Our Story

       Are you curious what "Tesoro Mio" means? Tesoro Mio is Italian for "Treasure of Mine." Our mi-kis are truly our treasures! Here in Colorado, our Mi-Kis go everywhere with us and we are frequently stopped and asked what kind of dogs they are.  They are so precious, they just melt your heart!

       Most people haven’t heard of Mi-Kis before but once you have met one in person, you won’t likely forget them!  If you don’t believe me, just try it.

       We always explain to interested and inquiring pet owners that Mi-Kis are a “Rare Breed.”  By definition, that simply means that there aren’t a lot of them and they are few enough that they aren’t yet recognized by the AKC.  But they are a distinct breed with their own DNA markers.  And as for being recognized by the AKC, it is a slow process, but steps are being taken and this is in the future for the Mi-Ki breed!

       Mi-Kis are small (4-8 pound) dogs.  They come in any and all colors and patterns, with solids being more rare.  They come in 2 different “coat varieties,” the long coat and the smooth face.  Their “coat” is actually hair and not “fur”.  For people with pet dander allergies, these dogs are considered to be “hypo-allergenic.”

       At Tesoro Mio Mi-Kis we do not breed our dogs just to make adorable puppies to sell.  We take into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of all breeding stock and put a lot of time and attention into matching each female to its ideal mate in order to produce an even better puppy.  The Mi-Ki breed standard is the “measuring stick” that guides our choices.  This sometimes means that the ideal mate is not in our own kennel, so we make arrangements to take our girl to the male we have chosen for breeding.  

       This is also why we show at dog shows.  We value the input of professional judges in critiquing our breeding stock.  If a dog isn’t “top notch”, we place it as a pet rather than keeping it to breed lower quality pets. 

       Another measure we take to ensure that you are getting the highest quality puppy we can produce is through medical testing. We have CERF testing done to check their eyes, and we do OFA testing for knees and heart conditions.  (We do these 3 tests every year on our breeding stock).  We don’t want you to buy a puppy that you will have to spend a lot more money on due to medical complications!  That is why we go to these extremes.  

        We take education very seriously here.  We attend conferences and seminars to expand our knowledge base.  We are active in our breed club, “American Mi-Ki Club”, (AMC).  Through this club, we are working to improve our breed and work toward breed recognition with AKC.

       Tesoro Mio Mi-Ki kennel is located in Parker, Colorado, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (just south of Denver).  I have 4 kids, 2 girls, and 2 boys.  We raise our puppies with generous amounts of hands-on attention and social interaction.  This gives our puppies a chance to start out in a stimulating, “real world” environment.