** REFERENCES **
I have many more available upon request, but I feel that these are representative of how people feel about my pups. I put them here so you can contact them and get an idea of what I do and who I am. If you do not see contact info for someone on here and wish to speak to them about me, please let me know and I will give you the contact info I have for them.
*My Veterinarian: Please feel free to contact her if you wish to inquire about me, or about my breeding program. Here is the one she sent on her letterhead for publication on this web page. Just click on it to be able to read the letter. You may have to click it twice to properly size it.
Valeri Dale Plsek, DVM
Veterinary Medical Arts Center
170
CR 230
Cameron, Texas 76520
254-697-4737
A Letter from Bren Ewen, Beverly Beall, PA. and Patrick Beacham
Between the three of us we have 5 of Marion Shiller's Tiny Tot Rat Terriers. We all agree that we can't say enough good things about her dogs and her integrity as a breeder. Two of us have larger dogs in the house and these little guys "rule the roost". They all get along great!
We keep getting Marion's dogs because of her high standards and the quality of the dogs. They are sweet, wonderful and well bred. They love dogs and people and kids. They are very well socialized, easy to train, clean, hypoallergenic, and a great pleasure to have. We all used to have big dogs but now wouldn't have anything else but one of her "Tiny Tots" :)
And quite simply...Marion cares. She loves all her dogs, breeds responsibly, and does whatever she can to give them a healthy, happy start in life, She has spent many sleepless nights caring for them when they needed it. She raises them in her house around children, dogs, people, and everyday noises. Her vet visits often and is always impressed by the cleanliness and comfort of her dogs.
Bren Ewen: Bren studied in Molecular Veterinary Medicine and has worked in veterinary medicine. She stays up on all the current veterinary research and is a great reference.
This is a group letter but you can feel free to contact any of us at
Bren Ewen: bewen
Beverly Beall PA.bbeall
Patrick Beacham: pbeacham
* From Joseph Ryan and his wife, Mariam:
When we first contacted Marion Shiller, we explained all our concerns to Marion about buying over the internet, and we began a lengthy email correspondence about the type of dog we wanted (smaller this time, 6-7 lbs.) and good temperament. She advised us of various litters in progress, and the little personalities within them. She emailed photos of potential candidates, we discussed them, then continued to narrow the field. She picked one she thought would be perfect in size and personality and boy, was she right!
Then we actually arrived in Cameron for a final inspection of our little guy and to pick him up. (We told her the name in advance so she had started calling him Dino to get him used to his name). We had a pictorial history of his development from age two weeks and felt like we knew this dog. And guess what?, we did! Marion's observations of personality and temperament and projected size ( Dino is full grown and 6.5 lbs - Marion said between six and seven) have proved right on the money.
I am impressed by Marion's handling of her pups. That gets them accustomed to human contact, as well as her adult dogs interplay with the various youngsters to socialize them as 'normal' non-neurotic dogs. If you get a pup from her and have your little children play with them, the pup will be bonded with them and very protective if any strangers come near them. Dino (now 5 months) barks if anyone passes by our condo and stays on alert even if we let them in until we introduce them to him. Once he knows who's who he's very friendly, but I think he's still keeping an eye out for us. He very much enjoys being part of our 'pack'. (LOL)
As a general observation, rats terriers are very sociable, think they are actually big dogs ,but do want a lot of love and affection. They are just like kids. If you and your family can give a "rat" the same attention you give each other you will both have a rewarding experience.
My wife and I are lucky in that we have the time to devote to Dino, and when we move to a house we plan to get at least one more from Marion. If I get another rat (trying to decide if Dino needs a dog playmate, since we also have a cat), it's coming from her kennel. You can trust without question anything she tells you - she will worry about matching the dog to you as much as you will. The dogs' living conditions are wonderful (I told her she should start a bed and breakfast there).
