~Some of our past puppies in happy homes~
Dear Gretchen & Family,
Our precious little Fubbs is now a handsome fourteen-pound lad who is quickly growing into his adult coat and out of his puppy teeth! He’s a delightful, happy little companion which we sincerely believe is the result of his being raised in a warm and loving family environment.
How many puppies are sung to sleep in a warm lap to “Twinkle, twinkle, little star . . .” when they are being weaned? That video is priceless.
We want to thank you once more for your loving dedication to all the puppies born at Cascade as well as your exemplary concern for the health and welfare of their mothers. We believe it played a significant role in preparing Fubbs to be so easily ‘potty’, crate and leash trained. We love how gentle, trusting and playful he is with everyone: big dogs, little dogs, cats, young children, teenagers and Ed’s 95 year-old mother. With the socialization and patience he received from you, we’re not surprised he is such a gregarious and easy-going guy.
We continue to be impressed by the level of medical care and concern you provide to the Cavaliers in your care. Your relationship with your vet is clearly one based on years of positive history and mutual love of the breed. Our vet was likewise impressed with your diligence in ensuring that Fubbs was vaccinated, wormed and had check-ups on an appropriate schedule; and that he was healthy and mature enough to move to his new home. Everyone remarks on your willingness to choose new families for your puppies so carefully, sometimes making the tough decision that a prospective home is not going to be an appropriate one. It’s not easy to say “no” and many breeders are not as careful as you. Many do not follow through to make sure everything is going well in a puppy’s new environment as you continue to do with your puppies. Plus we just enjoy hearing from you! Wouldn’t it be a better world if all breeders were just like you? We think so.
We look forward to stopping in Hood River for a visit on our way to the mountain one day soon. I know Fubbs would like to see his ‘first’ family. He’s a total ‘river rat’ by the way and loves going to the cabin.
With gratitude,
Kari & Ed Valente
Baby Fubbs
Hi Gretchen,
We love our puppy, William, he is the sweetest, little boy. We were worried that having three Cavaliers was going to be too much, however, Willie has been such a loving addition to our home that we wouldn't change our decision for anything. We enjoyed purchasing our puppy from a breeder like you. I think having a puppy that comes from a family home makes a huge difference. He was loved and socialized into a home, so when he came to ours he didn't have any annoying habits. It is so obvious that he was loved and held because he just thrived when he came to our home. William is now 8 months old and went to the groomers for the first time. Our groomer said he was one of the best puppies she has worked with. He was a little wiggly, but she said he would sit when she told him to and he was so sweet and docile; she didn't have any trouble grooming him. Thank you for breeding such beautiful dogs! We enjoyed meeting you and I think we have made lifelong friends, as well. Happy New Year!
Toni and John
Cascade Cavaliers,
As a Pediatrician, I know of Gretchen’s competency as a parent and witnessed her love and dedication for her children and husband.
As a friend, I have seen that that care and dedication extends to her love for her dogs and her breeding program that she takes so seriously. I have witnessed her empathy and compassion for defenseless animals, Rescuing dogs even when it meant economic loss to her and her family.
Gretchen chose to not breed Lady, one of her Cavaliers, and now mine. Lady has a delicate constitution and was small for the breed. She wanted to do what was best for the animal and not put her at risk of having complications. This high moral and ethical standard & her common sense and lifelong experience with animal husbandry makes it very easy for me to give my highest recommendation to you for her dedication to bringing you quality puppies from the breed that was bred for centuries to be man and woman’s best friend.
Georgia N. Opheim, MD
As a Pediatrician, I know of Gretchen’s competency as a parent and witnessed her love and dedication for her children and husband.
As a friend, I have seen that that care and dedication extends to her love for her dogs and her breeding program that she takes so seriously. I have witnessed her empathy and compassion for defenseless animals, Rescuing dogs even when it meant economic loss to her and her family.
