I am the proud owner of one of the very prestigious

I have to tell you that Roger is doing great! You really picked the
perfect puppy for Christina and me. He is getting out and making lots of
friends. Roger is a great addition to our family. He has also really
sparked a bunch of life into Sadie. We went to his checkup and shots
today and he is a very healthy boy. Feel free to use me as a reference
any time.

Bill Patterson, TN

I am the proud owner of one of the very prestigious "Ashland Labs," Ralph. He is an absolute dream and just the best companion that I have ever had. He is smarter than my 18 year-old son. He holds the standard so well that he photographs like a "Ducks Unlimited" model. Theresa delivers on every thing she says. There is a reason why her puppies are always sold out before the litter even gets here. The quality of her dogs can not be disputed.

I have 2 beautiful Labs from Ashland. Not only are these dogs great but I have called

Theresa Gordy more times than I can count for her expert advice. I loved these dogs so much I bought

one for my best friend and my other best friend bought 2 from Theresa. We bought ours on

recommendation and she shipped them to New York and I never had a minutes regret. I would recommend Ashland

Labradors without reservation.

Donald Birnbaum (New York)

Let me begin by saying that Teresa Gordy was wonderful to work with. Her Knowledge knows no bounds. She answered so many questions and put up graciously with a worrisome expectant parent (me)!! She is not only the women that helped birth my new family member, she is my new life long friend. I plan on getting another pup from her in the next year or two. If she will allow me the priviledge.
As far our our sweet and sometimes mischievious "ABBIE"......she is GREAT and BEAUTIFUL. We love her to pieces. She is so lovable. She is energetic, yet calm. Never has she displayed hyperactivity. She loves her mom (me) as well as the rest of the family. But I think I am her favorite because I am the one who cares for her and works with her. I know that it is very unusual, but she has never cried, ever, since the minute we drove out of the Gordy's drive. Not even the first few nights in the crate. I was quite surprised and I know that is not the norm, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Upon our first visit to the vet, of course I was the proud parent, he was so impressed that he made photos copies of the Ashland information and said that he had a good friend interested in a good quality Lab. He ask if he might inquire how much she cost and when I told him he said with her quality he thought I would have paid at least $1000.00 for her.
Needless to say I felt even more proud. By the next day his friend had already contacted Ashland saying that his vet friend had just examined one of the most perfect Labs he had ever seen...MY ABBIE!!
Abbie is very bright. She loves to swim. Within two or three minutes one evening I taught her to sit. Now she does the Sit and Down command. We also work on the Leave It command. She is only 3 months old as I write this. We start puppy puppy preschool next week. She learned to walk quickly on a leash and loves to go By By. The only thing I have had trouble with is potty training and I will take the blame. I feel I have not been consistant enough. I have two young children and my husband has just started a new business so things can get busy....along with having a teenager. I sometimes do not get her out soon enough. She never does number two inside....only tinkle. I am working harder on this issue and things go much better when I am more focused on watching her cues. All in all she is completely wonderful. I would be happy to e-mail pictures to anyone who desires to see her. I think her markings are just gorgeous. She is light yellow with a little darker yellow on the ears, down the back and on the back of her legs. You will not be sorry if you purchase from Ashland. I saw all of their dogs at their kennel and my 2 and 1/2 year old even lay on some of them. They are so gentle.

