Mijoy Yorkies and Mijoy Biewers

Dearest Joyce (and Pat),

Where do I start??  So much to say, in a limited space!  Joyce, I am writing this letter TO you, but also ABOUT you (hope this makes sense).  Hopefully you will put it in your newsletter and on your website, for all to see exactly how wonderful and professional you were with us, from day one!!

My name is Danielle Maujean, and my husband Jean-Marc and I live and work in Dubai.  I am a yorkie lover, of note, I think these little dogs are the most beautiful and intelligent animals ever, and yes, it must be said, I am “addicted” J  Joyce, if I had the huge property of land that you have, as well as the CLEAR GIFT you have been blessed with, I too would love to do what you do, especially breed yorkies.  Most people do not come close to realizing just how much Joyce and her husband, Pat do, for animals of ALL TYPES, shapes and sizes!  I have but one word to describe what they do:  REMARKABLE!  They truly are “modern day, animal saints”.

I contacted Joyce at Mijoy enquiring (as so many do) about her genuine “Teacup” Yorkies and what she has to offer.  I had come across her website on the net, and was very impressed with what I saw.  From the start, Joyce was brutally honest with me and I was very impressed with her straight forward approach and obvious knowledge about this wonderful breed.  She explained how the “Teacup” is a very rare dog and that she has a waiting list for them, so her clients have to know from the get go, that there will be a wait.  Me, being the yorkie fanatic I am, was totally prepared to pay our deposit and get on her waiting list; I think we were number 8 on the list.

After living in Dubai for a year, I could not bear having NO animals in our life anymore, and I refused to buy any animals from the pet shops over here because most of their animals are from “pet mills” are inbred and wrought with disease; so we went through the very “tricky” process of importing 2 miniature yorkies from a lovely breeder in South Africa.  Levi and Callico (male and female) arrived  and we were ELATED, 2 beautiful little yorkies, both in looks and temperaments.  They were 16 weeks old, so we had missed a lot of their “baby” stage, but were still very small, 900g and 850g.

We had had these two angels for a few months, when I got another ‘bee in my bonnet!  After seeing the Mijoy website, I now wanted my very own “Teacup” – I warned you about my “addiction” J  So, I got hold of Joyce, and started going through the motions of being put on her waiting list.  I was ECSTATIC and very EXCITED J

On the 24^th of March 2009, the most devastating and unpredictable thing happened!  Our beautiful, girl yorkie, Callico, died!  My husband woke up that morning and took the pups upstairs to do their morning business, their normal, daily routine since arriving in Dubai.  Levi, the little boy, finished what he had to do and sprinted past Jean-Marc, Callico went chasing after him, they were obviously playing their version of “catch me if you can”…  Callico ended up slipping and fell through the stairs railings and onto the granite floor below.  She hit her very small and soft head and suffered an instant brain hemorrhage, dying within minutes of the fall, in my arms!  I cannot begin to explain the trauma that we both went through; I was beside myself and really couldn’t function properly for quite a lengthy period after this harrowing incident!   Levi was equally traumatized and would not eat, drink or play properly for over 2 weeks.  It just shows you how super fast these little dogs are, and how quickly accidents can happen.

Joyce was the first person I contacted after Callico died, she was nothing short of wonderful and her big heart opened up and she assured me that she would help us in any way she possibly could.  She empathized with what we were going through, and knew exactly how we were feeling.

On the 7^th of March 2009, Jasmine and Jay, two of Joyce’s gorgeous yorkies, had a litter of 4 beautiful puppies, 2 males and 2 females.  The now ‘famous’ Sushi, was one of these little girls.  On Callico’s death, Sushi was 2 and a bit weeks old, FAR too young for Joyce to know what size pup she would prove to be yet, but she was “earmarked” for us, nonetheless, because she was the “oldest” pup available, and in my desperation to get a “replacement” for Calli, I just could not wait for too long.  When I first emailed Joyce and told her that we wanted a tiny yorkie and that we lived in Dubai, she was quite weary and told me straight that Mijoy do not do exporting of their animals, simply because they are just too busy and also because their ‘Teacups’ are not suited to flying, they are just too small and fragile.  Joyce made an exception for us with Sushi, and for this we will be eternally grateful J  As Sushi got older, Joyce was able to gauge what size dog she was headed to being.  She was brutally honest every step of the way and when she started to suspect that little one was a bit big for a teacup, she told me!  Very few breeders (let’s be honest) actually tell you when a pup is headed to being bigger rather than smaller, so many of them LIE and CHEAT the public by saying that normal sized yorkie pups are actual TEACUPS or POCKETS when they ARE NOT!!  Joyce was nothing but honest, and for this I THANK YOU, my friend!!  As it turns out, Sushi is now looking as though she will indeed be a teacup yorkie, she is VERY small, like a little porcelain mouse!

On the 10th of July, my husband Jean-Marc flew home to South Africa, although not to our home town in Durban, he flew into Gauteng to fetch our sweet Sushi.  I was unfortunately not able to go with, because we had my family visiting us for 5 days…  Jean-Marc was extremely taken with what Joyce and Pat do!   He spent much time telling me all about their wonderful home and ‘personal zoo’ of animals. I was enormously jealous, because not only did I want to experience a day with the WHOLE Mijoy family, I really wanted to meet Joyce, the person who had done and given up so, so much to help us.

My little angel face SUSHI arrived home with her dad on the 12^th of July!  Words cannot aptly describe the EXTREME excitement I was feeling.  When I first saw her, face-to-face, I gasped, because as Joyce had told me (SO MANY TIMES), I really did not realize just HOW TINY this little dumpling was!!  Stunning, does not come close to what Sushi is, BIAS ASIDE, she really is a true little beauty, perfectly proportioned, a gorgeous little face, and a temperament to die for!!  She is so full of love and is too precious for words!  She is currently 19 weeks and 2 days old and weighs only 630g.  I missed so many weeks of her “baby” stage, but truly feel as though I have missed nothing because she is still as small as an 8 or 9 week old yorkie baby.

Joyce and Pat, thank-you SO, SO much for ALL that you did to help us get our baby girl to Dubai!!  You sacrificed much of your own personal time, in order to help us get all our ‘ducks in a row’!  Pat, thank-you for cancelling work appointments in order to get Sushi’s papers to the state vet (several times!!!!), your efforts to assist us have definitely NOT GONE UNNOTICED!!  You are both stars!  Joyce, you are a blessing to the Yorkie breed and truly are a “World-class” breeder, in every sense of the word

Sushi is going from strength to strength and settling into her new home and environment every single day!  She is so funny when we take her outside, she hits the grass and the tongue comes out and she is panting her little heart out, the heat here is just IMMENSE at the moment, 45c at 10am…  Thank-you for giving us this bundle of joy, Mi-joy J J

Joyce, this letter has been a very lengthy one; I am just one of those people who cannot write short, concise things!  Please feel free to ‘edit’ or ‘cut and paste’ what you like for your newsletter and website, I do not mind and won’t be offended at all!

Thank-you Mijoy, for everything!  You are AMAZING!!!!

Love and best regards, always,

Danielle and Jean-Marc (and Levi and Sushi)

xoxoxoxo