About Us/Testimonials

JEAN AND RIPARIAN'S JEZEBEL ~ "BELLE"

Belle

10/25/95 ~ 11/01/07 I will always miss you my jazzy Belle

You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there

long before any of us.

Robert Louis Stevenson Amen....Jean

Hat Creek's Handsome Gus 11/25/93 ~ 5/14/08 Gus at rest last year with friend "Bird"

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader.

He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy

of such devotion.

unknown

Jean and ~ "Nitro" Just over one year old (in this picture) and due to an injury that ended her career as a competition dog she went on to become a drug dog. In September 2007 we got to watch her work in an abandoned building and alert on the hidden drugs.

November 2008 "Nitro" with her owner and trainer Hoyt Lumpkin

Nitro is now a Certified Cadaver dog as well as Certified in Narcotic detection,

buildings, auto and area search ~ we are all very proud of Hoyt and Nitro!!

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JUST LOST YOUR DOG?

If your heart is heavy because you have lost your dog through an accident or old age or an illness, and you are not sure about getting another dog to fill the "void", I, myself, have been there several times before and in every situation. In reality we all know we cannot replace our special pet and I don't think any of us really try to do that but yet maybe we really long to and then we feel a little bit guilty. I am here to tell you, some years ago I went two years without a dog in my life after my precious "Bess" died. Bess was the most loving little beagle that was the last dog my Dad bought before he got sick and passed away. He had asked me to take her home and raise her. Dad was a small game hunter all his life and we were raised with bird dogs, beagles and coon hounds ~ guess that's where I got my love of dogs ~ as a child I brought home every stray and got bit several times. Dad would sternly say to me "when will you ever learn to leave the dogs alone!"? Guess I never did !

At any rate, I thought I would NEVER have another dog as SPECIAL as Bess. She was probably two months old when I brought her home and she lived 13 years. When she passed away my oldest daughter, Kelly, cried, .... " I remember the first time I saw Bess, she fit right in Grandpa's hand".

And this was true

Well the year was 1980 and Kelly has had in her life another precious "best friend"~"Lindsey" a female Rottweiller who was eight years old when she lost her to bone cancer last year. And I still have my "new" best friend ~ Gus~ he is my first lab and is 14 years old.

I never thought I would feel this strongly after Bess about another dog. But Gus has been the dog that healed my heart. Consider letting a puppy open the door of your heart that grief has closed........... I can only tell you this is how I relate to losing a special pet. And most importantly, do not ever feel bad or foolish about grieving for your pet, as they truly are a member of the family.

We can't replace "our friend" but a puppy will and can help heal your heart. This is the lesson I learned after Bess. I will NEVER be without a dog that long again, life is too short to pass up the opportunity to form a bond with another dog that wants to come into our lifes. And what better joy is there in life but to hug a puppy?? ! !

( I love puppy breath!!)

Please think about this, and also realize these are only my personal feelings and you need to do what feels right for you.

Take care and God Bless, Jean O'Connor

Well the year now is 2009 and Gus, Belle, Punch, Lindsey and her companion, Seth,

are all gone now. When I wrote this section about losing a pet I was most sincere

and yet I had not even a clue about my reactions on losing Gus and

Belle. I had not been in every situation. I can only apologize for being so presumptious, the pain is awful

no matter how often we go through it or how it happens. New

or Old it never gets easier and is always difficult to bear. But I do remain steadfast

in my belief that a new friend is still out there for us and is also the best remedy for

a broken heart.

JOC

TESTIMONIALS

My husband, Neal, and I have known Jean O'Connor of Hat Creek Farm since around 1997. She has been actively involved in breeding wonderful Labrador Retrievers since we have known her. We attended church together for several years before she moved to the country to pursue her dream of living on a farm and breeding top quality retrievers. My first contact with Jean was shortly after losing our beloved Herschel, a black Lab. I contacted her because I was aware of her rapidly growing reputation in our area. Our timing was bad because she had no puppies available at the time. In my desperation, our hoped for yellow Lab turned into a wheaten colored Scottie, a wonderful animal, but definitely not a Lab!