What I especially like about the setup is this: 1. She has the newborn pups crated in her family room that opens to her back porch, fed by their moms in a baby playpen. Very, very clean, just like they're part of the family. This means the pups see people all the time, and they are handled frequently so they learn to be affectionate to people from early on. We see the results in Dino. When they get older they spend the days in a baby playpen. 2. The family rooms opens onto the porch, which leads down the steps to the adult dogs' houses (surrounded by a 2' electrified fence to protect the dogs from dangerous varmints - this is rural Texas, after all). When the pups are older they are socialized on the back porch by a "committee" of Marion's mom dogs so they learn to behave like proper little rat terriers. 3. The net result of all this socialization is a wonderful, non-neurotic dog.
We've had a wonderful experience with Marion. Our little rat is intelligent and has an exceptionally sweet disposition; and the fastest, strongest little dog I have seen. I would not hesitate to get another rat from Marion in the future.
I have only the highest recommendation for Marion Shiller. You can bank on anything she says. Feel free to ask me questions any time.
J Joseph Ryan (jryanjr@bellsouth.net)
* From Monty and Dana Curtis of Animal House Rat Terriers:
We have 2 of Marion's Dogs. Both out of Frankie &
Marion's One. One we call
" Stormy" & the other, which is her little
sister , we call "Blossom". There are no words that can begin to express the
true & loving nature of these little ones. Their attitudes and affection
alone can easily show the care & love they are given from day one. The
character that each has is truly remarkable and shines in their attitudes, which
can only mean one thing, and that is that Marion had to spend some quality time
with these two for them to have such wonderful personalities.
In our opinion this is what a breeder is all
about. And no one could ask for a better breeder & friend than Marion. We
have personally had the privilege to meet Marion and her Rat's more than once.
And in doing so, I must say that she is a very knowledgeable and caring person
who is very concerned about her little rats and where they go. She will take all
the proper steps to make sure that you and your puppies are more than
mere friends, but more like loving and compatible companions.
To Love
is to care, with quality and direction. And this truly shines in
Marion's
affection.
You can reach Monty & Dana Curtis by E-mail: TheAnimalHouse@webtv.com
or their web site:
http://community-2.webtv.net/TheAnimalHouse/WELCOMETOTHEANIMAL/
From Karen Backer of Orcinus Kennels
When I first emailed Marion Shiller, I had no idea about Rat Terriers, the breed is not well known in Canada. We soon began a lengthy email correspondence about the type of dog I wanted (small under 5lbs) and a good temperament. She advised me of the litters available, she emailed photos of potential babies, we discussed them, then continued to narrow the search. She picked one she thought would be perfect in size and boy, was she right! (I told her his name in advance so she started calling him Salem to get him used to his name). I had an email history of his development from age two weeks and felt like I knew this little dog, and guess what, I did!!! Marion's observations of personality and temperament and projected size was right on target, ( Salem is almost 2 yrs old now and weighs 5.5 lbs ).
Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting Marion and her kennel, when Salem and I went to pick up our new addition to our family (Kandu), who is now 9 months old and weighs in at about 4lbs, I was impressed by Marion's handling of her pups. She gets them used to human contact. If you get a pup from her and have children the pup will bond with them and be very protective if any strangers come near them.
As a general observation, Rats Terriers are very sociable, they think their actually big dogs , but do want a lot of love and affection, they are just like kids. I have plans of getting another Rat Terrier, only this time a female for Kandu, as Salem has been neutered. You can trust without question anything she tells you, she will worry about matching the dog to you as much as you will, and she takes great care in shipping your new puppy. I had to fly Salem from Texas to Seattle and he was well taking care of through the entire flight. The dogs living conditions are wonderful...
What I especially like about Marion's kennel is: Marion has the newborn pups crated in her family room that opens to her back porch, fed by their moms in a baby playpen, very clean just like they're part of the family. This means the pups see people all the time, and they are handled frequently so they learn to be affectionate to people from early on. When they get older they spend the days in a baby playpen. The family rooms opens onto the porch, which leads down the steps to the adult dog houses (surrounded by a 2' electrified fence to protect the dogs from danger). When the pups are older they are socialized on the back porch by Marion's mom dogs so they learn to behave like proper little Rat Terriers.
