I have gone to each location and asked one of the kids these questions.
1. What's your favorite puppy age?
2. What do you do to help out with the parent dogs?
3. What do you do to help out with the young puppies?
4. How does having dogs positively affect you?
5. What's your favorite thing about being able to work with dogs and have litters of puppies?
6. What have you learned from being a Grace Wood Farm kid?
I want to show how involved and helpful the GWF kids are! I also want to show a little of what they do and how they are affected by being a part of the GWF team!
THE GRACE WOOD FARM FAMILIES
Shiloh, from Grace Wood Farm Wisteria Location
Shiloh is a 14-year-old girl from the GWF Wisteria location! She is the middle child of her family and she loves her dogs so much and happens to favor Mama Misha. Shiloh said, “ The dogs I have I literally would not trade them for anything!” When I asked, “What's your favorite puppy age?” She answered with, “ I love when I walk into the nursery and see the puppies opening their eyes for the first time, I think that's a pretty special moment that's pretty underrated. "Interesting fact- the newborn puppies actually don't open their eyes till they are 2 weeks old! Shiloh mainly helps out with all the dogs by just doing whatever is needed at the moment, but she also is very helpful at births! During the births, it is required to take note of the time each puppy was born, the name of the puppy, the weight of the puppy, and a few markings they have. Shiloh works with Brooke and Jason Hammel ( her parents ) on the side to take these notes during the birth, and though it may seem small, it's very beneficial! Shiloh said that being a part of Grace Wood Farm has positively affected her for many reasons, one being that she loves the community of Grace Wood Farm and loves being able to talk to and connect to other kids that love dogs and have the similar experiences when it comes to dogs and breeding! When asked what she loved about having dogs she answered, “ Dogs will honestly just love you and treat you like their whole world. A lot of people take advantage of that and ignore the dog's feelings, so I love that Grace Wood Farm really respects and loves dogs. I love that I'm a part of that.” Lastly, Shiloh said that she has learned a lot about dogs and just life skills since she has been a part of GWF. “ Dogs are like man's best friend, they will LOVE you if you just treat them well.” Just like Shiloh's dogs love her, she loves them!
Take a look at where Shiloh is located and what kind of dogs are at her home!
Josalyn, from the Grace Wood Farm Southern Magnolia Location
Josalyn is a 14-year-old girl from the GWF Southern Magnolia location! She works for her mom, Erica Hackman, as an intern for school credit. Jag is Josalyn's little buddy that follows her around everywhere she goes and even sleeps in her bed! Josalyn enjoys the puppies at ages 4-5 weeks. “ Sure they become messier at that age, but they really start showing their personalities.” Josalyn is always helping out with the grooming, ( brushing, bathing, giving haircuts, etc.,) of the parent dogs, as well as helping clean their ears! With the little puppies, she helps with bath time! Along with that she feeds and waters them when it's time for a meal! When asked, “ How does having dogs impact you positively?” She said, “ Having dogs has definitely made me more patient!” I couldn't agree more, dogs definitely make you more patient and give you more grace! Josalyn says that through the experience of having dogs and breeding them she has learned a lot about dogs and about births. Being a GWF kid automatically means that you've had some experience with birth, caring for babies, having responsibilities, and cleaning up puppy poop! Overall Josalyn has learned a lot about caring for animals and births through being a GWF kid, and she loves her dogs!
Take a look at where Josalyn is located and what kind of dogs are at her home!
Rhagen, from the Grace Wood Farm North Woodland Location
Rhagen is a 14-year-old girl from Grace Wood Farm North Woodland location! Rhagen is the oldest in her family and she enjoys reading, listening to music, watching movies, thrift shopping, and of course, “ playing with and cuddling puppies.” Rhagen’s favorite puppy stage is 3-4 weeks because “ They are still so little but they start to play a little more and they are just so cute!” Puppies begin to play more at 3 weeks and at 4 their little personalities start peaking! Rhagen helps her mom with feeding the puppy's parents and also de-worming them when the time comes. As for the puppies, she helps with the videos and pictures. Rhagen’s favorite part of having dogs and puppies is being able to love on and snuggle them! Part of why all GWF puppies are so good with kids is because they are always being loved on, snuggled, and played with by GWF kids! Rhagen’s answer to, “ What's your favorite thing about being able to work with dogs and have litters of puppies?” She said, “ I'd say getting to have time with the baby sheepadoodles and just watch them grow up, it's just so sweet to me.” This is one of the most special things about being a part of Grace Wood Farm. We get to see the puppies be born and then see them grow up and go to their new homes! Rhagen is a big contributor to Grace Wood Farm North and loves her dogs!
Take a look at where Rhagen is located and what kinds of dogs are at her home!