Gretchen chose to not breed Lady, one of her Cavaliers, and now mine. Lady has a delicate constitution and was small for the breed. She wanted to do what was best for the animal and not put her at risk of having complications. This high moral and ethical standard & her common sense and lifelong experience with animal husbandry makes it very easy for me to give my highest recommendation to you for her dedication to bringing you quality puppies from the breed that was bred for centuries to be man and woman’s best friend.
Georgia N. Opheim, MD
Hello Gretchen,
I am finally sitting down to write this letter to you which has been a long time coming! We are in the process of moving across the country and wanted to get this letter to you before we left.
Brian and I knew absolutely nothing about trying to find a therapy dog for our daughter but we liked the idea. You made it so easy for us to come in, knowing nothing about what we were doing or looking for, and walk away several months later with this puppy that was truly everything my daughter needed, we are still amazed at how you did that! You took that extra time, lots of extra time, to really talk with us to treat us with such kindness and respect. My daughter was so shy and so scared and you made it such a enjoyable experience for her. You put SO MUCH care into your breeding program. My husband and I visited more than 4 breeders in Oregon and Washington, only to be disappointed. Even the most highly respected breeders were impossible to work with and, we felt, were really more interested in selling us a dog that didn't fit in "their program" than helping us find a new family member. We explained what we were looking for but still, they just didn't want to put the energy into us or our needs. After visiting and talking with these breeders we quickly realized that a puppy/dog from a kennel was NOT A OPTION for us. Too much going on, too many dogs. Just the environment made our daughter's anxiety increase.
I could go on and on about how much you have done for us, you had patience, the way you raise them in your home around your family, the potty training, the Vet care, the crate training THANK YOU big time for that!! All of that and most importantly you talked with us and explained what we needed to look for in a dog and a breeder. You told us what we needed to research, you never "pushed " a puppy on us, in fact you told us upfront that there wasn't a puppy in your current litter that would work for what we wanted. You took the time to make sure we got what we truly needed! We came in saying it had to be a female and you knew better, you knew the perfect fit. I recall you saying something like " markings are not a good judge of character, it is the desire of the dog, the need he will fill-to be open minded" Something along those lines anyway! You were and are right. Our daughter is a totally different person today, she is more social and outgoing, she has less fear of being alone and anxiety. I am sorry I haven't sent this with a picture, please feel free to add one of him as a puppy if you like, Sam won't mind! When we get all moved I will send some recent photos. Thank you so much for all you have done for our family!
All the best to you and your family,
Rhonda & Brian
Washington/Alabama
Hey Gretchen,
This is a long time coming, but I had to let you and
potential new Cavalier families know about how fortunate I feel to have found
you and your charming family. Your enthusiasm for the breed is inspiring
and the thought you gave to providing a trust-worthy, no-nonsense experience was
a welcome change from others I’d encountered. My little guy, Lego, is the love of my life! As a first time dog owner, I’ve found it challenging, but I just can’t imagine not having him around. He’s quite the little lover, as you said the males would be. He hangs with “grandma” when I’m at work and loves to snuggle as much as he loves to play. He loves to throw his arms around my neck for kisses on his cheek. He watches and seems to understand the TV. He races in, out, and all around the furniture after his bath. He loves chin tickles and belly rubs first thing in the morning and at bedtime. He’s the
center of attention wherever we go with comments like: “He’s soooo soft,” “He’s so friendly,” “He’s so cute,” “He’s so sweet!” He bonded quickly with a groomer who struggles only with getting him to quit kissing her while she’s
working. He’s just simply a joy! Thanks so much for all that you’ve done and your continued
support!