I can tell you that I have the best two dogs in the world, they are smart, witty, protective and very funny. I have only the highest recommendation for Marion Shiller, you can bank on anything she says. Feel free to ask me questions any time.
Karin, Kandu & Salem
You can reach Karin from her website or E-mail: http://www.members.tripod.com/kalrat/
And from Washington State:
From Robert and Kathleen Banks In Rochester, New York:
Hi Marion, I am Rob's wife and
we purchased Nugget from you back in
June. I have been wanting to write to
you and tell you how pleased we are
with him. He is everything that you
promised and more.
From day one, he fit right into the family. He has
adjusted well to the
different ways that each family member interacts with
him and he behaves
accordingly. He is very smart And just as you said, loves
to be a part of
the family, loves to be where we are. He is doing extremely
well at litter
box training, we are all pleased about that.
Nugget
hardly ever barks, he is a quiet dog, but he at times gets VERY
excited
(running through the house full speed). He loves to go outside and
play chase
with our 4yr old son. My son loves it just as much as
Nugget
does.
We bathe him once a week, which he
handles very well, but as soon as we are
done, he gets very feisty, poor
Tigger really takes a beating after bath
time. He still fits into his crate,
but just to give him a little more room,
we are going to buy him a bigger one
soon. We will also be taking him to the
vet soon to get him fixed, time is
running out.
Nugget is the talk of the neighborhood. Everyone loves him
and everyone that
meets him falls in love with him. He LOVES to meet new
people just as much
as they love meeting him. Neighbors that have never
spoken to us before have
been introducing themselves and talking about
Nugget. One neighbor had even
heard about him before she saw him for the
first time. We have yet to meet
another Rat Terrier owner in Rochester, I'm
sure they are here, but we have
not run into any. Where ever he goes he
steals the show, pet store to get
his nails clipped, the discount store at
the corner, the workers are always
asking about him.
Well, I have taken up enough of your time. I just wanted to let you know
how
delighted we are with Nugget. Thank you again for working so
diligently
with us to make him ours.
I pray that you and your family
are well. God bless and take care.
Kathleen Banks
I would like to express my complete satisfaction in dealing with Marion Shiller. I have two rat terriers from her. The first one was purchased almost 4 years ago for my mother in law. She was living with us at the time and wanted to find her the perfect pet that would be a great companion for her. I did some research on breeds of dogs and found out that the rat terrier is a very good dong with lots of allergies like she had, and very loyal friends.I was a little afraid of purchasing a puppy from the internet so I did a lot of looking around.Then I found Meadows Springs and Marion and I knew that is where I wanted my puppy from.I e-mailed her and we communicated quite a while until she found just the right puppy for us.Our Fancy girl has been such a gem.This last fall my mother in law went to Mississippi and became too ill to return to Las Vegas so we decide that we needed a puppy to keep Fancy company and of course I contacted Marion. I wanted a tiny one this time and once again Marion chose just the perfect puppy. he is such a joy and now at 4 months and just under 3 pounds he is all boy and now rules the roost .We decided we wanted to pick him up personally, so we planned our Christmas vacation to Mississippi and then to Dallas and then to Cameron Texas before to returning home to Las Vegas. I must say Marion has quite an operation going. She has baby pens for the puppies and their moms and all the dogs, puppies and adults alike seem so loved. Everything was so organized with shelving for clean linens and everyone had a place.You could just tell how much she cared. I have come to really be a fan of Marions. She is not only a good breeder that puts her heart and soul into it but also a good person, and someone you can trust. I will be happy to talk to anybody who is unsure that the rat terrier is the breed for them of about Marion and Meadow Springs Kennels.Denise Ivytulipstalk@yahoo.com
From Jessica In Alaska:
July 25, 2005
To Whom It May Concern:
As a happy rat terrier owner I would like to recommend Marion Shiller as a wonderful breeder. I purchased Dezmond when he was four months old and weighted only 2.5 pounds. I found her website (www.meadowsprings.net) from a search engine and began to look at her puppies. I instantly fell in love. I emailed her and got a very quick response about her pups. She told me she had a few pups available and began to tell me about them. Her heart was set on a little boy that was ready to find a home. She reassured me that he was full of personality and joy. He sounded like the pup that was right for me. Marion lives in Cameron, Texas while I am all the way up in Alaska. Marion worked as hard as she could at getting flight reservations and transpiration taken care of. I was able to pick up my pup only five days after contacting Marion.
