Kelly had just been a toddler when they got the dog and the loss was tough. The Moffetts began the process of replacing Sampson. In December, as a family Christmas present, they hooked up their computer to the Internet. She wasn't interested in playing on the Internet, not like her mom and older sister. That changed in March, when she seized on a suggestion to use the Internet to search for another Tibetan Mastiff - a dog that looks like a St. Bernard, but is black in color with tan masking.
Most breeders live on the West or East coasts.
On that directory she looked up breeders in the United States, finding 17 kennels. Kelly spent an entire Saturday in March writing a letter on the computer, then sending it to each breeder via electronic mail. The first day the girls received a couple of responses. Kelly then expanded inquiries by asking Tibetan Mastiff owners which breeders they would recommend. In all, Kelly received 69 responses from breeders and owners.