Dragonhouse Shibas go to some of the very best homes. Sandi makes sure to interview each and every potential home before deciding whether or not one of her dogs would be a good fit. Not only does Sandi take the extra time to get to know you, her pet homes get to know her. Here is a list of testimonials from some of Sandi’s pet homes.
Testimonials
Meeting Sandi Smith has been one of the best things that has ever happened to our family. I had previously rescued a Shiba Inu many years ago and have loved the breed for even longer. When we decided to get another Shiba, I stumbled on to Dragon House Shibas website. I phoned Sandi and we talked for hours about how wonderful Shibas are. She arranged for our puppy to stay with her for the first 16 weeks because we were moving to Spokane. She was wonderful with sending us pics of little Albi and staying in touch with us. We have taken Albi to see Sandi several times since last year. She has watched him a few times while we had to travel. What we loved most about her dogs was there temperament. Shibas get a bad rap sometimes about being aloof and not too friendly. Nothing could be further from the truth about her Shibas. When I first visited her, I was greeted by several Shibas who all wanted to be petted and were licking me. It was amazing. We have gotten tons of advice from her and she is always willing to talk about any concerns we have had. We cannot wait until we can get another beautiful Shiba from her.
Sandi Smith and Dragon House Shiba Inus came into our life at just the right time. We had been wanting to add a female Shiba to our family for quite a while, and we decided it was time to start our search when our dear old Siberian Husky, Wolf, started showing his age. We contacted Sandi before any other breeder because she is categorized as a Breeder of Merit with the American Kennel Club. Upon further research, we learned that she is a widely-respected, champion Shiba Inu breeder known around the world. In addition to her many achievements, we have found Sandi to be a genuinely kind and caring person who, above all, loves animals. The level of concern she shows for all animals has truly touched us.
As any responsible breeder should, Sandi requested pictures of our home and yard, as well as pictures of Wolf and our Yorkshire Terrier, Wilson. We considered it a very good sign that she was interested in seeing the environment one of her dogs could potentially be living in. Although we initially wanted to purchase a puppy, Sandi took our lifestyle into consideration and asked if we would be interested in an older dog. Sandi suggested that one of her dogs, Mabi, would be a great fit for us, and invited us to visit Mabi with our dogs. Before our visit, Sandi let us know that Mabi’s previous owner had essentially neglected her by leaving her in a kennel most of the time without any socialization from people or other dogs. It further reinforced our confidence in Sandi to know that she had gone out of her way to remove Mabi from such a bad situation. She made sure we recognized that Mabi would need training to help her manage her fear of new people. It was clear that Sandi’s primary concern was finding the right family for Mabi.
Fortunately, Mabi seemed to fall in love with all of us right away, and the feeling was mutual. We made arrangements for Sandi to drop her off in a couple of weeks. Sadly, the day before Mabi’s scheduled arrival, our sweet old Wolf passed away. When Sandi heard the news the next morning, she began crying and told us she was glad she had gotten to spend some time with Wolf before he passed. It meant so much to us that she had been so touched by her time with Wolf. Later that day, Sandi handed Mabi over to us, along with several books for training shy/fearful dogs, Mabi’s favorite toys, a big bag of treats, and about a week of food to help us transition Mabi’s diet. Sandi declined to take any payment from us and told us she was just happy that Mabi was going to a family that would love her and take care of her. Once again, we were impressed by the demonstration of love and understanding that Sandi showed in helping Mabi adjust to a new home.
Wilson and Mabi are now inseparable best buddies. Mabi made short work of settling into her new life with us. We couldn’t imagine our lives without her now. Sandi continues to show genuine interest and compassion towards our little family. Despite her busy schedule, she frequently checks in with us to see how both Wilson and Mabi are doing. She even asked if we would take a video for her of our dogs playing, and we were more than happy to share that with her. Sandi’s actions toward us have always been the actions of a true animal lover and we are eternally grateful to her for blessing us with such an amazing little dog.
In August of 2012 I received a phone call from Sandi Smith of Dragon house Shibas to participate in an interview by phone to determine if I ’qualified’ to purchase one of her Shiba puppies.
The call lasted for two and a half hours. It was clear that Sandi was truly interested in finding out everything she felt she needed to know about us and the environment we lived in. Sandi also interviewed my housemate at length and was satisfied enough to come for a home visit.
We purchased a little boy from her, Koji. He has the sweetest disposition; he is playful, loyal and loving, and the most amazing thing is that he was already ‘housebroken’. Within the same year we acquired another Dragon House Shiba, our black and tan girl Gypsy.