Hanna, from Grace Wood Farm Blue Ridge Location
Hanna is a 14-year-old girl from the Grace Wood Farm Blue Ridge location! Hanna likes to do dance, baking, arts and crafts, and gymnastics! And when it comes to dogs, she likes to play with puppies! Hanna enjoys it when the puppies first start opening their eyes at 2 weeks. She helps out her location’s puppy's parents by letting them outside in the morning and feeding and watering them. Grace Wood Farm dogs are kept inside during the night for safety and warmth, therefore they must be taken inside in the evening and let outside in the morning. Hanna helps clean the puppy nurseries and with bathing, taking pictures of, and weighing the puppies. The locations are required to weigh the puppies every week to make sure they are always gaining weight and are continuing to grow healthily. Hanna says her favorite part about being a part of Grace Wood Farm is, “ The puppies because they are so cute!” Overall, Hanna says she has learned how to care for and birth puppies and dogs well! She is a great GWF kid and loves her dogs!
Take a look at where Hanna is located and what kind of dogs are at her home!
Ariella and Eden are sisters from the GWF Crape Myrtle location. Eden is 9 years old and Ariella is 10 they enjoy reading, playing dress up, dancing, swimming, and playing and snuggling with the puppies. Ariella favors mama Shiloh because she is playful and kind and Eden favors mama violet because she is sweet and cuddles and Eden named her herself. Ariella enjoys it when the puppies first open their eyes. Eden said, “When they start opening their eyes they are just so cute.” Ariella and Eden help with the birth and let the mamas go out for potty breaks when they have puppies. They help out by washing and drying the puppies and also with pictures and videos. Ariella said this when asked what's her favorite thing about having dogs, “ My favorite thing about having dogs is being able to breed them and take care of them.” Eden said, “ I'm glad that they are here because we can go whenever we want and play with them. They are a lot of fun on boring days.” The great thing about being a grace wood farm kid is that there is always a cute and cuddly puppy to snuggle with, which also makes it so that Grace Wood Farm puppies are very social and not afraid of children or noises. Ariella and Eden have learned a lot about how to do births, care for dogs and puppies, and as Eden said, “ just a lot of stuff.” The girls love their dogs and are a huge helping hand!
Take a look at where Ariella and Eden are located and what kind of dogs are at their home!
The Stasi Tribe Kids - The Founders
If you are wondering, “ were kids in this to start out with,” the answer is yes! Luke and Brittney Stasi ( founders and CEO and CFO of Grace Wood Farm) have 6 children! From oldest to youngest it goes Hadassah 14, Judah 13, Levi 11, Gia 10, Obadiah 9, and Zion 8 and we are all proud members of the team! It just so happens that I am one of those kids! When Grace Wood Farm first started it was very small, and the only members were Brittney, Luke, and us the kids! We all were a part of every single bath time, picture taking, and birth. I and my siblings have washed puppies, cleaned up puppy poop, and attended births more times than I can count! Though it was hard work, it was all worth it for the puppy snuggles and heart-stopping cuteness we got to see every day! We have learned so much from being able to work with dogs and it has changed our lives. Not to mention how attached your family dogs become, they are so precious and change people, homes, and families.
A message from the Stasi Tribe Kids
Hadassah- “ Life without dogs is just miserable. You don't realize how much you like dogs until you have one as your best friend. Before I had dogs I didn't like them, but since we got our very first one I can't imagine life otherwise. And always remember when they get in trouble, they have a cute face.”
Judah- “ Dogs are great, they are some of my best friends in the whole world and I couldn't imagine life without them. Dogs are better than most people and they are cute and innocent and have adorable eyes.”
Levi- “ Dogs are the best and they are great for snuggles. I think everyone should have a dog to snuggle.”
Gia- “ I feel that dogs should be treated with the most respect. And I think everyone should get a dog because they are cute, cuddly, and fluffy.”
Obadiah- “ If you don't have a dog you wouldn't get to experience how cute dogs are. Dogs are fluffy, amazingly awesome, and nice to snuggle. So if you don't have a dog you should get one.”
Zion- “ Dogs are great for families, and dogs give me hope and fluffy snuggles. Also, dogs always have cute beards.”
If your home is missing a sweet little fur baby, Grace Wood Farm can help! Check out our Available Puppies page to see photos of adorable puppies available to go home today! Our locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Ohio have litters born every season. We are happy to add your name to our waitlist for Standard Sheepadoodles, Mini Sheepadoodles, Micro Sheepadoodles, Micro Bernedoodles, and Poochons! For more information on joining the Grace Wood Farm Family, please call us at 803-888-4149.
Hadassah Stasi is the oldest of six children in the Stasi Tribe and has spent most of her life around the dogs of Grace Wood Farm. She has attended countless births, raised more puppies than she can count, and done more than her fair share of farm chores. She has naturally developed an understanding of the nature of dogs, their needs, and the best training practices. She enjoys sharing the knowledge she has gained from her experience through writing and teaching others. Already a world traveler, Haddasah is currently living in Nairobi, Kenya, and is building her expertise in training African rescue dogs.
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