Visiting Divine Pups
Why my front door stays closed. And everything I open instead.
“Can I come see the puppies?” is one of the questions I get most. It’s a fair question. The answer is no, and I want you to understand why, because the reason is the same reason you’d want your breeder to say it.
The honest answer
It looks like a red flag. It isn’t.
You’ve probably heard it: if a breeder won’t let you into their home, walk away.
I understand where that comes from. It’s good advice for spotting a puppy mill. But there’s another side to it, and it’s the one breeders live with.
Imagine you had a drawer full of diamonds and you listed them online. You wouldn’t invite strangers into your house and open the drawer in front of them. Not because you’re hiding something. Because you’d be showing them exactly where the diamonds are.
To the wrong person, a litter of well-bred puppies is that drawer. Small, valuable, easy to carry, and easy to sell.
Keeping my door closed isn’t about hiding how I raise them. It’s about protecting the people and the dogs who live here.
This isn’t hypothetical
It happens more than you’d think
Breeders have been robbed, held at gunpoint, and worse, often by someone who arrived looking like any other buyer. These are a few of the stories that shaped how I do things.
The New York Times
Two charged with murdering a dog breeder and taking his French Bulldog
What I’m protecting
Two reasons, and neither one is negotiable
01
My family and my home
My children’s safety, my own safety, and the privacy of our home come first. This is where we live, not a storefront.
I would rather someone think less of me than open my door to strangers I’ve never met.
02
My puppies’ health
Young puppies don’t have a fully developed immune system yet. Parvo and other illnesses travel on shoes, hands and clothing, often from someone who just visited another kennel or a pet store.
One well-meaning visit can undo weeks of careful work. Keeping the nursery closed keeps every litter healthy, including yours.
What I open instead
You’ll know more about your puppy than a visit could tell you
A twenty-minute visit shows you a cute puppy in a clean room. It doesn’t show you who that puppy is. Here’s what you get from me instead.
✓
Meet the parents
Every dam and sire has a profile on the site: photos, health testing, and the temperament they pass on.
✓
Watch them grow
Photos and videos of your litter from the first days through go-home day. Pickup happens at a safe public place, or your pet nanny brings them to you.
✓
Temperament results
Each puppy is evaluated at nine weeks. You get the full results and video before anyone chooses, so you’re matched on who they are.
✓
Face to face, on video
Hop on a video call with me and see your puppy live. Ask me anything about them, the parents, or how we raise them.
✓
Raised in the open
We share daily life with the puppies on our Instagram and Facebook stories and lives, so you can see exactly how they’re raised.
✓
Support for life
A health guarantee, a contract, and me on the other end of a text for the life of your dog. That part never closes.
Accountable to more than my word
Inspected by the AKC. Held to their standard.
You can’t walk through my home. The American Kennel Club can, and does. Divine Pups is AKC inspected, 100% compliant, and an AKC Bred with H.E.A.R.T. breeder.
AKC inspected & compliant
AKC inspectors visit in person and review how the dogs are housed and cared for, along with breeding records, registration and identification. Compliant means everything checked out.
Bred with H.E.A.R.T.
The letters stand for Health, Education, Accountability, Responsibility and Tradition. To earn it, parents are health tested to the breed club’s standards, and I complete continuing education every year.
What it means for you
Someone other than me has seen inside. Independent, regular checks on the exact things a home visit is meant to reassure you about.
From families who never walked through my door
They didn’t need to
“
She was in constant contact with me and my millions of questions, always gave me info, pictures, whatever I needed throughout the process.
Allison HermanAug 2026
“
She’s fully transparent, and I was especially interested in her temperament training. She made the entire process as easy as can be, especially being out of state.
AlyssaAug 2026
“
I was in love with a puppy in the litter but she was not a temperament match. Ara suggested another and we are so in love with her.
Miriam MJul 2026
A note from me
If this feels like a deal breaker
I get it. And I’d still choose this over the alternative.
The families who’ve been the best fit for us usually ask a lot of questions before they ever ask about a visit. They want to know about temperament, health, and how we raise our puppies. That’s the conversation I love having.
When I lay my head down at night, I know my family, my home, my dogs and their babies are safe. I hope that’s the kind of breeder you want too.
Ara HugheyĀ Certified Dog TRAINER Ā· PUPPY EVALUATOR
Questions
Asked most
often
Still unsure? Text me. I’d rather answer it now than have you guess.
Can I visit before I choose a puppy?
No. Visits aren’t allowed at any stage, for the safety of my family and the health of the litter. You’ll see photos, videos and temperament results long before you choose.
How will I know the puppy is healthy?
Parents are fully health tested before they’re ever bred, and every puppy leaves with a health guarantee and their records. You’ll also see them grow week by week.
Where do we meet for pickup?
At a safe, public location we agree on ahead of time. Many families also choose delivery with a pet nanny.
Can you deliver if I'm not in Houston?
Yes. We deliver nationwide through our pet nanny service. Your puppy is accompanied the whole way and never shipped as cargo.
Isn't a closed door a red flag?
It can be, when it comes with no transparency. Here it comes with parent profiles, health testing, photos and video of your litter, live video calls, stories and lives on social media, full temperament results, and a breeder who answers her own phone.
The first step
Let’s start with a conversation instead
The application is free and takes a few minutes. It’s how I get to know you, and how you get to know me.