Bentley's Story

The little yorkie that started it all

In October 2010, Cindy decided she wanted a Yorkshire Terrier. I, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. To me, a Yorkie was just “an overgrown rat” — along with a few other less-than-flattering names I came up with for what I considered a completely useless lap dog. After all, we had a 10 year old Beagle and she could hunt if I wanted her to. Besides she was old and I didn't think it was fair to her to bring another dog into our home so late in her life.

Of course, Cindy eventually talked me into going to look at a few puppies she’d found for sale. The first stop was a small house tucked away in the woods near Dunn, North Carolina. In my mind, I figured, “Fine. She can look at them, get this out of her system, and we’ll move on.”

The place itself wasn’t much to look at — just a modest little house off the beaten path. Nothing fancy, nothing worth writing home about.

We were greeted at the door by a sweet elderly lady who welcomed us inside. As she and Cindy chatted, I stood in the living room looking around — until I noticed the tiniest little furball standing at the door of a crate, begging to be let out.

The lady smiled and said, “Well, I guess you want to see the puppy.” She explained he was the last one left, the smallest of the litter, and she called him Rocky because he’d had to fight for his food.

Then out pranced the proudest, cutest little dog I’d ever seen. He walked straight over, put his paws on my leg, wagged his tail, and looked up at me as if to say, “I choose you.”

Right then and there, I looked at Cindy and said, “That’s the one we’re getting.” And just like that, I was a Yorkie man.

We renamed Rocky to Bentley, and he quickly became my best friend to Cindy's dismay, after all I had been against getting one and he was supposed to be her dog.

About a year later, we added a little female named Kaylee, and Bentley adored her. They both gave us years of enjoyment and entertainment.

However, life wasn’t always easy for him — Bentley developed medical issues that eventually led to an enlarged heart. By age 12, he was on daily medication and frequent vet visits. None of that mattered to me; he was my best friend, and I did everything I could to keep him comfortable.

In May 2024, we faced the hardest decision of our lives. Because of a GI bleed and his other health struggles, we had to let Bentley go. He gave us nearly 14 years of joy, laughter, and unconditional love, and losing him left us devastated.

Just as an example of how much this little dog changed our lives and how much he meant to us, we both got our first tattoos. I chose Bentley’s actual paw prints, placed exactly where he put them on my leg the day we met, so I will always carry that memory and a piece of him with me — the little Yorkie that changed my life.

At first, we swore we couldn’t go through that heartbreak again. But about a month later, we realized how much we missed the energy of a Yorkie in the house. Kaylee, now older, wasn’t very active, and we both felt the absence. That’s when we found Paradise Yorkies in Columbia, SC — and met Max. He was the last puppy available, strange that it was a similar situation, like Bentley Max was the last boy of the litter. Unlike Bentley, Max came from a long line of champions. He was meant to be a show dog, but the breeder thought he might grow too big, the breed standards says they can't be over seven pounds.

We brought him home, and his playful spirit lit up the house. Kaylee wasn’t too interested in play, so a few months later we called Paradise Yorkies again. We took Max with us to pick up his new best friend, Ethel.

When the breeder saw Max again, she was surprised at his perfect size and encouraged us to start entering him in conformation shows—she even offered to mentor us. We had never intended to get into showing dogs but she was so confident that Max would be something special I had to consider it. So we accepted the challenge and with her help and mentorship, we entered the world of conformation shows — and Max has been doing great.

Now, nearly a year later, we’ve fallen in love with the sport. In Bentley’s honor, we decided to begin breeding as a way to give back to the breed that stole our hearts.