Paradocs Labradors

About Us

Paradocs Labradors is the name of the Labrador kennel established in 1994 by Dr. John Helmers and Dr. Karen Helmers. We are both graduates of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine and we own a small animal clinic in Greencastle, Indiana.
Both of us grew up surrounded by dogs, but our love affair with Labradors started with the adoption of two rescue Labs, "Tara" and "Little", while we were still in veterinary school. As a senior veterinary student, John did a theriogenology externship with Dr. Fran Smith of Danick Labradors, in Burnsville, Minnesota. John fell in love with a black bitch named Ruby of Cinnaman Creek JH CD and ended up bringing her home with him. Ruby was a field type Lab, very willing to please and with the lovely Labrador temperament. We bred Ruby three times and kept one yellow bitch puppy, Melissa of Ruby Ridge CD, WC, CGD, TT. We did everything with Melissa, we showed in conformation and obedience. We did field tests, temperament tests, canine good citizenship tests and took her with us to visit schools and nursing homes.

Our first AKC Labrador, Ruby, with her daughter, Melissa.

We soon realized that we were interested in being competitive in conformation as well as the other areas. We learned that first of all, we would have to have a good looking dog, then we could work on teaching that dog retrieving, obedience, etc. We contacted several good breeders and purchased several good show prospects. Unfortunately, we also learned a lot about the genetic problems present in our breed and these first few dogs were neutered and placed in loving pet homes. This was a difficult but vital lesson for us on our quest for competitive show dogs.