Meet the Lady Behind the Dogs

Hi! If you're even remotely interested in reading about me first I want to say 'Thank you'. It means a lot when people want to take the time to sit down and read something that I've added to the site. I figured this would be a great way for potential puppy owners to get to know who is the one behind raising their puppies, so they can see who I am as much as they can before making a decision, because not everyone is for everyone, if that makes sense. So again, I appreciate your time and hope you enjoy this summed up version of my experience with dogs and why I do what I do.

When I started crawling, I knew then that I wanted to be a dog. My Mom and Grandma would feed me on the floor like a dog, and I felt right at home. One of my earliest memories is of watching "The Adventures of Milo & Otis" about a puppy and a kitten lost in the wilderness. I then became obsessed with Animal Planet in my Elementary school days. Watching "Emergency Vets" before school, checking out all different dog breed library books, coming home and watching "Animal Cops", "Breed All About It", "K9 to Five" (ninties kids are these names ringing bells? Maybe.. If you were as obsessed with dogs as I was). I had all different Dog Breed books, and I would read them over and over again, memorizing all the different breeds of dogs, their origins, their temperaments, what AKC group they were associated with.. I think you get the hint. 

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Enter the age of 12, the slow (or was it rapid?) ascend into adulthood where my skills for dogs was finally put to the test. See, throughout this entire time I never actually had a dog. My mom was a single mother and I was far too young to take on the responsibility of a dog, and she didn't have any extra funds for a dog and its care, so I always just admired them from a distance. When I was 12, my grandmother got diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, and my mom also became pregnant with a very high risk pregnancy. For some reason, I guess to perhaps shield me from all of the pain happening around me, my mom (and grandma) decided to get me a dog: A female black tri Australian Shepherd. I had read so much about them, and I felt like she would be a perfect fit for us. I remember we drove all the way to Spring Hill from St Pete (For a 12 year old, that's a very long time.. Especially when there's a puppy waiting for you at your destination). This is when I was finally able to start putting my training hat on and practice things like loose leash walking, clicker training, trick training, etc. I found out about a dog trainer on Youtube by the name of Zak George (he's very famous now) and I learned a lot from him about the basics of obedience training. Over that year, Piper and I grew an amazing bond, even though I was still so young and couldn't quite handle her high energy (she would always escape our backyard), I loved her more than anything in the world..

Then, my grandmother passed away. And as you can imagine, my mom was devastated. Shortly after this, we ended up packing up and moving for the first of many many times and unfortunately, Piper couldn't come with us. 

Ukiah, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Richmond, Virginia; Poughkeepsie, New York; All shaped and molded me all along my teenage years. Suddenly I was a well-traveled, experienced 18 year old and my mom told me I needed to get a job to start earning money. "Maybe you can try babysitting?" she suggested.. Me being 18 I said "I don't like children! They make me super uncomfortable.. But I guess I can try Pet Sitting." And from there, "Jeri's Pet Sitting! " was born.. My first dog-related business. I pet sat, and dog trained all around Upstate New York, and when we moved back down to Florida, I continued down here too. From 18-21 years old I got to meet amazing people and most importantly, amazing dogs.

At age 21 I became pregnant with my first son. At this time I started researching all sorts of healthy things I should be doing but also, of course, my mind wandered to dogs.. And I also started learning about healthier options for them too. This is when my online Dog Blog (or what I liked to call, Canine Enthusiast Blog) "K9SavvyGirl" was born. I wrote tons of blogs about the Prey Model Raw Food Diet for Dogs, tips on Training and How to Choose the Perfect Puppy out of a Litter. I was also able to get another dog named Hank, a pit-bull type mix breed who I was able to raise for the first 2 years of his life solely on a PMR diet. Hank passed away early 2023 but was the first dog I was able to have from a puppy all the way to the end. He will always hold that specal place in my heart. With the nutrition knowledge, I even was able to coach other dog owners on how to start their dogs on the PMR diet. It was a great learning experience where I got to share my dog obsession with like-minded people.. FINALLY!

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Fast forward to the current year 2023 . I now have 3 boys and a newborn daughter who will all share the love and devotion to animals that I have. "American Family Goldens". has been producing health tested, behavior tested and family raised Golden Retrievers since 2022 and we strive to create the best bloodline for average families across the USA. We strive for good looks, fantastic temperament and a strong basis in socialization & training.

So, there you have it. I will never say that I know everything there is to know about dogs, but I will say that I know a lot more than the average person, and that I take dog training and dog raising very seriously. I hope you will come to know me even more and that if you do decide to get one of our amazing puppies, that you will be able to tell the hard work and dedication that made them. Because they've been 31 years in the making.

 

Thank you, and God bless.