“As I shared with you a while ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wanted to share this picture and story of Boomer, who never leaves my side. The other day was my chemo treatment and I was feeling a little weird with some side effects. Boomer must have sensed it because he got up on the chair and laid on me like he was a shawl! This was my first brave picture without hair and I posted it on Facebook to share since I have an amazing support of friends and family. So, I wanted to share the story of Boomer. (I tried to edit the green eyes with the redeye removal and it would not allow me to do so.) Boomer always shows concern through his eyes and uses his paws to tap me, lay his paw on my foot, etc. He’s truly been amazing for me through all of this. My friends tell me he is a dog angel, and I kinda believe it! I’m so blessed to have him in my life and he is truly the most amazing dog ever!!!! Keep up the amazing job that you do breeding such loving, caring, beautiful chocolate labs! We are blessed to have him – all because of you!”
Boomer 10 months old
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“My husband and I spent much time looking for a reputable breeder to give us our first addition to our new family. Once we found Erica there was no question where we would be getting our first chocolate Lab. Erica and I spoke for almost an hour the first time I reached out to her and made us feel so comfortable. She walked us through every step of the way and kept us updated on each milestone the puppies met, as our little Maci came closer to joining our home. After Maci came home we kept in touch and Erica still gave us support, joined us for obedience classes with her dogs, and met up for play dates. Erica is extremely knowledgeable of the breed and has a true passion for what she does. Maci is more than we could have ever imagined. She is playful and caring with the best temperament and very smart! She passed AKC Star Puppy, K-9 Manners, and her Canine Good Citizen all before one year of age. On our walks everyone stops to tell us how pretty she is! As her first birthday approaches, we look back over this past year and cannot help but be overwhelmed with the joy she has given us.”
Maci 9 months old
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“We named our puppy Kona and she’s doing great. She’s certainly a hit within the neighborhood and with our 5 year yellow Lab Sunny. She is a very happy dog with a terrific personality. She was in the pool all day today to the point we had to make her come out for fear of exhausting her. She loves the water and having fun. She’s the fourth Lab we have had in our family over the years. They are a fantastic breed, and all have had their positive attributes. What we observed with Kona is that she is very eager to please and was by far the easiest to train. We really are happy with her balanced demeanor and personality. You and Sandy did a great job with her and we couldn’t be more pleased.”
Kona 4 months old
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“It was not an easy task, to find a breeder that we were completely happy with. Coming from New York, there were numerous breeders from which to choose, but none that we felt happy or confident with for our new family member. All our homework and research, lead back to you. Distance, obviously was not an issue.
My husband and I were so pleased with the whole process. From the day we started inquiring. To the day we drove down to Florida, to pick up our new chocolate male puppy. We want to thank you and Sandy, for your dedication and professionalism (which you honestly do not find in many breeders).
We named our puppy, Dexter. We feel he is so suited for us, and has all the qualities you would want, or look for in a Labrador. Dexter has a fabulous temperament. Not to mention how extremely handsome he is. Immediately, he adapted, and has been an awesome addition to our family. Dexter helped us overcome the sadness we felt from the loss of our first Lab of 14 years. We are having a blast, with this sweet little character. You and Sandy did a great job with Dex, and we would highly recommend you. Keep up the good work!”
Dexter 2 years old
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“Back in early 2013, my husband and I lost our 13 yr old Labrador, Jade. Becoming empty nesters that same year, we began the search for another addition to our family. After months of research, we chose TruPride Labradors. Our choice was based upon the rigorous standards they use, their commitment to ensuring excellent health and temperament, and their “hobby breeder” approach. Erica was wonderful with us throughout the process, and kept us up to date from conception to birth through daily posts on Facebook, phone communications, and email.
We could not be more pleased with our Cooper. (Copy x Penny Litter 6/25/2014 – White collar male). Cooper is the picture of health, so loving an affectionate and SMART! He was housebroken in 2 days, and was ringing a bell to go outside by the end of the first week we had him home. My husband taught him in a day. He is the picture of health, LOVES to swim and loves to be Mom’s traveling buddy.”