Dear Teresa--
I apologize for not being a good correspondent, and for not answering your request for a reference as promptly as I would have liked. The fact of the matter is, I am TERRIBLE about getting things done, including phoning my daughters and keeping you informed about my wonderful dog. As you recall, I lost my wife of 42 years to cancer in June, 1999. I was totally depressed, grief stricken, and physically exhausted after her long illness. My friends and family strongly suggested that I needed a canine companion to give me responsibilities, a reason to get up in the morning, and an impetus to get out and about. Having owned two labs before, I knew that a Labrador Retriever was the breed I was looking for. After an exhaustive search on the internet, I found Ashland Kennels, and was hugely impressed by your brochure and the policies it outlined. In correspondence with you, I expressed my desire to for a companion dog, and my lack of interest in conformation trials. When I drove from Tallahassee, FL to Ashland, TN you offered me the choice of two eight week old black males, out of Ashland's Special Effex by Bowie. One was considerably larger that the other, and was my first tentative choice. The smaller of the two, unlike his brother, burst from the encloser and immediately expressed exhuberance, curosity, and effection. You strongly recommeded that I choose the extrovert, and to my everlasting gratitude, I did.
I subsequently named him "Ashland's Macduff of Fife" with a disciplinary name of "Macduff", and an effectionate call for attention, "Duffy". By both names, he has become the delight of my life.
PHYSICAL:
1.With his boxy English head/short snout, he is the handsomest Lab in N. Florida. In this land of slope-headed, snipe-nosed labs (called by the locals "gatorheads"), he is Clark Cable and Robert Redford combined.
2. At eleven months, he is 75 lbs, 24" at the shoulder, 23" at the croup, 24" shoulder to croup; significantly smaller than I had expected. He is none the less breed proportional, well muscled and athletic, and presents a very impressive appearane. I hasten to add that I am very happy that he will be significantly smaller than his sire.
DISPOSITION/INTELLIGENCE
1. Duffy is the smartest dog I have ever owned, including 3 German Shepherds, a collie-malamute mix, a beagle and several mutts. He was Cage-trained at eight weeks and four days, and totally housebroken at three months. At five months of age he learned, in two training sessions, the boundries of his "safe area" as defined by an underground "fence". In six months he has never broken through the electronic barrier to leave the yard.
2. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT--PAY ATTENTION: From day one, he has been the mellowest, laid back dog I have ever owned. He has NEVER displayed the slightest suggestion of "seperation anxiety". When he hears me fiddling with my car keys, he either waits at the front door, or HE WALKS INTO HIS CAGE AND LIES DOWN, thus telling me whether he wants to go for a ride or not. Generally speaking, in the hot and humid Florida summer, Duffy would much rather stay in the air conditioned comfort of his crate. In any case, whether I leave him at home, or put him into the rear of my Blazer, when I return to house or car, I have to wake him up to let him know Daddy is back. He couldn't care less!
3. When he turned nine months of age, Duffy became really affectionate. He retains his independence, which pleases me to no end. He does not dog my footsteps wherever I go, or hang around my feet, but he checks on me from time to time and insinuates himself into my arms or between my legs to elicit strokes and scratches. He begins the beginning of the late night on the floor at the foot of my bed, but at some time in the wee hours he ghosts downstairs to the foyer where he is in the best position effusively to welcome any burglar who has broken into the house through the front door. What this means is, he doesn't have an aggressive, belligerent bone in his body. He loves all people. He loves all animals. And he wants to embrace them, and lick their noses and make them love him. Except for the multitude of squirrels in our back yard. They play him like a piano, fibrillate his instincts and emotion, and use him as a dominatrix for the aerobic exercise ("Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! You can't catch me!"). Otherwise, he is content with the world as it is, and would just as soon leave it that way. You are NOT likely to meet Duffy at a demonstration.
4.Macduff has successfully completed basic obedience training. He behaves superbly when we are by ourselves (Heel, Sit, Stay, Down, Fetch) but in the presence of new dogs and new people he goes bananas. He loves them too much.
5. Duffy loves me, is intelligent, is eager to be taught and is eager to please me. He is an ideal companion dog. both physically and intellectually.
Teresa, it is difficult to express in words how much Macduff has done for me and means to me. It is probably not an exaggeration to think that he saved my life. He is the best dog I have ever shared my life with.
I am beginning to think about the possibility of acquiring a yellow, male sibling of Macduff (Bowie X Special Effex), for conformation competition and possible breeding. Quite a number of Lab enthusiast in this area have expressed an interest in Duffy as a stud, but I have declined, and, as I mentioned above, will have him neutered in early September. Please let me know of future whelping.
You have my full permission to use any part(s) of this correspondance.
Best Regards.

