Reputations are so important! - Reference

This is part of an email I received from someone looking to buy a puppy from the US.  I have changed the names as I have not received permission from all involved.

Hi, Mary Ann, 

My name is Joanne, and my husband Jim and I live in  North Carolina. You have come highly recommended by Kelly Burnham, a dog trainer in San Diego, who raves about the temperament of your German Shepherds. (Kelly is friends and colleagues with our dear friend Carol-Ann Adam Kreid, a dog trainer in San Diego. That is how the connection was made.) I am so impressed by your website -- your history, your experience, your biography, your insights into German Shepherds ... breeding, training, raising them ... It is abundantly clear that German Shepherds are your life and your passion. And that radiates through your breedings. I respect the time and energy, the heart and soul you have put into your dogs! Mary Ann, you are a treasure! So ... here is the reason for my message: I want to fill out a puppy application and send you a non-refundable deposit, and I also want to tell you all about me and Jim, and our love for dogs, especially our dear Lani, a German Shepherd who was a life-changing dog for us…

How's that for an incredible email!  It certainly made my day!  Or week!!  To hear that I have a reputation that has travelled all the way to San Diego just blows me away!  Now if it was a BAD reputation, I know they will carry vast distances!  But a good reputation is much harder to develop.  I want to thank "Joanne" for all the kind words.  I hope I can get you a puppy across the border and into North Carolina!

Mary Ann