Cooper
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“TruPride Labradors is the BEST EVER! We had a 12 year old Chocolate Lab and wanted to get a puppy. We came across TruPride Labradors, contacted Erica and went to her house and talked to her for hours. My husband, Mike and I immediately hit it off with Erica and her beautiful girls, Aggie and Penny! We fell in love with Aggie and Penny and just knew that is where we wanted our next lab from. We stayed in contact with Erica for almost year and then we were completely blessed to receive the news that Erica had a puppy for us!! Erica was so wonderful sending pictures, updates and what to do to prepare for our new pup!! When we arrived to get “Tucker” we instantly had tears at how beautiful he was!! Tucker is absolutely STUNNING!!! We have people stop us all the time to tell us how gorgeous he is! Not only is Tucker beautiful, he has an amazing personality and such a great family dog!! We are so lucky and blessed Erica chose us for one of her puppies!! We will for sure be getting another puppy from TruPride Labradors in the future! Tucker is FABULOUS and TruPride Labradors is the BEST!!!!”
Tucker
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“I have Multiple Sclerosis and about 3 and a half years ago began researching breeders. Breeders come in all shapes and sizes and prices but buyer beware you get what you pay for. I wanted a Labrador and the more I researched the more I learned…then I found Erica and TruPride Labradors. Erica of TruPride Labradors KNOWS what it takes to breed her dogs and the quality of her puppies is rare. When I contacted Erica I was told there was a waiting list (I believe it was about a year…maybe a little less, but worth the wait). When her dogs (Penny and Aggie) got pregnant the real excitement began. Erica was so communicative – emails, Facebook, text, and her website blog – I checked them all daily.
Penny and Aggie gave birth only days apart. Erica had TWO litters of puppies to raise and she takes that responsibility very strongly. Erica knew that I needed the right puppy because it was to be trained as a service dog. So both litters went to a trainer at about 7 weeks old for a formal evaluation. They observed the pups in many settings until my service dog was chosen. (Copy x Penny Litter 6/25/2014 – black collar male). After a year and a half of training Kane is now my mobility service dog.
(Going back to you get what you pay for) Kane was at a vet appointment recently. His vet commented that Kane is one of the best looking chocolate Labs he has seen in a long time and that his breeder must really know what she is doing. He went on to comment on how many times people come into the office with a chocolate that they say is pure bred but it has a nose without pigment. He just shakes his head because a true well-bred chocolate has a chocolate brown nose (dark pigment) as Kane has.
Erica is still a part of our life and is always available for questions about the breed. She wants to watch her grandpups grow up to be loved and healthy. She is available no matter if the puppy is just going to be someone’s beautiful pet, working dog, or competition dog. It is amazing that she does not just give you a puppy and say ‘have a nice life’. I am so glad I found TruPride Labradors.”
Kane
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“Growing up in a family surrounded by Labrador Retrievers, we had high expectations when finding our newest family member. We searched for nearly two years for a breeder we could trust & that’s exactly what we got! Erica Owen and her family take the utmost pride in raising the absolute best Chocolate Labrador retriever puppies. Mya, our chocolate Lab, is now 11 months old is absolutely brilliant and gorgeous. We wanted a dog that liked to travel, was great around people, athletic, outgoing, fun, not to forget healthy, and we certainly lucked out! We are so thrilled we would love to seek out TruPride in the near future a half-sister for Mya to play with! We would certainly recommend anyone who is interested in an amazing breeder to TruPride Labradors.”
Mya
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“We’ve been fortunate enough to have 4 chocolate Labs in our lives over the years. We love the breed and chocolates will be the only labs we ever own. From all of our experiences with different breeders for our dogs we will NEVER use another breeder other than TruPride. We’ve always had a difficult time finding quality chocolate Labs from a reputable breeder. From the first contact with Erica we knew we had found the right person for our next Lab. She has so much solid experience with chocolate Labradors, and she is always willing to answer any and all questions. TruPride Labs are bred with show quality standards and perfect dispositions. We were looking for a quality Lab when we adopted our Hooper a little over two years ago. More importantly, we simply wanted a loving, healthy dog and that’s exactly what we brought home! Our Hooper’s personality and affectionate ways are such a joy to us each and every day! We’ve been told countless times that we should be showing our Hooper, but we would rather just enjoy him as a family member to love every day. He loves his older chocolate brother and is always willing to play with any dog we meet. Hooper’s favorite things are riding in the boat and swimming at the beach! We cannot thank Erica and TruPride Labradors enough for providing us with such a loving addition to our family. If possible we would get a new Lab from Erica every litter! When the time comes for chocolate Lab number five, we will use nobody but Erica and TruPride!”
