaving him, even for a couple hours at a time, was not possible because the panic would cause his spine to flare up. I found him a great home with a retired couple where he could spend his days relaxing (to reduce the chance of his spinal disks flaring up) and where he would never be left alone. They fully realized his condition, and should he every get more severe, I have offered to take him back or help fund his care. After this traumatizing experience where my personal rescue was plagued with major problems, I selfishly realized that rescued pets are not for everybody, and I began to make decisions on what breed of dog I wanted to look into buying from a health-tested, truly excellent breeder.
As much as I praise the adoption of stray and abandoned pets, I have seen the good and the bad of adopting rescue animals. Families with good intentions often adopt a stray puppy without knowing its full size, and it is difficult to predict a stray puppy's future temperament without ever meeting the parents. Along with this, pups rescued from backyard breeders and puppy mills, will often have a myriad of emotional issues, physical abnormalities, and/or genetic problems that can shorten the lifespan of the dog causing major heartbreak for unknowing adopters. I experienced this personally when I rescued a miniature poodle, my first dog after leaving home. "Alfie" was 3 years old, and in decent health. He was from a backyard breeding situation, his "breeder" advertised that she had bred poodles at home for 15 years. He had a severe underbite, was "parti" colored, and his front feet pointed outwards. He was unusually long for a poodle and I always wondered if he had dachshund somewhere in his lines. Alfie had severe seperation anxiety, and though I had worked with many rescued dogs to overcomethis problem, Alfie could never be fully cured. He refused to eat healthy and balanced dog food (wet or dry) because he had been fed human scraps his whole life. At the age of 5, my sweet boy developed a genetic spinal problem common in dachshunds which is the equivalent of a slipped disk, and often had to spend weeks in his crate on pain medication to recover from attacks. Luckily his disease was a mild, in normal and more severe cases the paralysis was permanent while his would only last for a few days.
Alfie was a rescue, he was an adult when I got him so I knew more what to expect, but I spent more on Alfie's care than I would have spent if I had bought a poodle from a health-testing, certified breeder. Due to his separation anxiety, I realized that leaving him, even for a couple hours at a time, was not possible because the panic would cause his spine to flare up. I found him a great home with a retired couple where he could spend his days relaxing (to reduce the chance of his spinal disks flaring up) and where he would never be left alone. They fully realized his condition, and should he every get more severe, I have offered to take him back or help fund his care. After this traumatizing experience where my personal rescue was plagued with major problems, I selfishly realized that rescued pets are not for everybody, and I began to make decisions on what breed of dog I wanted to look into buying from a health-tested, truly excellent breeder.