WE HAVE TWO LOCATIONS!
You will find us in Atlanta, Texas and in Rio Vista, California
About Us
About Deborah Stroud (Texas Location)
Deborah has been a dog breeder, trainer & has been showing for over 30 years. She has owned several different breeds over the years large & small. Her first Toy Rat Terrier was purchased in 2007 and she quickly fell in love with the breed.
From the beginning this little terrier did not perceive herself to be any smaller than the largest Bloodhound that was part of the family. She had a keen alert brain and quickly learned everything she was taught. Deborah chose to promote this breed in the toy size because she was like no other small dog Deborah had ever encountered.
Sensitive, confident, affectionate, easily adaptable for city/country living; hunters, athletic, loyal, extremely intelligent for easy training & minimal grooming needs – all the traits that CaliRats Terriers strive for in their current breeding program. Their goal was to produce a hardy dog endowed with the same traits of a larger Rat Terrier.
CaliRats was originally located in Northern California (hence the “Cali”) but retired to Atlanta, Texas in 2016 where Deborah can now concentrate full time on her breeding program. Deborah’s custom log cabin home in Texas includes a 600 square foot family room, climate controlled against the Texas weather, along with a whelping area separated from living quarters of other adult dogs giving moms & pups privacy. Deborah’s office is located in the family room so she can be close to the dogs all day. The property offers 1 acre of fenced yards where the dogs are free to hunt squirrels, chase birds, play tag, and be free as a bird as it should be!
About Melissa Snodgrass Dillon (California Location)
Melissa has always had a dog in her house ever since she can remember, but they were always larger dogs. However, when the time came for a new fur baby, she wanted one that was of a smaller stature. Knowing her long-time friend Deborah Stroud bred Toy Rat Terriors, she did her research and decided that breed would be a great fit. Little did she know that when she got her first CaliRat in 2013, she would end up having 5. Melissa loves to say “CaliRats are like potato chips. You can’t have just one.”
In 2020, Melissa and Deborah decided that a small program for CaliRats in California would be a great addition. With Deborah as her mentor, Melissa took the plunge and has never looked back. Melissa shares, “Loving what you do helps keep you happy in life, and I absolutely love the whole process of breeding. To be as lucky as I am, loving on puppies, watching them grow and develop mentally. Taking the time to socialize them, play with them and smell puppy breath every day, who wouldn’t be happy?”
Melissa will graduate in 2022 with her degree in dog training and behavioral specialist.
About CaliRats Terriers
- Our Rattie family is on a smaller scale so our dogs as well as their pups are raised indoors & socialized as part of the family.
- We are very transparent and do our best to find you the perfect fit for your family’s needs.
- We strive for excellent temperaments and health, strong bone structure to maintain hardiness in our toy lines and guaranteed PLL/PRA-PRCD/DM
- We have both the classic type A and type B body styles in our program. Type A body types tend to be more square – the length is similar to the height when viewed from the side. Type B body types tend to be longer than tall when viewed from the side.
- We responsibly breed the unique Merle pattern, brindle & traditional in a variety of colors; black, blue, chocolate, pearl with tan. Our possibilities of sizes range from 5lb to 20lb, small toys up to small standards depending on breeding couple. These sizes make an ideal lap/family dog.
- Our puppies when ready to leave for their new homes are up to date on vaccines, wormed, dew-claws removed, tails docked, using a litter box, paper trained & sleeping in a crate. They have also been exposed to all the normal sites, sounds and smells of a home since birth which is extremely important in order to have a well adjusted dog.
- Our dogs pedigrees have been RTCA certified with AKC, UKC, CKC, &/or UKCI registrations.
- We provide ongoing support after you buy a puppy from us and we’re always happy to talk about Rat Terriers!
- Don’t miss out on the joy of owning a CaliRats Rat Terrier. Contact us to get on our waiting list to reserve your forever pup today!
