My wife and I live with our dogs near Ely in Cambridgeshire, UK. We both grew up in families with dogs, so it seemed inevitable that when we had families of our own, we would also have dogs. Of course, neither of us expected to have quite so many!
Chihuahuas and Pomeranians are a more recent addition to our lives, but I've kept (and been kept by) Shar-Pei since 1987. Back then they were very hard to find, and there was almost no choice of colour. I first learned of the breed a few years earlier, from an article in The Times newspaper. On first seeing the photos of a wrinkly fawn puppy, I couldn't believe it was real, but on reading the article I understood it was, but very rare and reportedly hugely expensive. Nevertheless, I'd fallen in love with them and hoped I'd be able to buy one. I managed to track one down, and now, having owned many Shar-Pei over the years, I can say I'm truly addicted to the breed! Coincidentally my wife's parents also used to own a Shar-Pei, so she was no stranger to the breed when we met.
All our dogs live together with us in our family home, from our smallest Chihuahua weighing in just over 1kg to our largest Shar-Pei, and thankfully we all get along. We love them to bits, and we probably spoil them a bit more than we should. We don't show them even though we have always chosen top-quality dogs with show potential. Every now and then we breed them, and the puppies reflect the quality of our dogs and always have excellent temperaments. We now have an Animal Welfare Licence (Dog Breeding) to demonstrate that we do the utmost for the welfare and well-being of our dogs and puppies.
I don't pretend to be an authority on Shar-Pei, Chihuahuas or Pomeranians, but I have considerable knowledge of, and experience with, these breeds, from keeping and raising them to breeding them and problems they can be prone to. We take the responsibility (and privilege) of keeping dogs very seriously, and do everything to ensure the good health and top quality of our dogs.
We simply can't imagine our lives without them!