Reverie
Our Dream Come True
Ash’s story is cliche - veterinarian saved pet, thankful child vows to become a veterinarian. But cliche isn’t always bad, and that lead to a life-long passion for all things animals. Ash always wanted a show dog, but that wasn’t in the childhood cards. He settled for going to the big dog show in Houston once a year and loving his own dogs, show or no show. He graduated from Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2014,
Shae grew up in a military family, so, despite having dogs, they could not participate in dog sports as they moved frequently and had to have altered pets. She settled for hiking with her dogs and turning her love for animals into a career as a veterinary technician while she focused her other higher-level studies in English and History at the University of Houston.
Ash and Shae met while working at the same veterinary hospital, and they quickly became fast friends. After Shae left to pursue a teaching career, the two realized that the best relationships form between the best of friends, and they merged their mishmash of dogs, cats, and reptiles to form a family of their own. They married in 2021.
The hospital administrator where Ash worked was involved with dog sports including conformation with Pembroke Welsh Corgis. After treating these dogs, rescuing an elderly corgi mix, and attending shows, the Mills family became hooked on Corgis and purchased their very first Pembroke puppy from Michelle Reeves at Once Upon A Times Corgis. This dog was Basil.
After having a thrilling time entering the conformation world, Ash and Shae had a very serious talk about if this was all for fun or if it was more serious. The two had fallen in love with both Pembroke and Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and many of the things they saw inside the veterinary world made them realize that they wanted to breed as well as show. The amount of behavior and health issues seen in shelter or non-ethically bred dogs became rampant, especially after the pandemic. Ash continued to see 8-9 week old Pembroke puppies from local pet shops show signs of aggression, poor structure, and costing 2-3 times the cost of ethically bred Pems. He started to see more and more merle “Pembrokes” bred for fad and not form or function.
Ash had owned many well-bred dogs, but these stories and seeing so many more behavior and health issues among non-ethically bred dogs got Shae firmly in the camp of “we need to do this the right way”. They both believed that people should adopt OR shop responsibly, and they vowed to be a part of preserving the legacy of the breeds they love by helping to create dogs with excellent health, longevity, temperament, structure, and a drive to do what they were born to do. Being in veterinary medicine means that no health corner will ever be cut, and any pet, Reverie or otherwise, in the care of the Mills family will want for nothing. Their current plan is to breed and show Cardigans (their very first bitch coming from Sherri Herst at XIV Karat) as well as their Pembroke, Basil. They hope one day to continue to own a male from Basil’s line as the legacy to this phenomenal boy.
Ash and Shae dedicate their lives to each other, their careers, and their children (all of which are animals). When not trotting around the ring or cuddling with the dogs in bed, they enjoy travelling, hiking, board games, and endlessly planning for the future.
Our Non-Corgi Kids
Clara
Luna
Angus
Voldetort
Dustin
Loki