Who we are...
Legend was started as a labor of love by Neil & Carey Smith. Hi, I'm Carey! I've been training, showing and breeding dogs since 1984 and Neil joined the craziness over 13 years ago. Neil is an Army veteran who fought bravely for our country in Afghanistan from 2010-2011, with several commendations. He is now a long haul truck driver-- a job that he loves. He absolutely adores all of our dogs and is the muscle behind our operation. We have 4 wonderful kids- Trey (Purple Heart Army Veteran, Computer Science degree), Melena (Air Force Active Duty), Gavin (IT industry) & Jaxon (High School student).
My entire life has been dedicated to animals. I started off working for the humane society and as a vet assistant in high school and worked various animal-centered jobs from 1987-2012, when I had to stop working due to severe medical issues. I've been everything from Kennel Manager of Anchorage Animal Control to a Deputy Dog Warden for Montgomery County to a veterinary technician at emergency and small animal practice veterinarians in Ohio and Alaska in my 25 years of service to animals. I am now a full time stay-at-home dog mom!
Animals are my love and dogs are my passion. I have a keen interest in canine nutrition, healthy vaccination protocols, and learning everything I can to have and produce healthy, happy puppies. ALL of our dogs are housepets, first, foremost, and period. We do not have kennels and we never keep more dogs than we can give excessive individual love and attention to. Our dogs are *spoiled*. Our current pack consists of Int Ch. Zodiac's HyJynx di Gargoyle, BN, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, OFA CHIC, "Jynx" our beloved Cane Corso (spayed, never bred, and my Service Dog), the 2 little pigs... Wilbur & Salem and our 8 month old Rottweiler puppy, Asha.
We have never bred just for the sake of breeding....in the 35+ years I have been involved in dogs, I have only bred 7 litters of Rottweilers (my first "show" breed), 3 litters of Staffordshire Bull Terriers, 2 litters of Chihuahuas, and 1 litter of German Shepherd Dogs. So....13 litters in 35 years. I have always focused on quality over quantity and all of our dogs (even the dogs never to be bred) are at least Embark DNA tested. I take the health of our dogs very seriously, having lived with the heartbreaking results of horrific and selfish breeding practices of other breeders. All of our breeding dogs are OFA CHIC certified. We are one of a very, very select few breeders in the country who offer this level of health testing.
We really don't have a lot of hobbies outside of our dogs, but a few of our other interests are family and fitness. Neil really enjoys guns and shooting and I love reading. We also love movies and just being outside in nature. I am a former competitive athlete-- I was a runner and cyclist until my health issues sidelined me about 5 years ago. I now enjoy yoga, a little running, and easy cycling when I'm up to it.
We are always available to "talk dogs", answer any questions you may have, address any concerns, etc. Please don't hesitate to reach out any time!
My entire life has been dedicated to animals. I started off working for the humane society and as a vet assistant in high school and worked various animal-centered jobs from 1987-2012, when I had to stop working due to severe medical issues. I've been everything from Kennel Manager of Anchorage Animal Control to a Deputy Dog Warden for Montgomery County to a veterinary technician at emergency and small animal practice veterinarians in Ohio and Alaska in my 25 years of service to animals. I am now a full time stay-at-home dog mom!
Animals are my love and dogs are my passion. I have a keen interest in canine nutrition, healthy vaccination protocols, and learning everything I can to have and produce healthy, happy puppies. ALL of our dogs are housepets, first, foremost, and period. We do not have kennels and we never keep more dogs than we can give excessive individual love and attention to. Our dogs are *spoiled*. Our current pack consists of Int Ch. Zodiac's HyJynx di Gargoyle, BN, CGC, CGCA, CGCU, OFA CHIC, "Jynx" our beloved Cane Corso (spayed, never bred, and my Service Dog), the 2 little pigs... Wilbur & Salem and our 8 month old Rottweiler puppy, Asha.
We have never bred just for the sake of breeding....in the 35+ years I have been involved in dogs, I have only bred 7 litters of Rottweilers (my first "show" breed), 3 litters of Staffordshire Bull Terriers, 2 litters of Chihuahuas, and 1 litter of German Shepherd Dogs. So....13 litters in 35 years. I have always focused on quality over quantity and all of our dogs (even the dogs never to be bred) are at least Embark DNA tested. I take the health of our dogs very seriously, having lived with the heartbreaking results of horrific and selfish breeding practices of other breeders. All of our breeding dogs are OFA CHIC certified. We are one of a very, very select few breeders in the country who offer this level of health testing.
We really don't have a lot of hobbies outside of our dogs, but a few of our other interests are family and fitness. Neil really enjoys guns and shooting and I love reading. We also love movies and just being outside in nature. I am a former competitive athlete-- I was a runner and cyclist until my health issues sidelined me about 5 years ago. I now enjoy yoga, a little running, and easy cycling when I'm up to it.
We are always available to "talk dogs", answer any questions you may have, address any concerns, etc. Please don't hesitate to reach out any time!