Forgive me for being so long-winded. I don't think I am capable of being brief. especially when it comes to Payton!!!
Yes, we would be delighted to be a reference for your kennel. As a matter of fact, we recommend you to friends and family, etc...all the time. Being a Lab fan for many years, growing up with our own, and being around quite a number of others, I will have to give what we have seen in you and your dogs a definate "A+"!!!
We searched quite extensively for a breeder that was offering what we were looking for. Payton is everything we expected him to be, and much more!
To be quite honest, this dog was basically going to become our "child", so we wanted him to be the things any parent would want: beautiful, intelligent, loving, healthy and happy. After looking around, we were definitely atrracted to the look of your dogs--not just the puppies, but the adults, as well. We also found out from speaking with you that, in addition to all the good health screening stuff. and appearance, you also breed for temperament and personality. That meant alot to us, too. You seemed to offer all the things we were looking for in a dog.
Now that Payton is approaching nine months old, and almost adult size, we are as enchanted with him as we were on the day we brought him home as a sweet little puppy. He truly is a charmer in all areas and we couldn't be more delighted!!! He travels with us some, and is very socialble. And just so you don't think were being partial, I must tell you that we constantly (no exaggeration) have people coming up to pet him and tell us how pretty he is: his eyes, his face, his coat, his "smile". We get lots of remarks about how smart he is, how friendly he is. He's just wonderful!!!
I don't really have any one story to tell. He does things every day that amaze and impress us, or sweet things that make us love him all the more. I guess the one thing we love about him the most is his personality. He's very attentive and affectionate, happy and playful. But when it's time to be, he is also gentle, sensitive and serious. He can fetch the ball, play tug of war with a toy, splash in his little swimming pool and just have the biggest time acting silly and doing all the regular doggy stuff. But, then he can come inside and play with my nephews (ages 4 and 6) and be so gentle and careful with them. They like to build a "cave" (two chairs and a sheet), and Payton gets to be the "Grizzly Bear" and "get" them. This consist of lots of squeling and giggling, fake growling, tail wagging and slobbery kisses. They have a blast!!! Payton seems to know just whatto do to play along and catches on fast! On another day, we might be over at my friends house. She has three little Min-Pins and a Boston Terrier. Payton probably outweighs them al by 60 lbs or more right now, yet he can spend the whole evening playing chase, four-way tug of war, wrestling (if you could call it that), and everybody just has a great time. It's so much fun to watch! But even though he's so big and could play rough if he wanted, instead he falls down and lets them jump and chew on him, lets them win the tug of war, kind of like the big brother.
But above all, he is terrific at home with us. He and our two cats are great together, too! He's well behaved and has learned good house manners. Ok, ok, yes, he gets to sleep on the end of the bed if he's had his bath. But not all the time, because he snores!!! It's so funny...I'll think it is Terry snoring and I give hime a little nudge to make hime stop, and then realize it was the dog!!! Anyway, to make a very long story short, he has added so much joy to our family, and we are so happy to have him. And, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of his "little sister" dog in a couple of months!!! Thanks so much for bring these wonderful dogs into our lives!

Teresa,
"Scout" is doing great!! I took him to the vet this morning and he has gained 10 pounds in 3 weeks. He weighs 27 pounds. His paws are enormous. At 9 weeks I took him tio the river down here expecting him to just sniff the water and walk off. On the contrary, he jumped in and took off swimming. I have been training him twice a day since the day I picked him up. He has absolutely no trouble retrieveing a puppy-sized duck training decoy. If only I could get him to stop "doing his business" in the house everything would be great.
If you would like to use my name on your reference list please do. I am extreamly happy with my dog. I can see a vast difference already in the appearance and manners of my 12 week old pup even compared to older Labs that my friends bought from John Q Citizen out of their backyard. Let me know if there is anyway I can help promote your efforts. Thanks!

