Kaydin Flat-Coated Retrievers

A little about us . . .

I chose the kennel name Kaydin as a combination of my two pet Yorkshire Terriers’ names. Kayla and Dinky. I wanted my kennel name to have a special meaning to me. Dinky was a rescue yorkie that I actually got for my grandmother a few months after my grandfather passed away. Dinky had been terribly abused and was longing for love. He loved my grandmother but bonded with me. He cried for me day and night so he became my first “little” dog. He was like a baby to me. A few years later I purchased a pet quality yorkie as a companion for him and named her Kayla. Dinky was with me for many years until he passed away in March of 2003 with a brain tumor. He was seventeen years old. I still miss him every day. He will always hold a special place in my heart. Little Miss Kayla is still with us and is now eleven years old.

I was fortunate to be able to grow up with dogs and I can never remember a time without them. My family owned hunting dogs and Irish Setters. I didn’t have brothers or sisters so I bonded with the dogs. They were my best friends and I spent all my free time training and playing with them. I knew at a very young age that I wanted to spend my life working with dogs.

I began Kaydin Kennels in the spring of 2000 with the purchase of my first flat-coated retriever. I had been involved with golden retrievers for several years and had become discouraged with the vast health problems and other issues within the breed. I started searching for another breed that would be a good family dog like the golden retriever. I kept going back to the retriever breeds. It was a must for me to have dogs with loving personalities and a strong desire to please. After over a year of searching for information, reading, and studying as much as possible, I decided on the flat-coated retriever. I have never looked back. I was completely blown away by the flat-coated retriever’s love for life and their incredible enthusiasm for everything they do. I knew I was hooked from the start and now I could never imagine life without a flatcoat.

Kaydin Kennels’ first home was located in North Carolina. In the fall of 2002 I was forced to relocate because of my divorce. I had been very involved with showing and was training full-time. Now this had to be put on hold. I relocated to Florida and began working as a veterinarian technician. I started back slowly, giving private obedience lessons as time permitted. In the summer of 2003, while still going through my divorce, I contracted guillain-barre. I went from working forty plus hours a week at the clinic to not being able to stand within ten days. I had no idea what was happening to me and I was in complete denial about it. Guillain-barre is similar to multiple sclerosis except that it runs its entire, devastating course of damage within two weeks. My life changed forever. I was very fortunate and thank God that I have had a good partial recovery. I have never been able to return to work and my residual side effects keep me from being as active as I once was. I could have never made it through this difficult time without God and the love and support of my family, friends and of course my flatcoats.

In January of 2005 I remarried to a wonderful man who loves the flatcoats. Cameron and I relocated to Georgia and amazingly had our first child, Leianna, in December of 2005. Leianna is a true blessing and definitely my miracle baby. She loves the flatcoats and our oldest flatcoat, Faith, has decided that she is her baby too! In January of 2007 we were blessed once again to find out that I was pregnant with our second child. After months of bedrest we welcomed a very healthy baby boy to the family. Casson has completed our family and we are so thankful.

Leianna with Faith’s puppy, "Skye", Kaydin’s Find Your Wings.

We currently have several areas of interest that we are involved in with the flatcoats. Conformation, therapy dogs, etc. Our plans are to broaden our participation in other areas as time permits.

Currently we share our home with Kayla (our yorkie), Faith, her puppy Skye, and our nine year old lovebird. I co-own several flatcoats that live with their owners. My breedings are limited as I strive for quality and improved health. I feel that I am personally responsible for each and every puppy that I bring into this world. We are a Christian family and we have very strong ethics and moral beliefs. I am always available to talk with or help my puppy owners in any way possible.

The flatcoats are part of our family and always will be. I look forward to watching our children grow up with these beautiful dogs and know they will enrich their lives just as they have mine.

Vanessa Ballard

Email: kaydinkennels@yahoo.com