About Us
Let us introduce ourselves to you. We are Sam and Connie Kaehr (pronounced car). We were born and raised in the Bluffton, Indiana area. Raised only a few miles from each other, we had no idea that the other existed until I noticed Connie in church one Sunday afternoon. Thirty years later, after raising a family, building a farm, and paying the bills (the American dream really), we found ourselves approaching the “empty nest”, part of our lives. Our boys grew up.
Dan married our beautiful daughter-in-law, Caitleigh, who now have four children of their own.
Matt married Olivia, another beautiful daughter-in-law, and they have two children. Both Matt and Olivia are involved in the sales and management here at Puppies By Design.
Ben, our youngest son, juggles helping us on the farm and his job as a Physical Therapist Assistant.
It’s been said that opposites attract. No truer statement can be said about us. I love fast boats, motocross, hockey, and anything else that my body will still let me do. (Thirty-three broken bones and counting.) Connie, on the other hand, enjoys baking, reading, and home improvement projects. The reality of how opposite we are didn’t really set in until our busy lives of raising the boys slowed down. That’s where raising puppies came to our rescue. Dogs have always been part of our lives and raising puppies have been some of our fondest memories. It’s something that we both really enjoy and can do together.
Matt and Olivia have made puppies their passion. Matt is our manager at Puppies By Design and handles some of the customer care. If we have the pleasure to work with you on your new puppy, there’s a good chance you may be referred to Matt during this process.
Abigail the leader among all of our helpers. She has been here the longest now, and understands how things work and what needs done to make us a grade A USDA facility. She leads by example with a great attitude and hard work. Kind of like a Co -Manager of the facility; she plays a huge role at Puppies by Design and we wouldn’t be the same without her!
Rachel keeps all our dogs well groomed, trimmed, and clipped. She has a lot of experience with grooming and we are so thankful to have her. Grooming is such an important role!
From day 1, it was easy to depict Courtney’s love for dogs. Among other task, Courtney helps with managing our puppy huggers: which is arguably the most important aspect of Puppies By Design. We have her and our puppy hugging team to thank for happy and trusting, puppies! You may even speak with her if inquiring about about our puppies. Our future looks great with Courtney on board!
Kyra is our spontaneous one! Dog kisses, belly rubs, dressing the dogs, and even “stretching” our dogs’/puppies’ comfort zones by trying new and exciting things: Kyra adds a unique aspect of socialization that hasn’t been matched! We are thankful to have her on our team!
We have been privileged to have Hadassah with us for several years now! She started as a puppy hugger, and now helps with daily chores and cleaning. She has a great eye for catching anything abnormal with the facility and puppies. Cleanliness is so important to us and Hadassah is our star at making sure we are one of the cleanest facilities out there!
Some things here just require a young man! Believe it or not, raising puppies requires a lot of hard labor and isn’t just cuddles and ice cream. Jude is our heavy lifter and go-getter. He plays a huge role in the behind the scenes task that are so vital to our operation. And also, our adults just love him!
Bree is one of our amazing weekend warriors. She is great with the puppies and is willing to do anything; even the not-so-fun things. Although only here on Saturdays, she is a very important part of our team and we are thankful to have her!
MEET OUR PUPPY HUGGERS!
Hazel
Estella
Lilly
Ava
Josie
Shae
Remi
Brinlee
Ivory
Claire
