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My quest for the perfect pet... and how it all started.   My first chinchilla came to me as a gift from my husband. It was my birthday and I got a beautiful standard gray chinchilla that I named Pistachio. Who would have thought that a little ball of fluff could steal my heart like he had? My husband had bought Pistachio from a local pet store. I did not care where he came from, what kind of quality he was, I adored my chinchilla! Pistachio had not been with us even a year. I came in one morning and he was dead in his wooden house. I was devastated! How could this happen? He was fine the night before? Did I do something wrong? I took him to the vet to have a necropsy done. I knew it could not bring him back, but I had to know if it was something I had done (or not done). Pistachio had died from a genetic heart condition. Such a short life for a sweet chinchilla was heartbreaking. I wanted another one… I searched for a chinchilla breeder in Florida. All of my searching was in vain; there was no one to be found. I thought I could get another one from a pet store. Pistachio had to be a fluke, this would not happen again. I went to the pet store and picked out a lovely black velvet girl. It was Christmas time and I named her Noel. Within four months Noel was looking very thin and unhealthy. A vet visit let me know that Noel had malocclusions. Unfortunately this is a genetically passed condition of the teeth. In Noel's case, her teeth did not line up correctly to be ground down as they naturally would. Her bottom molars were growing up into the roof of her mouth. She was in pain and under the vet's advise she was put to sleep. At this point I was sick of loving something just to watch it die. I could not handle it! Chinchillas are great pets, they can live up to 20 years and I cant get one to live a year. This was very unfair and it was unfair to all the other people who lived in Florida and had no choice but to buy their chinchillas from pet stores. At this point, I decided to do the craziest thing I have ever done in my life. I decided to breed chinchillas! I wanted people to have the choice to buy a quality chinchilla. I wanted to breed chins that were happy and healthy. The kind that I heard about, that would live for 20 years. I found reputable breeders on the Eastern coast of the US and made quite a few road trips. I currently have about 70 chinchillas that I dearly love. Now I can bring happiness to other people looking for a healthy, happy pet chinchilla. All thanks to my wonderful husband Warren who decided to buy me a pet!