Selah
Australian Labradoodles with Health, Heart & Heritage
“Tegan Park’s Monarch, the foundation furbaby who first showed us what a true Australian Labradoodle should be – athletic, intuitive, and deeply people‑focused.”
סֶלָה
“Selah” is a small Hebrew word that appears throughout the Psalms, usually at moments where the songwriter wanted the reader or musician to pause and really take in what had just been said. Over time it has come to picture an intentional, even sacred, pause—a rest in the middle of noise and movement so the heart can reset and pay attention again. Selah Doodles carries that meaning for our family: a chosen rest, taken if necessary by force, where dogs and people both get to breathe, reconnect, and remember what really matters.
In 2006 it began...
Some people discover the Australian Labradoodle because of allergies. I discovered them because I am deeply committed to a clean house — and I had just spent an afternoon rolling around with dozens of dogs.
After visiting a 5-acre breeding kennel near Ocala, Florida, I walked back to my car, looked down at my clothes, and found exactly one hair. My own. I had spent hours with dozens of dogs and playing with puppies and left with nothing to show for it. No smell. No fur. No lint roller required.
For someone who had always wanted a big, affectionate, athletic dog but could not stomach the idea of a permanently furry couch and a house that smells like wet dog on a Tuesday — that moment was everything. A gorgeous, intelligent, people-focused dog that doesn't shed, doesn't stink, and doesn't redecorate your furniture in fur? Worth every single penny. I went back the following week. And then again.
What started as curiosity became a mentorship I never expected.
The kennel, Tegan Park USA, was run by Angela Cunninham, one of the women who had helped bring the Australian Labradoodle from Australia to America during the breed's earliest development years. Over many visits I learned the breed from the inside — the standard, the structure, the temperament, the coat, and the deep philosophy behind why this breed was developed the way it was. I did not learn this from a book or a breeder forum. I learned it from someone who had lived it, shaped it, and cared deeply about protecting it.
The dog I fell in love with was
Tegan Park's Monarch
Monarch — a never-for-sale foundation bitch, one of the original Australian imports, the cornerstone of everything that program had built. I wanted her the moment I saw her. The answer was no.
I went home anyway. And I noticed — not a single hair on me. I went back a week later, and this time her husband was there. Monarch came home with me that day.
She was the beginning of everything Selah Doodles has ever been.
The years that followed were not straightforward.
Circumstances at that program eventually forced its closure — and when they did, we stepped in. We brought home fifteen dogs that day and cared for them for months while their world was rebuilt. It was hard, humbling, and one of the most meaningful things we have ever done. We helped find a new home, a fresh start, and a path forward. The breed deserved that. Those dogs deserved that.
What we carried out of that chapter was not just dogs. It was a deep, firsthand understanding of what this breed is supposed to be — at its best, at its healthiest, and at its most authentic.
Life took us in a new direction after Florida.
My husband serves in the United States Navy, and military life means you go where you are needed. We are currently based near Oceana Naval Station in Virginia Beach — a community we have come to love and one that, as it turns out, has no shortage of families who want exactly what we breed. We are intentionally small right now, one thoughtful litter at a time, and we would not have it any other way.
Our long-term home is a farm. Our long-term vision is the kind of full, thriving program we first fell in love with in Ocala — acreage, space, a small medical suite, whelping suites that would make a hospital jealous, and a house full of dogs that smell like nothing at all. That chapter is coming. For now, every puppy we place gets our full attention, our full hearts, and the full weight of everything we have learned from the very beginning of this remarkable breed.
If you have gotten this far and you are still on the fence about whether a $3,000 dog is worth it — go find a friend with an Australian Labradoodle. Spend an afternoon with their dog. Then go back to your car and check your clothes.
You'll understand
The Dogs Who Shaped Us
Some dogs leave more than memories — they shape the way you see a breed forever.
From Monarch to Rusty and the dogs that followed, these early companions helped define what we value most in an Australian Labradoodle: soundness, intuition, athleticism, and a true connection with people.
Their influence still lives on in the kind of program we are building today — one rooted in heritage, guided by experience, and focused on raising exceptional companions with purpose.
