Our Story
Family-Owned and Operated
Hi, we are Bert and Terry Gonzales, the owners of Badger Mountain Labradoodles.
When it comes to our family, “It’s all about family.” In the last 7 years our family has grown from our 4 children to now include 10 grandchildren. And our labradoodle family has grown from our 2 labradoodle girls, Marley and Mocha, to 6 labradoodles with the addition of Mable, Chewie, Amelia and Bandit. Our labradoodles enhance the joy in our lives and it continues to grow. We started Badger Mountain Labradoodles because we wanted to keep the legacy of our doodles alive. Obviously we started BML to make money too, but also to share the joy of owning or being a guardian of one of our doodle pups. These doods will be your best friend for life. We will raise your doodle with the same care and love we put into our own our labradoodles until the day you take your forever dood home with you.
ABOUT BADGER MOUNTAIN LABRADOODLES
Our labradoodle journey started about 14 years ago with a Jack Russell puppy named Natty. Our son Christen had just received his honorable discharge from the Marines and when he came back home to Yuba City, CA he decided he wanted a puppy. Being a Marine, Christen’s first choice was a bulldog (of course), but after some research he thought better of it due to potential health issues. When all was said and done Natty won the prize and became the newest member of our family. And when I say a member of our family I mean that literally. As things usually work out in these matters, as soon our son started working someone was needed to babysit our new little grand puppy. Mom was the perfect choice. Up until this point in our lives all the dogs we had ever had were outdoor dogs. Mainly due to the fact that Terry is allergic to dogs and cats and I personally am not very fond of dog hair in the house. Natty wasn’t a problem in either of those areas, but her biggest impact was on Terry and the fact that we could see ourselves having a house pup of our own in the future.
Fast forward 7 years and I can remember being shown pic after pic of the cutest pups of various colors but all had one thing in common. They all looked like little teddy bears. They all weren’t labradoodles mind you, but the process had begun for the type of dog we wanted. So one day while out to lunch Terry and I ran into Whitney Christensen who is the sister of Brandi Shurtz-Huffmaster, who both are the daughters of Craig and Shannon Shurtz whom we have known for 40 years. Terry and I just happened to be having a conversation about getting a puppy and what kind of puppy we wanted when Whitney sat next to us at lunch. As soon as Whitney heard what we were talking about she informed us that Brandi had a business, Sutter Buttes Labradoodles and sold Australian Labradoodle puppies. We had lots of questions and Whitney answered every one of them. At the time I really wanted another German Shepherd pup so I was trying in my questions to find a reason not to get a labradoodle pup. “Well, these dogs are pretty small and seem like they need to be indoor dogs and Terry is allergic to dogs.” Whitney explained that Labradoodles are hypoallergenic. “Ok, but by the looks of their coat they probably shed a lot?” Whitney explained that they don’t shed. Ouch! Two strikes against my argument. So then I asked the most important question, “How much do they cost?” Whitney told us Brandi was selling her pups at that time for $2500. I laughed, thinking that I paid $1500 for a pick of the litter male Shutzhund German Shepherd who’s father was the 1996 USA Sieger Champion. I just told Whitney I’d never pay $2500 for a labradoodle pup, and she said I didn’t have to, we could be a guardian family for a pup and then explained what the guardian program was — Strike 3 for me. That day I was on the phone with Brandi learning what we had to do to become a guardian family and telling her that we wanted to see the pup as soon a we could.
Marley
Original Ole Dood
I wanted Marley the day we first saw her — which is funny because I was the reluctant one and Terry was the one that really wanted a labradoodle — but now Terry was reluctant and said maybe we could wait for another year to get a pup. Being the patient person that I am, I had to put the Kibosh on that action. I told Brandi we’d take her now. Funny thing was that we couldn’t because Marley was going to make an Activia yogurt commercial with Jamie Lee Curtis.
Mocha& Marley
Jamie Lee Curtis & Marley
Photo Property of Sutter Buttes Labradoodles
This was Marleys claim to fame and the coolest thing ever to actually get to see your pup in a TV commercial! Marley was the beginning of our love for labradoodles and it has only grown since then. It only took a year for us to volunteer to be a guardian for a second pup, Mocha.