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Dog Breeders 111111111111111\ - Golden Opportunit As governments restrict sales of commercially bred puppies, a cottage industry of mom- and-pop dog breeders has emerged to meet the demand. By Amy Martinez Six years ago, Brandie delaPaz and her husband, Matt, a Marine infantry- man then stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., paid $1,500 to a breeder for their first golden retriever, an 8 -week-old fe- male named Sophie. The delaPazes, who have four young children, found Sophie to be an ideal family pet and decided to breed her once she was old enough because "we want- ed another dog just like Sophie," says Brandie delaPaz, a stay-at-home mom. She went online to research how to breed dogs and became overwhelmed by how much there was to know, she says. She enrolled in a program for veterinary assistants at her local community college and eventually bred Sophie with a gold- en retriever owned by another breeder. After a two-month pregnancy, Sophie gave birth at home to eight puppies. The family kept a puppy for themselves, gave three to neighbors and sold the rest for $300 to $400 each. "We had no idea what we were doing;" Brandie says, laughing. "We look back 74 MARCH 2019 FLORIDATREND.COM and say, 'clang, we were so inexperienced.' It's like any small business — you learn." Brandie and Matt delaPaz got more se- rious about breeding, acquired a golden retriever stud and raised two more female dogs. In late 2016, Matt retired from the Marines after 15 years of service. The next year, the family moved to Sebastian in In- dian River County, where they converted their dining room into a puppy room. The delaPazes now breed two female dogs — Meli and Daisy — once a year with the male, Charming. Sophie, their original golden retriever, will retire from. breeding later this year. Brandie, who runs the business, registers the puppies as purebred with the American Ken- nel Club, markets online through AKC's website and usually has a waiting list. (She already has deposits for the next lit- ter in August.) A typical litter numbers eight puppies, each priced at $2,000. The delaPazes say they generate around $30,000 a year from two litters of puppies and spend between $12,000 to $15,000 on the dogs' Brandie delaPaz breeds golden retrievers at the family's home in Sebastian and sells puppies directly to buyers for $2 000 each. - 127