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How we got started...
We became captivated by the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed while searching for a puppy to help our family heal from the heartbreaking loss of three-year-old son, Matthew. Our adventure to find the perfect puppy was a lengthy rollercoaster filled with hope and excitement, many times met with disappointment and heartbreak. However, witnessing the incredible healing power this breed had for our grieving children made it all worthwhile. A passion was sparked in us to provide the ideal environment for raising these loving souls to help other families like our own. After bringing Missy home, we envisioned the kind of breeder these puppies deserved. Our backgrounds in training rescue dogs and my experience as a registered nurse in mental health have given us valuable insights into the importance of mental well-being for both people and their dogs. With a few additional tweaks to include family bonding and livestream access, coupled with the deafening quiet and overwhelming amount of spare time since Matthew's passing, Red Barn Cavaliers was born.
The first video below introduces Matthew and the handicapped puppy we raised & donated to a family in need of an ESA for their child. Additional videos help provide more context for our passion of raising Emotional Support Animals the right way, for the right reasons!
In 2021, my personal ESA, Daisy, delivered an otherwise healthy puppy who was afflicted with bilateral ectrodactyly (i.e., split-hand or lobster claw) in his front paws. We found him a home with one of the best medical providers. She specializes in neonates and advocated for Matthew at birth and provided medical care throughout his lifetime.
When a puppy passes away, depending on how old the litter is and how the puppy was doing, Mother sometimes has a very difficult time accepting that her puppy won't wake back up. In this video, we'd only previously dealt with this situation a handful of times, and we made some amateur mistakes that we wouldn't make today. Part of why we share these experiences is to show the less fluffy and cute side of raising puppies: that tragedies still need to be navigated.
Tour our home to see how we utilize pens to introduce puppies to new and bigger things. They're introduced to the pine pellets at about 8-12 days old when they're moved from the whelping pool to the puppy pen.
We give the entire series of their first vaccinations and place each puppy's microchip the morning before going home to their families. The microchips we use have only 1 fee, the initial activation fee of $19, and then it will work for life. There are no annual membership fees or any other financial obligation to keep your puppy protected with a microchip once the activation fee is paid.
Recognized & endorsed by Good Dog in February 2022 as using ethical breeding practices and promoting optimal health not just in our puppies, but our moms, dads, and retirees as well.
