It takes a special family to care for a special needs child.
Likewise, it takes a special dog.

I have to credit my wife in selecting the Havanese breed 2 years ago for us after our cocker spaniel died. We got him before we had children, and found him quite moody, even with us.

So when we started looking for another dog, we decided it had to meet specific criteria.

Here are the criteria that ultimately led us to select the Havanese breed out of the 150+ breeds recognized by the AKC.
1. must have a great disposition (e.g. with children)
2. must not shed
3. must be hypoallergenic
4. must be intelligent
5. must be healthy
6. must be sturdy

We are a family of 5. My wife, Myself, our children: Ethan, our oldest is 7 years old, and has Cerebral Palsy. Eleanor, our energetic 3YO, and Judah our toddler.

One of our primary concerns is that we wanted a dog that would not be prone to be snappy, or moody. (I grew up with German Shepherds– another great breed– but our Cocker Spaniel the dog we had prior to our Havanese was very moody, and not great with kids.)
We needed a dog that would relate to Ethan on his level, and be tolerant if Ethan pulled her hair while interacting with her.

We have not been disappointed by our selection of the Havanese. On several occasions I have found Ethan with his hands entwined in Lady’s hair, and she is just sitting there waiting for it to be over. Not once has she ever snapped, or growled at Ethan. In fact she has only yelped once that I recall. To be honest I wished she would yelp more often because I personally know how bad it can hurt when Ethan snags your hair. Yet she has only affection for Ethan. Many times in a week she will crawl up into his stroller (wheelchair), or bed (when his bed was low enough for her), and she often curls up with him in bed or sits on his lap when he is on the couch.

It is for this reason we have decided to recommend the Havanese breed for children with special needs. Please buy from a breeder with integrity. We will have a limited number of litters starting in spring 2010.

Our Lady comes from a champion bloodline, and it is our hope that she will help bring the joy of puppies to families of children with special needs.

CAVEAT: If you have an older child that has anger tendencies, or might be prone to willfully inflict pain on a pet, then this may not be the best choice, as it may result in injury to the dog. Dogs are emotional beings, and all Havanese may not be as tolerant as our Lady is of Ethan.

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