Kara
Silverton, Oregon
This is a long time coming, but I had to let you and
potential new Cavalier families know about how fortunate I feel to have found
you and your charming family. Your enthusiasm for the breed is inspiring
and the thought you gave to providing a trust-worthy, no-nonsense experience was
a welcome change from others I’d encountered. My little guy, Lego, is the love of my life! As a first time dog owner, I’ve found it challenging, but I just can’t imagine not having him around. He’s quite the little lover, as you said the males would be. He hangs with “grandma” when I’m at work and loves to snuggle as much as he loves to play. He loves to throw his arms around my neck for kisses on his cheek. He watches and seems to understand the TV. He races in, out, and all around the furniture after his bath. He loves chin tickles and belly rubs first thing in the morning and at bedtime. He’s the
center of attention wherever we go with comments like: “He’s soooo soft,” “He’s so friendly,” “He’s so cute,” “He’s so sweet!” He bonded quickly with a groomer who struggles only with getting him to quit kissing her while she’s
working. He’s just simply a joy! Thanks so much for all that you’ve done and your continued
support!
Kara
Silverton, Oregon
Hi Gretchen,
Everything is going great! She is going potty outside very well. The kids
are loving her and she is loving them. She has slept through the night with no
accidents both nights. YAY! Thank you again for your wonderful care of her. Your
attention to detail and love has made for one sweet puppy.
I will send photos soon.
Melissa
Everything is going great! She is going potty outside very well. The kids
are loving her and she is loving them. She has slept through the night with no
accidents both nights. YAY! Thank you again for your wonderful care of her. Your
attention to detail and love has made for one sweet puppy.
I will send photos soon.
Melissa
Cascade Cavaliers & Potential Cavalier families,
I first fell in love with Caviler King Charles Spaniels when I was about 8 years old - However my father would not let me have a dog so I just dreamed of the day I might have a Caviler. As an adult I lived and worked in NYC in very small apartments so a dog was not an option, eventually my husband and I moved out of the city and bought our first house - finally I was going to be able to get a dog. Upon researching and talking with breeders in NY it became very apparent that I would not be getting a Caviler because I would be out of the house too much as I still worked in the city. So I went to the animal shelter and adopted and lovely black lab - Jenny who has been my faithful friends for the last 12 years and I can't imagine my life without her.A few years ago we moved from NY to Portland, which gave us much more space than we had in NY. About a year ago Jenny was diagnosed with diabetes, she mostly has good days but her bad days remind me that she might not be with me for as long as I would wish for. With this in mind we decided that it was time to get an addition to the family, I really wanted to get a new puppy while Jenny was doing well as I never want to replace her and I really wanted to have memories/pictures of us as a whole family. I REALLY wanted a Caviler, but first I looked into adopting from an animal shelter - however they only has older dogs and I really wanted a puppy. Then I looked into rescuing a Caviler - but there didn't seem to be any that needed rescuing (which is a good thing).
Finally we decided that we would go through a breeder and get a Caviler puppy! The next question was - which breeder??
I contacted just about every breeder in Oregon, I'm truly against puppy mills - TRULY AGAINST THEM. So I did a lot of research. Some breeders simply had too many puppies - I know that sounds odd but I was looking for my new puppy to come from a loving home and not a kennel. Some breeders wanted me to sign a six page contract and charge me well over $3000.00, the contracts also stated that I could not breed - which ironically I had no intention of doing but being told that I couldn't was frankly very annoying. Then I found Gretchen. Gretchen responded to my e-mail inquirers within a few days (something that not all breeders where able to do for some reason) and then I spoke with her directly over the phone. Almost right away I know that Gretchen was the breeder I wanted to use. I had a lot of questions, and I sent her a lot of emails with even more questions - all of which she took the time to answer. What I loved the most was that her dogs all lived inside her home, and that when the puppies are born they spend their first weeks in her bedroom. The mother and father are not money makers - they are family pets, and the mothers health was her first priority - this was very important to me. The puppies are surrounded and loved by the whole family and are watched and cared for at all times. This was everything that I wanted for our new puppies - I say puppies because of Gretchen's more reasonable price we were able to get two puppies - Bella and Rex. Gretchen posted many pictures once the puppies were born, and when they were old enough we went to visit - we had already chosen which puppies we wanted via pictures and e-mails about personalities etc. When we visited it was quite obvious that Gretchen loved her dogs and was breeder not because of the $$ but because it was part of her life. We picked up Bella and Rex at 8 weeks old, and they have been such a wonderful addition to our family. They are great with my three kids, they are great at cuddling, and they love to run around in the back yard - I do need to work on training them! They are super healthy and just perfect in every way. The whole process was amazing and I would recommend Gretchen to anyone who wanted a Caviler King Charles Spaniel.
