Eight years of raising Yorkies in our living room
We are a family Yorkie breeder in central Louisiana. Not a kennel, not a broker, not a website that sources puppies from somewhere else. The dogs are here, in the house, and you are welcome to come and see them.
Most people arriving on a puppy website have no way of telling whether there is a real person behind it. So here is where we are, how long we have done this, and what we will and will not do.
Why we are called Susana
The name did not come from a marketing exercise. It came from a nurse.
When our daughter was born, the nurse caring for her had a Yorkshire Terrier at home called Susana — her favourite pet, and the one she talked about most. The name came from her, and it stuck. Our daughter has been Susana ever since.
When Susana was five months old, that same nurse came back with a gift: a Yorkie puppy of her own. We named the puppy Susana too.
Our daughter grew up wanting to be around puppies and never grew out of it. We started breeding Yorkshire Terriers because of her, and almost everything a family Yorkie breeder does differently comes back to that one fact.
Eight years on, this is still a family business run out of a family home — not a kennel with a website, and not a broker reselling other people’s litters. When you call this Yorkie breeder, you are speaking to the family whose daughter the puppies are named after.
What eight years as a Yorkie breeder actually changes
Anyone can produce a litter. What time as a Yorkie breeder gives you is pattern recognition — and that is the part that matters to the family taking the puppy home.
After eight years we know what our lines throw. We know which pairings produce the steady, biddable temperaments and which produce the busy ones that need a more experienced owner. We know roughly what a puppy will weigh at a year old from how it grows between eight and sixteen weeks. We know which puppies in a litter will suit a household with children and which will not.
It also means we have made mistakes and learned from them, which is not something a first-year Yorkie breeder can say. We hold puppies to twelve weeks rather than eight because we have seen what happens when toy-breed puppies are moved too early. We stopped breeding for very small size years ago for the same reason.
What that looks like in practice
When a family tells us they have a six-year-old and a busy house, we do not sell them the most popular puppy in the litter. We recommend the one we have watched settle quickly when the room gets loud — and if there is not one like that in the current litter, we tell them to wait for the next one.
We lose sales that way. It is still the right call.
How our puppies are raised
In the house
Whelped and raised in our living room. From week one they are handled daily and exposed to a television, a vacuum, a doorbell and people moving around them.
Vet examined
Every puppy is seen by a licensed veterinarian before placement, with vaccinations and deworming current and the records travelling with them.
Held to twelve weeks
Longer than the legal minimum anywhere. Toy-breed puppies moved too young are prone to hypoglycaemia, and the extra fortnight measurably reduces that.
Matched, not sold
We talk to every family before accepting a deposit. If a puppy is wrong for your household we will say so.
What we breed for
We breed Yorkshire Terriers to the AKC breed standard — four to seven pounds at maturity, correct coat, sound temperament. We do not breed for extreme miniaturisation, and we do not market puppies as “teacup”, because the term is a sales word that usually means elevated health risk.
| We do | We do not |
|---|---|
| Breed to the 4–7 lb standard | Pair two undersized dogs to produce smaller puppies |
| Tell you a puppy’s real current weight | Guarantee an adult weight nobody can predict |
| Send the contract before you pay | Take a deposit before you have seen the terms |
| Send fresh photographs of the actual puppy | Ask for payment by gift card, wire or crypto |
| Fly puppies in-cabin with a companion | Ship any puppy as unaccompanied cargo |
| Decline a home that is wrong for the breed | Sell to whoever pays first |
Where to find us
We are at 128 Merrell Rd, Lena, LA 71447, in Rapides Parish. The phone is (865) 392-0079 and it is answered by a person.
You are welcome to visit in person and meet the puppies and their mother — something no Yorkie breeder working through a middleman can offer. If you are too far away, ask us for fresh photographs — we will send pictures of the puppy, the litter and the room they are raised in before you pay anything.
How to check a Yorkie breeder before you buy
Run these checks against us. Run them against every other Yorkie breeder you speak to as well — anyone who objects to being checked has told you what you need to know.
Ask for fresh photographs of that exact puppy
A genuine Yorkie breeder can send recent pictures of the specific puppy on request. Anyone can lift images from another website, and scammers routinely do — so run whatever you are sent through a reverse image search.
Ask for the contract before any money moves
You should be reading the adoption agreement and the written guarantee while you still owe nothing. Any Yorkie breeder who wants a deposit before you have seen the terms is telling you the terms will not survive scrutiny.
Ask what happens if something goes wrong
Ask for the remedy in writing, and check whether your state has a puppy lemon law — many do not, and in those states the contract is your only protection. Our answer is a written 14-day money-back guarantee from the day the puppy arrives.
Ask where the puppy actually lives
A home-based Yorkie breeder can tell you which room the litter sleeps in and invite you to see it. A broker reselling puppies cannot. Our full guide to spotting a real breeder covers the payment methods you should refuse.
We wrote a guide to spotting puppy scams that includes a section applying the checklist to ourselves. Reverse image search our photos. Call the number. Ask to see the puppy’s mother in the photographs. Ask us anything on the phone. None of that offends us — it is exactly what we would tell our own family to do.
Our promise as a Yorkie breeder, in one paragraph
Your puppy will be examined by a licensed veterinarian, vaccinated on schedule, and held until twelve weeks. You will read the adoption agreement and the health guarantee before you pay a deposit, not after. You will get a delivery quote in writing with nothing added later. And you will have 14 days from the day the puppy arrives to return them for a full refund if a vet finds a covered problem. After that, we are still on the end of the phone — several of our families still message us years later.
Questions
How long have you been breeding Yorkies?
Eight years as a Yorkie breeder, from our home in Lena, Louisiana. We are deliberately small and place a limited number of puppies each year.
Can I visit before I buy?
Yes. Call us and arrange a time — collection from us is free. If you are too far to travel, we will send fresh photographs of the puppy and its mother before any money changes hands.
Do you breed any other breeds?
No. Yorkshire Terriers only. Eight years with one breed is worth more than a year each with eight of them.
How many litters do you have a year?
A small number, deliberately. We would rather have a waiting list than rush a dam or shortchange a litter on handling time.
What happens if I have problems after I take the puppy home?
Call us. Our support does not stop at delivery. Feeding, house-training, grooming questions, or just checking whether something is normal — that is part of what you are buying.
Are you in Louisiana? Your area code is Tennessee.
Yes, we are in Lena, Louisiana. The mobile number is one we have kept for years. If you would rather verify the address, it is 128 Merrell Rd, Lena, LA 71447 and you are welcome to visit.
Come and meet them
Email us, call us, or arrange a visit — whichever suits you. You should expect all three from any Yorkie breeder. We will give you a straight answer about which puppy suits your household — including if the answer is none of them right now.