About Us

We live in Holladay Utah withe our 6 kids, 10 chickens and one amazing Portuguese Water Dog, Luna. Curtis is a business strategist and Allison is a registered nurse. Together, we are proud to introduce our small, carefully planned Portuguese Water Dog kennel. The name Montara was inspired by our love for the mountains — the crisp air, natural beauty, and sense of peace they bring. Those same qualities influence the environment in which we raise our dogs: calm, healthy, and deeply connected to family and nature.

Curtis began breeding AKC Labrador Retrievers more than 20 years ago, developing a deep appreciation for sound structure, exceptional temperament, and responsible breeding practices. Years later, when we were searching for the right dog for our family, we spent hours researching breeds that would fit both our lifestyle and our home. One child experienced allergic reactions to a family member’s Goldendoodle, and Allison knew she could not tolerate excessive shedding in the house. We wanted a friendly, intelligent, athletic, hypoallergenic companion — and quickly discovered that the Portuguese Water Dog was the perfect fit.

We welcomed Luna (registered name: Wynsumly’s Enchanted Forest Sweet Juniper, THDN, CGC) from Colorado into our family and immediately fell in love with her loyalty, intelligence, affection, and playful spirit. Her calm and intuitive temperament made her a wonderful companion for our children, who ranged in age from 1 to 12 at the time.

Because of Luna’s remarkable disposition and Allison’s passion for healthcare and education settings, we began training Luna as a therapy dog. Before the age of two, Luna successfully completed the Pet Partners requirements with Allison and began serving as a therapy dog team in universities, high schools, and elementary schools through student destress programs, special education and “Read With Me” literacy programs.

As we became more involved in the Portuguese Water Dog community, our passion for preserving the breed’s exceptional health, temperament, and working ability continued to grow. Luna’s outstanding genetic background and stable, affectionate temperament made her an ideal foundation for our breeding program. Combined with our previous positive experience breeding Labradors, we felt confident moving forward in a thoughtful and responsible way.

We breed only on a limited basis and are deeply committed to raising healthy, well-socialized puppies that will thrive as beloved family companions, AKC competitors and therapy prospects. We are not commercial breeders and we do not participate in guardian home programs.

We are proud members of the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America (PWDCA), an organization dedicated to protecting and preserving this remarkable breed. Membership is application-based and holds great importance to us. We are always happy to speak with prospective families about the values and standards upheld within the PWDCA community.