I never had a dog growing up but always loved my cousin's dog. I got my first dog, a golden retriever named Jake, after I got married and moved into our first home in Atlanta.

Since I never owned a dog, I found a local dog training school to learn everything I could about caring for and training a dog. My instructor participated in obedience competition and I was impressed at what a well trained dog could do.  I was hooked and wanted to train my dog to learn those same things needed for Open and Utility work.

I have had 4 golden retrievers: Jake, Amber, Ximen and Tanzi; 2 Bernese Mountain dogs: Dulci and Max; and 1 Border Collie: Blu.
After moving from St Louis to Raleigh in 2018, it was hard to find any training center for obedience competition training but eventually was directed towards DKC and joined some classes. Jeanne Stringall then encouraged me to think about becoming a member.

I have also been involved with therapy dogs since 1997 as a member of Love on a Leash and have trained 6 of my dogs to work as therapy dogs in various settings including hospital, nursing home, special school district, library/public school reading programs, college stress weeks and hospice visits. Tanzi and I currently visit UNC Hillsborough Hospital Acute Inpatient Rehabilition Unit.

Durham Kennel club provides a nice setting for training, socialization and being around a wonderful group of people with a lot of knowledge and problem solving skills who reach out to help with your training to prepare for dog shows. I also enjoy volunteering at the shows to learn from other competitors and be helpful to the club.