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How do you choose a breed of dog?

Where do you get a dog?

Do I/we adopt a rescued puppy or dog?

These are some of the questions anyone should answer after reflecting long and hard.

Deciding to get a dog can be a complex one. Ms. B feels that matching research about breed characteristics with an honest appraisal of what you and your family have to offer a prospective new canine member is critical to all involved’s future happiness. And make no mistake, a dog is a source of so much joy! If you are reading this post on Ms. B’sPet Care, you probably already know that. With this post, I’d like to share a few thoughts about my journey to becoming a pet parent and how our dog Beignet the Cavachon came to be with us.

Beignet making confident eye contact with me. She is two years old in this picture.

Having a four-footed family member has always felt right to us. My husband is a cat person, and together we have had a succession of beautiful felines. A few years back, I began lobbying for a dog, and in December 2012, I finally got the ‘go-ahead.’

Then began the serious research and, as I said before, some serious reflection. We live in a converted warehouse in a dense urban city- the Seaport neighborhood of Boston, to be exact. The floors and walls in the building are acoustically thin, so any dog coming into our home needs to be on the small side and not too vocal. I then began looking for a mixed breed dog because of the health mitigations a vast gene pool would give to any AKC breed. The internet was extremely helpful in helping with this, as you will see.

I eventually settled on a Cavachon. Cavachons are half Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and half Bichon and tend to weigh under 20 pounds. Both breeds are from the ‘Non-Working Group’ classification of dog breeds. They are people-oriented and reasonably quiet.

Beignet and I in 2017 at the start of Ms. B Pet Care.

To our great good luck, an outstanding breeder was just getting established not far from where I used to live in Central Massachusetts. I cannot say enough about Cavachons from the Monarchy. Melanie and her husband Terry are great folks and careful, conscientious breeders of beautiful Cavachons.  I cannot recommend them enough. Take a look at their extensive site to see what good breeders bring to you when taking home one of their puppies.

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