What’s In a Name?
Chimera Shih Tzu
Chimera Shih Tzu was created as a breeding program between mother and daughter. Myself, Stephanie, and my autistic teenage daughter. We have both always been fascinated by mythology so we wanted some kind of mythological or fantasty name – since this is a dream come true for us.
In the name chimera shih tzu, we combine:
- Science
- Mythology / Dreams
- Breeding Goals – bringing together the best qualities of the best dogs
Scientifically, a chimera is a a single organism that’s made up of cells from two or more “individuals”. In essence, one person or animal contains two sets of DNA fused together in one body. This is hard to grasp, a little mind bending, and very rare!
In mythology, a Chimera is a female creature made of a fierce Lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent (snake) or dragon’s tail.
This especially felt fitting considering Shih Tzu’s are referred to as “The Lion Dog”. In Mandarin, Shih Tzu translates to “little lion”.
In more general terms, a chimera can be referred to as any creature composed of different animal parts. While we certainly aren’t breeding different animal parts, we think of this in terms of choosing the best traits from each individual dog to eventually create the “perfect” shih tzu! An unattainable goal, since in real life breeding there is no “perfect” animal, but that’s where mythology comes in. We can dream it, and work towards it. We don’t want to simply breed two dogs together
Interestingly, the 2nd definition of “chimera” on Google is “a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.”
In our program, we hand selected dogs from breeders we researched in various states. We didn’t want to choose puppies that were just convenient. We didn’t want to just choose puppies that are “available now”. We didn’t want to just choose puppies that were within a short driving distance.
Breeding is a huge responsibility that should be well thought out. There are far reaching impacts, for generations to come, based on the dogs we choose to start our breeding program with. We have dogs from Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Ukraine (picked up in Colorado). We are serious about choosing the best genetics to piece together your next best friend for a long, happy life of companionship.
The word Chimera is pronounced ‘kai-meera’. It is pronounced with a ‘k’ sound, not “ch” sound.
We welcome you on this epic journey that is just beginining! We cannot wait to see what future generations of thoughtfully, well planned out, responsible breeding brings to the lives of our puppy families.
Chimera Shih Tzu 