I happened to come upon Weeping Willow while looking to add a puppy to the family- a friend of mine got their amazing puppy from them, and of course I had to enquire. I was lucky enough that the timing worked out and I am now the proud owner of River (formerly Twix, look her up the pictures are there!) who is an incredible puppy. Let's rewind for a second here:

The breeders (in this case Catherine Albert) are very open with communication and after filling out a form to show your interest, want to talk to you to see what you're looking for / what you want. From there I was constantly asking questions to make sure they were a good fit / and if I was a good fit, and they are extremely open with expectations, what they do etc. Currently, we are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, so things have been awkward with visiting and social distancing, and I was unable to make the ~400 mile trip to Knoxville, and they were able to make it work. They were intent on meeting me in person and met me halfway.

Meeting with Terry and Catherine, it was very clear they have so much love for their puppies, and their interest is in providing them the best home possible. They also brought Willow, the mother of River, and it's clear the dogs are not just pets / show dogs / breeding animals, but also family. This was not some simple hand-off, here's money, here's pup, there is an expectation of going over how the puppies were raised up to that point as well as providing extensive information on continuing to raise the puppy to be as successful as possible. Immediately, what I received was a self assured puppy who was very well adjusted. On the ride back home, she was nervous for a minute at most, and was quiet the whole ride up. No accidents in the crate, and it's day 4, and she has only been pottying outside! Incredible! Maybe she's an outlier (honestly I attribute this to the breeder, but hey, you might not believe it), but there are other things that are 100% breeder related. She is manding, she sits, stands, lays down, turns, touches, shakes, high fives, and that's not the end of the list, that was from the get go. I've had to work on it myself so she's used to me giving her the commands, but the vet was extremely impressed, since puppies usually don't even sit on command.

Does River have her difficulties? Yes. She's a puppy, she's a baby in a new world, and she's adjusting. She cries at times, but it's on me to understand what she's asking for, and when I get it right, it's all worth it. On top of that, they're extremely responsive even now when I have questions on how to deal with anything. They care about their pups beyond just the handoff.

Do yourself a favor, if you're looking for a Miniature American Shepherd, get it from Weeping Willow Miniature American Shepherds. You won't be disappointed!

P.S. Yes, I wrote a LOT, but that's because an exceptional breeder deserves a detailed reason why you should go with them. If you have any questions from the perspective of an owner, I'll be happy to respond.