Sandi, with all her experience was a wealth of information and know how. She pledged her ongoing support and sharing of her experience. We often made use of her offer and she was always ‘right there’ as promised. We are often stopped in public when we are out with our dogs, and we never hesitate to refer any interested parties to Dragon House Shibas. We believe we lucked out and found the best breeder we could find, and we are always enthusiastic to pass it on!
We are forever grateful to Sandi Smith for trusting us with our precious boy Koji, and our little girl Gypsy!
When I decided 10 years ago to finally bring a dog into my life I gave it great thought. I had 5 kids and this was not going to be a dog for them it was going to be a dog for mom. Because I consider a dog a family member. I spent a year discovering what breed would be right for me and my family. Then I started the task of finding the breeder. one that had a few litters a year, raised the puppies in the home and was more concerned that they were great family members first and show dogs second. We found that breeder in Sandi Smith. Not only are my shibas in excellent health, they are loving, friendly and wonderfully behaved. I have Ben stopped at dog parks and on the street and asked where I was able to find the friendliest, nicest shiba’s ever.
Sandi has also been such a vital source of information for me on not only dog behavior but dog health. When I do have a question she has guided me to good solutions that save me trips to the vet and the dog trainer.
My daughter and her husband, and my dear friend all have now the pleasure of a Sandi shiba as a family member. I will admit it is a bit contagious. I have 4 other grown children and I wonder how many more Sandi shiba’s will join the family?
My family and I had a wonderful experience working with Dragon House Shibas. We were referred to Sandi from a breeder in PA. She was very knowledgeable and made sure to find the right fit for our family. I was a little hesitant having a puppy shipped the whole way across the country but Sandi made sure it was a smooth process. Yuki is a healthy, intelligent, and athletic dog and she is the perfect fit for our family. She enjoys playing with our cats and kids, running through the snow, and cuddling with our Siberian Husky, Fleury.
We are the privileged owners of not one but two Dragon House Shibas. I cannot say enough about the wonderful experience that I have had with Sandi and her loving, caring and nurturing attention we received both before and after getting Kai and Dalai. One of the things that struck me most about Sandi is that it is the dogs first then the owners, and at first I found it a bit disconcerting but then realized she was and is right. In order to have the right fit for one of her precious pups, children to her, she needed to know and understand who we were and our home environment. She went to great lengths to make sure we were educated in the Shiba way and suggested reading material before we made our final decision on a Shiba. She found the perfect fit with us in Kai and a year later we got Dalai. Sandi was with us every step of the way, even panic calls when Kai fell from our lap and was limping. Five year later with perfect health, no vet visits other than minimal immunizations we are still in love with our Shibas and with Sandi. My husband who was never a dog person until Kai and Dalai has stated numerous times “I never thought I would love dogs this much, now I understand what people mean when they say pets are family members!” Thank You Sandi from the bottom of our hearts!
We adopted our beautiful boy, Kita, from Dragon House Shibas on January 3, 2015. Our union with Kita came two months after our first conversation with Sandi. It was clear to us, from that first discussion, that Sandi was not only a breeder of Shiba Inus, but indeed, a breed specialist.
She has devoted her life to breeding a quality of Shiba Inu that we felt had been long lost on other breeders. Dragon House Shibas are perfect in size, stature and proportion, and their temperaments are keen, clever, and always playful. It is pure joy to be awakened each day by a wagging tail with a toy of choice clenched in his mouth, anxious for our approval, all while he has that twinkle of pride in his eyes, and that famous Shiba smile!
Kita has been a part of our family for nearly four months now, and everyday he amazes us with his outgoing personality and clever antics. He is very, very fond of children, and even babies, and is always eager to meet new people. Of course, he is always thrilled to meet new dogs and cats too! He is brilliant as well, learning new commands with ease and eagerness. He has an innate need to please us, brimming with that pride when he learns a new trick or command and receives lots of praise. We cannot think of a single thing we would change in his behavior. His personality is utterly engaging and magnetic, and quite frankly, we simply cannot stop admiring how truly beautiful he is, inside and out. He is a darling companion, happy to keep us company, whether we’re at rest, or out for a long leisurely walk or hike.
Sandi has indeed captured the epitome of what we have always thought the Shiba Inu should be – outgoing, delightful personalities, with a patient, affectionate, and sociable temperament, as well as being fully sound in health. We are thankful to Sandi everyday for having been given the privilege to adopt one of these pint size companions from Dragon House Shibas that are so incredibly precious.