Teresa,

I cannot tell you how much we enjoy having Jingles. She is the sweetest puppy. She would like to be a lap dog if she could. Our son Zachery is totally in love with her and she is such a good play mate for Zachery. Jingles has been a wonderful addition to our family. I was a bit concerned on how our older Lab, Duchess, was going to take to a new puppy. I have to say, I will never own only ! dog ever again. Dutchess has become a new dog. She is energized and totally loves Jingles. They really love each other.

Jingles is a real Lab. We bought a plastic pool for her last weekend and we cannot keep her out. She will run around the yard with Duchess and then go straight to the pool and lay in the water. She puts her entire head in the water and shakes her head. It is so funny to watch. One other thing that she does that is so cute. She goes into the yard and digs up rocks and then takes them to the top of the hills and lets them go. She will the go chasing after the rocks. She will play that way for hours. It is a good thing we do not have a manicured yard!!!

I have been meaning to contact you to give you an update on Bailey. He is growing very quickly and is very happy in his new home. He never has cried since day 1. He slept through the first night and continues to do so. When we want to sleep in he plays queitly in his crate with his toys (he has many) He gets LOTS of attention and brings much happiness to us. We take him on short walks around the neighborhood and he loves all the kids. We always get the comment that he is one of the most beautiful pups they have seen. We are very proud of him. His mild temperament is great. He is well balanced in that there are times he loves to play and times he just wants to cuddle. He has been to the vet twice and had his 3rd round of shots. We have also started him on the Frontline therapy. My wife found an excellent vet from neighbor recommendations. He was extreamly impressed with you and how much detail anc care you put into your work. He was going to show my wife how to clip Bailey's nails but said your job was so immaculate he could not show her. We could not be happier and would be interested in any future breedings between Casey and Bodie. I will have my wife write you a letter and send you pictures as we would be more than happy to be a reference.

Teresa,
You may use my name for your referrence list.
We decided to name our puppy Shelby. She is now 13 weeks and is an extreamly well behaved puppy, not to mention her beautiful body structure. Shelby has a fantastic disposition: playful but also very observant and obedient. Her favorite toy is the stuffed cow you sent home in the care package, she can't get enough of it.
Shelby learned proper household behavior very easily, she is allowed in certain areas of the house and even without any sort of gate she stays only in those specific areas. Suprisingly enough she has already learned sit, lay-down and stay on both voice and hand signals. We made our first trip into the water last weekend and she was fanatical about swimming.
If I can get some pictures scanned in I will send them to you. She is making great progress both mentally and physically.

I've been raising dogs for about 17 years. Labradors for only 10. I've dealt with and spoke with, many breeders. I believe Teresa to be one of the good guys. In fact, I would go as far to say, she is probably the best breeder I've ever dealt with. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of fine breeders....BUT.....Teresa responds to her e-mails right off. Have you ever asked someone a question via e-mail and the dodge the answer or just act as though you never asked it?
Not Teresa.... Try it.... She will not let you down.
In speaking with her on the phone, I found her to be very smart, fun to talk with, and a REAL person.
We need more breeders to be like her.
Heck we need more people to be like her....
She is not the type to talk down to you, she has a great personality. I would trust her with whatever she says.
I have 2 of her dogs, both very healthy, excellent coats, very sweet temperaments, wonderful dogs...
We've had absolutley NO health problems with them. However, I have no doubt, that if something were to arise, Teresa would not run and hide, rather stand behind her dogs.
For those of you who have never had a dog shipped to you from out of state.....No worries...They arrive in fine shape. Safe and sound. Teresa doesn't just get them on any plane, she looks for the best flight (shortest time) for the pup.
THANK YOU TERESA.....
For sending us 2 of your fine pups.
Willow and Hazel are doing great.
I like your new website, very cool....
I hope you and your family are happy and healthy :-) Wayne