Hooper
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“We could not be more in love with our chocolate Lab Colby and could not be more grateful for TruPride Labradors for bringing him into our lives. Erica kept us completely updated on the entire process and when we found out that we were able to get a puppy from the next litter, we were more than ecstatic. Colby is the most gentle, sweetest, loving dog anyone could ever ask for. It was love at first sight and we could not have asked Erica for any pup better than him. Colby is amazing and we are thankful for TruPride Labradors!”
Colby
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“It had been a year since our family had lost our two boy Labs within nine months of each other and my heart simply wasn’t healing without the love of my boys. I asked my husband to begin the search for another puppy for me to fall in love with and heal my heart. He finally agreed and showed me TruPride Labs Facebook page. Immediately I began to search through all of Erica’s pictures of her dogs and puppies, and I fell in love with Penny’s sweet eyes.
Patrick emailed Erica who replied almost instantaneously. She advised that Penny was pregnant but she had a waiting list. We lived across the state of Florida from Erica but had a volleyball tournament for our daughter to go to the following weekend and would be in town. Erica agreed to allow us to come to her house and meet Penny and for her to also meet us. We didn’t arrive at her house until almost 9:00 PM but she opened her door and let my family come in and spent almost two hours with us. Penny was as sweet as I imagined.
Our visit was on February 12, 2016 and on my beautiful brown bouncing boy, Bruno, was born on February 15th. Erica called Patrick to tell him that Penny had had 12 puppies, 6 boys and 6 girls and that The Durso Family would be getting a new baby boy.
Bruno will be a year this month and my heart has completely healed. He is a smart and sweet boy who sleeps on my head every night. Everyone that meets Bruno comments on what a good looking boy he is. He loves to be on the boat offshore fishing and swimming in our pool…daily (we can’t keep him out of it). He goes to doggie day care (school) everyday while my husband and I are at work to socialize, play and hang with his buddies.
Words cannot begin to express how happy Bruno has made our family. We are grateful that Erica and TruPride Labs exist.”
Bruno
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“We cannot thank you enough for the beautiful gift you have given our family. Keebler (Copy x Roxy) is 10 months old now, and we don’t remember life without him. It’s as if he has been in our family for years. He has completed us. I have wanted a Chocolate Lab for years, but it was never the right time. I always knew they were a good dog to have with small children, but I am amazed at how patient, playful, obedient, and loving he can be.
Keebler was extremely easy to train and he follows commands from everyone in the family (including my 6 year old). He does not allow me to forget that 5am and 5pm are his feeding times, and he has never met a ball (or stick) that he didn’t love. He is full of energy and loves long walks and swims in the pool. However, when it is time for me to work at my computer, he is my official foot warmer. He is especially close to my daughter. He knows he is only allowed on her bed and falls asleep with her almost every night. Last night, she was crying over a book she was reading and he kept especially close to her as she fell asleep. Wherever we take him, we receive compliments about his beautiful eyes, his shiny coat, his strong stature and his ability to follow commands. We are so proud to have him in our family.
Even my veterinarian has been impressed by his strong features and intelligence. He told me that many people come in with “full bred” labs, but he can see from the features that another breed is mixed in. At Keebler’s first visit, the doctor’s exact words to me were, “This is a TRUE Labrador…he must come from a really good line.”
TruPride has been more than a breeder to us. Your open communication helped us prepare for his arrival and made the transition for us much easier. I especially appreciate that, even now, I can contact you at any time, with questions or updates and you are very quick to respond, offer advice and share resources.
After my children were born, I was surprised at how close I felt to my ob/gyn because of the role he played in delivering my children to me. That is how I feel about TruPride because you have delivered my youngest (and now biggest) baby to me. Thank you for the gift of Keebler and keep doing what you are doing!”
Keebler
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