Today, we’d like to introduce you to Heather Gibson.
Hi Heather, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My husband and I were foster parents for over a decade and have adopted four children from foster care. During this time, we noticed the deep desire our foster/adoptive children and biological children had to connect with animals.
My husband also attended school for his PhD in Marriage and Family therapy. We did a lot of research and found a cat breed we wanted to bring into our family, but we couldn’t find them anywhere in our area. After a lot of searching, we were able to get three pet kittens and fell in love with them. At that point we worked to get a female we could breed in order to offer some of the families like us a closer option.
A few years later, I got a great update about a cat placement with a college-age woman who was struggling with some mild depression. I called my daughter, who was also in college, and asked why we had never considered placing a cat with her. Her response put us on a new path. She said “Mom, I’m not a cat person, I’m a dog person”. I started researching some of the best emotional support therapy and service dogs.
Today, we honor our roots and focus on helping families find the healthiest emotional support animals, therapy, and service dogs possible. It’s my passion.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh no! What road is ever smooth? Where to start?
We retired our original line of Balinese when I realized they didn’t have the genetic personality we were looking for. There is a lot we can do to socialize our kittens and puppies after being born, but in this case, we found the genetic component made it too difficult to get to the personality we wanted. We spent thousands of dollars making the switch.
We had our first two Havanese girls have genetic health issues, and we didn’t breed them. One out of fear that we might pass on health issues to her offspring. We again spent thousands of dollars, including doing the surgeries needed to make sure they had a long and healthy life before finding them incredible pet homes.
We have had unknown health issues off and on, including vaccine reactions that landed us with thousands of dollars in vet bills. Breeding is amazing work, but it is also hard and, at times, heartbreaking. Losing kittens and puppies is extremely hard.
It can be very lonely, and I often get told how awful it is because I am a breeder. I started training and gathering other breeders to raise the standards and have a community of people who understand who I am and what I am going through.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My passion is to breed the most healthy and outgoing cats and dogs I can. To make a positive impact on the stress and heartbreak of those struggling with mental health.
I strive to learn about all the latest techniques, practices, and procedures to ensure I am at the cutting edge of making my pets the healthiest and best they can be.
What does success mean to you?
Changing an individual’s life for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.bigheartedbreeders.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigheartedbreeders?igsh=b21kZWNkNjNibThx&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigheartedcompanions?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@bighearted_heather?feature=shared
Image Credits
Mollie Shutt
