In the beginning...
Our love for the German Shepherd Dog started in 2008, when we purchased our first German Shepherd we named Major. We had always wanted a German Shepherd; we were so attracted to the breed's courage, intelligence, versatility, and stunning beauty! We purchased Major as a companion and show dog and soon fell in love with the pursuit and challenge of preserving the breed and sharing our dedication and love for the German Shepherd Dog with others. Through the next few years we enjoyed many activities with our dogs including obedience, rally, agility, herding, tracking, conformation, and more! It's amazing what you can do with a well-bred German Shepherd Dog! We truly value the intelligence, trainability, and loyalty that is so characteristic of the breed. Though our main focus is with the German Shepherd Dog, we love all dogs, and have a soft spot for rescue dogs.
Pictured below, from 2009, are our German Shepherds Faith and Major, and our rescue dogs, Beamer(Chesapeake/Border Collie mix), Emmy(Shar Pei mix), and Marvin(Basset Hound/Labrador mix).
Today...
We've been working hard to establish a quality line of dogs that reflects our goals of maintaining healthy, long-lived companions that excel at whatever task they are given and thrive on activity, competition, and the human-animal bond in a way that defines the breed. Through selective breeding, health testing, and a little bit of FAITH, we aim to breed for good health and temperament, but also conformation and trainability so careful breeding is important to us. We breed our dogs in hopes of improving our weaknesses and maintaining our strengths without compromise to any component that makes the German Shepherd the breed it is. We will always aim for the standard, while keeping health and temperament our first priority. We breed our dogs with clear goals in mind, always, and hope to share our dedication and love for the breed with others.
Our name...
Faithful Shepherds is the kennel name we chose based on our strong Christian faith in God. The name describes us, as well as our dogs, as being faithful. The companionship the dogs bring us gives glory to God and we love sharing that with others.
Who we are...
We are a husband and wife team, Victor and Samantha Taveira. The dogs are not our whole lives, but they certainly complete it. Family, friends, spending time outside, home projects, and most importantly, sharing our faith in communion with others are the center pieces of our life together. We do consider our dogs a part of our family, so being able to devote as much time to each of them is incredibly important to us. Because we choose to devote so much to each dog, we have to be extremely selective in who we have in our breeding program as we do not have a large kennel and do not breed to sell puppies. We are always looking at ways to improve their quality of life and include them in our activities. We provide exceptional veterinary care and we will always do what we feel is best for the individual. Their mental and physical health and emotional well-being are hugely important to us. Also, our professional careers and education have led to improved understanding and knowledge of raising and caring for our German Shepherds.
Victor earned his Masters Degree in Animal Nutrition while studying in his home country of Brazil. Dogs have always been a part of his life, and horses especially have his heart. I, Samantha, am a Certified Veterinary Technician and have been working in the veterinary field since 2009. I am currently an Anesthesia Technician at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center and have been employed there since 2014. I've also been thoroughly trained in ER/Critical Care, Oncology, Radiology, Internal Medicine, and have special interest in Genetic Research. My love for all animals and my special interest in dogs has always been nurtured and supported by my mother, Debra Caspersen. She remains a vital part of the Faithful Shepherds family, and our beginnings would not have been possible without her, nor would it ever be the same without her.
Where we are located...
Victor and I live in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and enjoy what the cities have to offer. Outdoor activities, dog shows, and training opportunities are crucial to providing for the needs of our dogs and to prove our dogs are worthy of being bred as stable, well mannered members of society.
From city dog to farm dog...
My mom and her husband, Jim, live on farm in Northern MN, with 120 acres of breathtaking forest, a beautiful herd of Dexter cattle, and a warm, cozy house to come home to. Our dogs rotate between city life and farm life and experience all the farm has to offer during different stages of their life. The farm is a wonderful place for our dogs to mature physically and build muscle for the show ring but also to just be dogs; experiencing all the sights, sounds, and smells the farm has to offer. It's also the best place for our retired dogs to live out their senior years, and its also a wonderful place for our puppies to grow up.
No matter what stage of life our dogs are in, the farm has so much to offer. We enjoy sharing the dogs with my mom and step-dad and we are so thankful they are able to provide for them such wonderful lives. We know their lives wouldn't be the same without the farm! We believe it is important for well-bred German Shepherd Dogs to be able to handle a change in environment with ease and confidence. We feel truly blessed with dogs that are able to transition easily from farm life to city life and everything in between.
Thank you for visiting us here at Faithful Shepherds German Shepherd Dogs! We look forward to hearing from you!
Warmly,
Samantha Church Taveira
For more information about us, please don't hesitate to reach out! We'd love to hear from you!
www.skchurchgsd@gmail.com
612-280-8326
No comments:
Post a Comment