Gretchen has my number - please call me if you would like to chat more about my experience of working with her.
Donna-Marie,
Lake Oswego, OR
I first fell in love with Caviler King Charles Spaniels when I was about 8 years old - However my father would not let me have a dog so I just dreamed of the day I might have a Caviler. As an adult I lived and worked in NYC in very small apartments so a dog was not an option, eventually my husband and I moved out of the city and bought our first house - finally I was going to be able to get a dog. Upon researching and talking with breeders in NY it became very apparent that I would not be getting a Caviler because I would be out of the house too much as I still worked in the city. So I went to the animal shelter and adopted and lovely black lab - Jenny who has been my faithful friends for the last 12 years and I can't imagine my life without her.A few years ago we moved from NY to Portland, which gave us much more space than we had in NY. About a year ago Jenny was diagnosed with diabetes, she mostly has good days but her bad days remind me that she might not be with me for as long as I would wish for. With this in mind we decided that it was time to get an addition to the family, I really wanted to get a new puppy while Jenny was doing well as I never want to replace her and I really wanted to have memories/pictures of us as a whole family. I REALLY wanted a Caviler, but first I looked into adopting from an animal shelter - however they only has older dogs and I really wanted a puppy. Then I looked into rescuing a Caviler - but there didn't seem to be any that needed rescuing (which is a good thing).
Finally we decided that we would go through a breeder and get a Caviler puppy! The next question was - which breeder??
I contacted just about every breeder in Oregon, I'm truly against puppy mills - TRULY AGAINST THEM. So I did a lot of research. Some breeders simply had too many puppies - I know that sounds odd but I was looking for my new puppy to come from a loving home and not a kennel. Some breeders wanted me to sign a six page contract and charge me well over $3000.00, the contracts also stated that I could not breed - which ironically I had no intention of doing but being told that I couldn't was frankly very annoying. Then I found Gretchen. Gretchen responded to my e-mail inquirers within a few days (something that not all breeders where able to do for some reason) and then I spoke with her directly over the phone. Almost right away I know that Gretchen was the breeder I wanted to use. I had a lot of questions, and I sent her a lot of emails with even more questions - all of which she took the time to answer. What I loved the most was that her dogs all lived inside her home, and that when the puppies are born they spend their first weeks in her bedroom. The mother and father are not money makers - they are family pets, and the mothers health was her first priority - this was very important to me. The puppies are surrounded and loved by the whole family and are watched and cared for at all times. This was everything that I wanted for our new puppies - I say puppies because of Gretchen's more reasonable price we were able to get two puppies - Bella and Rex. Gretchen posted many pictures once the puppies were born, and when they were old enough we went to visit - we had already chosen which puppies we wanted via pictures and e-mails about personalities etc. When we visited it was quite obvious that Gretchen loved her dogs and was breeder not because of the $$ but because it was part of her life. We picked up Bella and Rex at 8 weeks old, and they have been such a wonderful addition to our family. They are great with my three kids, they are great at cuddling, and they love to run around in the back yard - I do need to work on training them! They are super healthy and just perfect in every way. The whole process was amazing and I would recommend Gretchen to anyone who wanted a Caviler King Charles Spaniel.
Gretchen has my number - please call me if you would like to chat more about my experience of working with her.
Donna-Marie,
Lake Oswego, OR
Bella & Rex
Hi Gretchen-
It's been awhile I know, but summer was so fun with our buddy Tosha. We love her so much and she loves us back more. She is a great dog. My son Kevin takes her
all the time camping and hiking. She loves being outside and swimming in the pool.
Thanks a bunch!
Karl
