Upon first visiting the Carmona Kennels website, one thing is clear: Jose Carmona loves the Siberian Husky.
“I like that they are unique,” Carmona explains, describing his favorite dog breed. “They are very much like wolves, and I love wolves. They clean themselves like cats. They are smart and hard-headed, so they are fun to train, and they are friendly to everyone, including children.”
“They take care of their pack members,” Carmona adds, a quality that makes Huskies the perfect match for his family operated kennels.
And like the Huskies housed on his six-and-a-half acre property in central Florida, Carmona takes care of his pack members: both the AKC registered Siberian Huskies he breeds, and the many purebred and Husky mixes Carmona has pulled from local shelters.
Carmona says that Siberian Huskies are often relinquished by owners that have not done their homework: “People just think they are beautiful and don’t bother to research about them,” he says of his beloved breed, which is known for intelligence, independence, and a tendency to wander.
Determined to find forever homes for Huskies in need across the Sunshine State and beyond, Carmona has even rescued homeless Huskies from as far as the Bahamas.
In fact, the breeder-rescuer is so dedicated to helping Siberian Huskies that 100 percent of the proceeds from “puppy profits” go directly to the kennel’s rescue efforts — efforts that have helped many worthy dogs find loving homes.
“There are many rescues that have meant a lot,” Carmona remembers. “However, there was a red and white, green-eyed girl that was rescued years ago with broken legs. She broke our hearts. Her owner would leave her on the balcony on weekends to go dancing; she fell many times from that second floor balcony as a puppy and eventually broke both legs.”
By the time that the injured Husky made it to Carmona Kennels, one of the broken legs was in such bad shape that it had to be amputated. After she healed, the beautiful Husky with the green-eyes got the happy ending that she deserved. “A wonderful family from the Daytona Beach area took her home with them,” Carmona explains proudly.
When asked why he believes that it is important for responsible breeders to get involved in rescue, Carmona says that the answer lies in the overwhelming number of dogs given up to shelters each year.
“If you are breeding AKC registered and show quality dogs, and you are not rescuing, then you are just adding more dogs to the overpopulation of dogs in shelters,” Carmona explains.
He also recognizes that spay/neuter is an important tool that curbs dog overpopulation. “I feel that every rescued dog should be spayed or neutered,” Carmona says. If a dog is not spayed or neutered prior to going home with his or her new family, he requires that the family provide proof of the procedure soon after the adoption.
For more information about adoptable Huskies – including Ayka, Cody, and Mercy – check out the Carmona Kennels site.
