This review says it all! We recently sold our Started Protection Dog “Tess” to a buyer here in Boise, Idaho. The buyer has had Tess for almost three months and left us this wonderful review awhile back. Here it is!
“We are so glad we found Amy! Valor K9 has vastly exceeded all of our hopes and expectations.
Tess is a delight, a joy, and a balm to our aching souls.
We were heartbroken and devastated when we reached out to Amy.
We recently lost our beloved 8yr old German Shepherd who’d spent the last 4 years of his life riddled with debilitating health issues.
We knew we needed to have another German Shepherd in our lives, but we were jaded and gun-shy. Not only had our last dog been a health nightmare, he’d been way more dog than we were prepared to handle. Between the mismatch and the health issues, the last 8 years had been full of heartache, longing, tears and large amounts of money spent on vet bills and training.
Amy really listened to us when we told her about our hopes and goals, and also our heartache. We were thrilled when she said she had 2 dogs that she felt would be a good match for us.
When we went to meet them, I’d had my mind made up before we arrived that I wanted the older (finished, fully trained, and more expensive) of the two.
But we weren’t prepared for Tess. She was younger and, though well trained, a started dog and not a finished one (like I was sure I wanted). Yet there was a connection that I couldn’t look past. I was torn.
I called Amy the next day and told her that I was having a hard time deciding and that I wanted to come back out and see them again.
This is when I realized that Amy was exactly the person we needed her to be.
I think I was expecting (or hoping!) Amy to steer me toward the more expensive dog I’d been leaning toward. And if she were truly about selling dogs, that’s exactly what she would have done.
But Amy is not about selling dogs, she’s about matchmaking happy families.
Instead, she had me spend time with both dogs, doing some of the things I’d told her I wanted to do with my new dog – playing tug, urban agility, fitpaws conditioning. It wasn’t about seeing how they could work or perform – they were both amazing. It was about interacting with them and letting my heart guide me. Like going on a date I suppose.
During that time, it quickly became clear, Tess was just meant to be mine.
And it became equally clear that Amy truly cared more about making the best match than about making the most money.
Looking back now I realize, never, not once, did Amy try to sell me a dog.
Tess is a dream. She’s a perfect fit for our family. She’s a dream on leash and off leash. And in the home she’s a delight.
Heartbreakingly, it is now with Tess that we are seeing just how much a toll those 8 yrs with our boy took on us. Just how much we stopped living, just how much we forgot how fulfilling it can be in having a dog in our lives, one who is a joy to live with.
There’s nothing quite like the joy of having a happy, well adjusted, well behaved dog.
We are finally able to live that dog life – the one we always wanted with our last, but were unable to have because of health issues and mismatch.
That’s not to say Tess doesn’t need ongoing training. But that’s part of the joy I take in her. She’s so eager please, so delightful to work with. Training isn’t stressful, the way it was before with a dog that had been too much dog from the getgo.
Amy has been very thoughtful and thorough in the handover training and guidance for how to bring Tess into our family. And she continues to be there for us.
As I write this, Tess is sleeping at our feet. Tess has reminded us of the joy of having a canine family member, something we lost so long ago with our last dog. Or perhaps, if I’m honest, never quite had.
Tess is healthy. Confident as all get out. Nothing phases her. Eager to please. Loves to learn. Loves to work. Loves to snuggle. Loves to be a good girl!
Most people balk when they hear how much we spent on a dog.
But with Tess, we weren’t paying for a dog. We were paying for good health, good genetics, solid foundation of training, and most of all – a dog that’s the right match for us. Tess is everything we could hope for in a dog. And to us, that’s priceless!”
We are so thankful to Casey for providing such a wonderful home for Tess. They are a great fit for each other and continue to grow in their trainings together. Casey does regular lessons to continue enjoying Tess’s many abilities and to work together to learn new things. We have begun task training, as well, as Tess will be Casey’s Hearing Alert Service Dog in the very near future! We thank Casey for her very kind review!