Jean is a person of integrity, who truly cares about her animals and the families which adopt them. Any monetary gains (sometimes I wonder how there are any) are secondary. She diligently tries to match the right dog to the right person or family. She spends a lot of time with each littter socialzing them and determining their personalities. I have no problem recommending a retriever from Hat Creek Farm to anyone. When the time is right for our next retriever, it will definitely come from Jean at Hat Creek. If you have never met her beautiful Belle or Handsome Gus, or seen a finely bred retriever puppy, it is definitely worth a trip to the country!

Debbie Brewer

Flowery Branch, GA

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It has been our pleasure to know and work with Jean of HAT CREEK FARM. She has bred to our yellow male Labrador ~ CHASER'S YUKON HUNTER MH ~ ("CABO") that has produced outstanding litters which have maintained the high standard of the breed including outstanding looks, personalities and conformation. Jean has a knack of matching the right male and the right female to produce genetically superior puppies. Also, Jean's ability to match the correct owner to the right puppy is critical in being successful when you bring that new family member home!

My best advice is to listen to Jean, she will not lead you astray !

Doug and Laura Trautman

Duluth, GA

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Jeannie O'Connor was a little girl with a big, feisty mare that behaved very badly on

occasion. She came to me because she had heard that I could retrain her mare, but

more importantly, that I would be kind in doing so. That defines Jeannie ! That was many years ago and the beginning of a lifelong friendship. The mare turned out to

be a real lady - and little Jeannie grew up to be a real lady too.

Ms O'Connor has many years of experience in the breeding and training of dogs.

She is honest, very capable and, above all, she is kind to her "critters". I can

recommend her highly and without reservation.

Sincerely,

Edward J. Leonard

Pompton Plains, NJ

Governor (Ret'd)

Ramapo Kennel Club

Secretary/Treasurer

Garden State Horseshoers Association

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I had just lost my lab in August 08 when I began searching for quality breeders. Hat Creek stood out among many because it was clear that these pups were kept in a clean and loving environment. And it was just a feel good website. So we took a ride to Perry and had a look-see at seventeen adorable, happy, well cared for and socialized cuties. It was immediately obvious that Jean O'Connor LOVED her animals and knew what she was doing in order to make them the best dogs they could be.

We picked up our new bundle of love in September and he is now at almost 6 months

old and just the best dog we ever had with the BEST disposition! Our vet was very impressed with him and amazed at his calm demeanor. He's really filled the hole in my heart left by losing my beautiful agility dog Groucho.

So here's the deal.....My pup is a most beautiful, playful, extremely SMART and a very affectionate shadow who is totally focused on his Mom and Dad. You could not go wrong picking one of Hat Creek's puppies, for even though I don't know Jean well, I DO know first hand that she is a top-flight lab breeder who gives first class care and lots of love in handling her beautiful labs, both adult and young ones. I will always recommend Hat Creek Farms to anyone without reservation.

Sincerely, Margaret and Dick Wilde

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Dear Jean, We can't thank you enough for the blessing and joy you have brought to our family. "Bella" is wonderful! We are constantly complimented on how beautiful she is. She has finished AKC puppy school and is now in intermediate school along with a tracking and agility group. We're hoping to train her as a therapy dog in the future.

Sincerely, Chad and Leah Hadfield

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We picked out our pup from Hat Creek Farm after doing a lot of research. Sam was our first dog ever so we expressed to Jean our desire to have a wonderful pet. Jean really helped us by watching the puppies develope for the first seven weeks of their lives so that when we picked out our puppy we were getting a pet that would be loving and calm and a great inside as well as outside dog. WOW did it turn out that way! Sam loves to retrieve but when we see her and talk to her, that tail wags a mile a minute! Never have we had an experience like this- where from day one, Sam came in and won our hearts. She also prefers an omelet instead of dog food for breakfast so it is possible to spoil them!

Ken Jackson

Chattanooga TN

hatcreekoconnor@windstream.net

HAT CREEK FARM

QUALITY BRED LABRADORS