Although I've always been an avid animal lover, my passion for Shetland Sheepdogs began almost 30 years ago with the purchase of my first sheltie. My first two shelties were dearly loved pets but I soon realized that I wanted to do more with my dogs.  When Shannalee Michalsky of Akadia Shelties helped me pick out my next puppy, she told me that I now had my first performance dog. This tiny 7 week old sable puppy changed my life and eventually became Michelob On Tap UD ("Mickey").  He was my constant companion for many years and was an incredible obedience competitor. Our success in the obedience ring convinced me of the importance of early training and laid the foundation for the Kindergarten Puppy Training class that a friend and I have been teaching for over 20 years.  A number of other shelties have joined my life since then, but somehow it is these "firsts" that have really touched my heart the most: "Mickey" my first obedience dog, "Tripp" my first conformation dog, "Kaylani" my first champion and "Brew" my first dual-titled dog & the first to be completely owner-handled to his championship.