Happy Birthday, Kitto!

We have the cutest Black/White male puppy…

Jim and Marilyn Butler of Helderberg Huskies wrote to us this Saturday, and we quickly wrote back.  A puppy was born on February 28, 2016, five and a half weeks old in this picture.  If we were ready, if we would be a best match for each other, we could take him home in three weeks.

“Aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww!”  Love at first sight is wonderful silly in print.

We are marking the days until April 30, the day Kitto comes home to stay with us forever.  The next 20 days are going to go by SO FAST.

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The whole family prepared.  We’ve read dog books, wandered through the toy sections of our local pet stores, talked with friends, asked questions about vets and pet insurance and the differences between gender personalities in dogs, and everything else we can think of.

If your family is looking for a dog, we encourage you to enjoy your time on the waitlist.  Dream about your dog, and the things you will do together.  Measure your commitment to the breed, gender, quirks, and health issues your pet may have.  Find a good vet, and get serious about pet insurance.  Be sure in your heart that your decision to bring a pet home is right for everyone (especially your pet).  Count costs.  Save up.

We learned about Alaskan Klee Kai for a couple of months before asking Helderberg Huskies if they would be our breeder.  Jim and Marilyn Butler had been involved in breeding and showing Alaskan Klee Kai since 1996, and Siberian Huskies before that.  Add on top, years of dedication to the Alaskan Klee Kai Association of America from its beginnings.  Read more at their historical website.  It’s fun and a little intimidating to newbies, but it was exactly what we were looking for.

We find Jim and Marilyn delightful and easy to work with.  They’re regular people who love their dogs, and they enjoy sharing.  My wife and I are thinking about becoming AKK breeders some day, or at least training dogs in retirement.  We appreciate the chance to befriend the Butlers, and to learn from them.  Find a breeder you will enjoy working with for years to come.

A final waitlist tip: Broaden your puppy preferences as wide as possible.  It’s OK to set your heart on one gender, specific eyes or coat colors, or on size (Standard, Miniature, Toy), but you’ve got to wait until nature and chance bring out all those traits you want at once.  Alaskan Klee Kai have small litters of one to three pups.  You might wait a long time.

We set our preferences broadly on “healthy, happy purebred puppy”.

Kitto is a black and white male with bi eyes (one blue, one brown), on the small end of the scale.  He’ll be a toy or maybe a small miniature as an adult, with a great big heart.

We were sold at

We have the cutest…

… and our time on the waitlist was over.

Happy Birthday, Kitto Katsu!