After letting Dezmond relax from the plane ride he proved to be everything and more then Marion had explained to me. I have been around many dogs in my lifetime and have seen few that have the personality that this dog has. Dezmond is full of life and has his own style.
I was only 18 when I bought Dezmond and still lived at home. My parents were skeptical about having a dog in the house and weren?t to keen on the idea. Now that I am 20 and moving out of the house and out of state soon my parents are begging me to let them keep Dezmond. Marion's dogs are wonderful dogs, they are full of love and want to share it with everyone!
As a dog owner I would highly recommend Marion as a breeder. She is an honest, loyal and trustworthy breeder. Her dogs are breed to be the best rat terriers out there and she has proven that to me. When I am settled in my new residence I am defiantly going to take a look at another one of Marion's puppies.
Sincerely, Jessica Grimm
Alaska
Here's Dezmond!
From Richard Maconi
Nov, 2005
From John and Cilla
Nov, 2005
Marion,
Cilla and I both enjoyed meeting you and your husband
yesterday.....as well as your herd ! It took us 3 1/2 hours to cover the 140
miles home, but "Lucy" used the time wisely and stole Cilla's heart. Upon
arriving at her new home, she walked up to each of the two Chihuahuas as if they
should have been expecting her. She spent the rest of the night curled up on the
couch next to me. We had her crate all ready for bedtime, but when the time
came. I said the heck with it and threw her in bed with us and the
Chihuahuas.....she woke us up once to let her out and that was it. To say that
the transition was smooth would be a drastic understatement !
I'm sure that I
will be sending some customers to you, as when some of my "big dog" buddies meet
this little girl, I know what's going to happen. Please put me on your reference
list.
Very Best Regards and have a great Christmas.
John
From Sherri Ransom:
June 2007
From Katie and Ralph Weinberger, December, 2007
Dear Marion,
Our little Lily turned one on Sept. 11th, and I wanted to give you an update since you were the one who brought this little darling into our lives. Lily is a tiny little peanut. She weighs in at 4.6 pounds full grown and she came from Molly?s litter. I've attached some recent photos so you can see how beautiful she is. Her markings and conformation are remarkable (in my opinion). If she weren't so timid around strangers, I'd be trying to figure out how to show her - she's that beautiful.
My husband calls her a "Ratcoon Terrier" because of her mask. Every where we go she is the center of attention, much to her chagrin. At home, she is extremely well-behaved, but when she wants attention, we BETTER give it! During the day she's not too much of a cuddler, preferring to spend time exploring the back yard or playing tug/fetch, but she's quick to give kisses and follows me everywhere I go. In the evenings she likes to sit on Dad's lap while he holds her chewie for her (the HEXtra CET chews). At bedtime, she sleeps either at the end of the bed when it's hot, or under the covers with us when it's cool. We recently took her on a weekend trip that involved an airplane ride and a 2-1/2 hour car ride, and she was just as good as gold.
I just adore her; she's the light of my life. As you said on your web page these little ones often have mouths that are too small for the amount of teeth they have so we had a few teeth removed. This was done as a preventative measure so she won't get infections or gum disease. The doctor (a specialist in animal dentistry) went ON and ON about how beautiful Lily is and how she has a perfect scissor bite and how "well put together" she is - the doctor specifically told me I should pass along her compliments to the breeder. So there you are! Consider yourself complimented! Thank you for doing such a wonderful job, raising such precious little ratties!
Warm
regards,
Katie Weinberger
Here's Lily...
I will be pleased to add any other letters of reference here if you wish to write one. :) Marion
