Hello and welcome to my website! My name is Kristen Fann (previously Kristen Call). My husband, Steven Fann, and I are the parents of 4 children, our pack of Dalmatians and the owners of Paradise Spots Dalmatians LLC.
We live with our dogs on 33 acres located in Salem, Missouri where we all have plenty of room to run, play and grow together in our very own Paradise!
My Mission
At Paradise Spots Dalmatians LLC, our focus is on producing healthy Dalmatians with sound temperaments. We strive to raise dogs that are well socialized and well mannered family companions. We give our puppies the best start possible by raising them using puppy culture methods and we potty train using a variation of the Misty Method. At Paradise Spots Dalmatians LLC, we strive to produce puppies with the LUA (normal uric acid) gene. We are proud to raise both shortcoat and longcoat AKC registered LUA Dalmatians. Though having long hair still currently disqualifies a Dalmatian from competing in conformation shows, it is my hope and my dream to one day see them accepted into the AKC breed standard as they are a naturally occurring coat variation that has historically been a part of the Dalmatian breed for at least 100 years.
My Dream
I grew up fascinated with the breed. As a child, I was obsessed with everything spotted. Every Halloween, I wanted to dress up as a Dalmatian. When meeting Dalmatians in public, I would sit and pet and watch them in quiet reverence for hours. I cannot ever remember a time when I was not enthralled by the Dalmatian breed. In kindergarten, they asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up and I drew a picture of a spotted farm, filled with spotted animals of all kinds. Through the years, that vision and dream stuck with me. It was not just their spotted beauty that appealed to me though. It was their grace, their athleticism, their quirky, silly personalities and their loyalty. I begged my parents for a Dalmatian. I wished for one on every star, I held my breath through tunnels and wished for a Dalmatian and I wished for a spotted dog to grace my life with every birthday candle I blew out. I got my first Dalmatian, Dotty, when I turned 8 years old. So long as I live, I will never forget driving to the farm, having no idea where we were going, and seeing Dotty’s mother come trotting up to me, her whole body wagging with joy, with the BIGGEST Dalmatian smile on her face that I have ever seen. Out came a farmer with a wagon of Dalmatian puppies and pick of the litter was all MINE! Dotty, with her adorable little eye patch, instantly stole my heart and my world. I had many good years with Dotty, but, as many Dalmatians born in the 90’s, she suffered from poor breeding and many health issues. She had chronic skin and ear issues and never would have won any dog shows, but I loved her no less. My experience with Dotty inspired me to want to improve the health of this breed that I have spent my entire life loving.
My Passion
I picked out and purchased my first Dalmatian for my breeding program in 2010. A female by the name of Daisy. In 2011, my boy Zeke joined my family. Daisy have been with me since they were 8 and 12 weeks old. They have been there to welcome the arrival of my children, they have been my steady friends through marriage and divorce and they mean the world to me. Their descendants, Gypsy, Flicker and Faith, carry on their bloodlines today. Zeke and I competed in AKC conformation dog shows, winning points at all the shows he attended. He even took Best of Breed at one show, over a champion working on his grand championship! I hope to show in conformation again one day, perhaps with one of Daisy and Zeke's descendants :)
