Carita Havanese is a the culmination of a lifelong dream of raising quality puppies for loving homes where their people want to just love them, or do agility, obedience or work toward a breed championship in the show ring.
I currently live near Fredericsksburg, Virginia, on 1.5 acres, with lots of fenced space for dogs to run and play!
About Karen: I’m a graduate of Georgetown University, with a degree in philosophy, specializing in ethics, and a minor in theology. This background guides me in my desire to maintain the highest standards of ethics in breeding, showing and selling my puppies. I have spent more than 30 years as a communications executive for major corporations, and have recently left my full time position, and am semi-retired, so I get to spend more time with my dogs at my home in Virginia!
Bringing my educational and work background to breeding dogs, we are extremely careful in breeding only dogs who meet stringent standards for health and temperament. These qualities must be first!! Good health includes good structure, which is of course a prerequisite for a performance or show dog.
Our dogs get health clearances for eyes, knees, hips, hearts and hearing. Knees cannot be tested until a year of age, and hips not until 16 weeks. Carita Havanese puppies come with a three year health guarantee, during which time any genetic defects such as poor hips, eyes or knees will have shown themselves. We have not yet ever had a puppy with these problems, I am happy to say….but that is why there is a health guarantee that gives puppy buyers a sense of confidence that their new puppy will grow up healthy and happy.
As a testament to our dedication to breeding quality dogs, we have been accepted into the American Kennel Club’s Breeder of Merit program, and now have been awarded the title of Breeder of Merit Bronze. This designation means we have bred at least 10 dogs who have achieved either performance titles or conformation titles, we register all our puppies, and we conduct all the appropriate health tests on the dogs we breed.