I have been in love with dogs my whole life. I love all dogs, but the Shetland Sheepdog is my breed; I understand them and they understand me! My family’s Sheltie Laddie was my protector from the time I was born. My mom and dad had great success with Laddie for years in the obedience ring, even earning an Award of Canine Distinction in 1954 from Dog World Magazine. So I grew up with the excitement of dog shows.

When we brought home our new puppy Duffy the summer after third grade, I trained him and showed him for several years in both obedience and conformation as a Junior Handler. And then life took me in other directions. I earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri and, among other things, went on to have a wonderful career with the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team as Director of Guest Services and Quality Assurance.

And then I met my husband George, who always says I married him so I could get a puppy! That’s not true, but it did work out that way. I left my Cardinals, moved with George to Denver, and that opened the door for our Sheltie Maui to enter our lives. We discovered agility at a Puppy Kindergarten class and I knew that was for us!

We moved to Raleigh in 2004. A mutual friend put me in touch with Ann Carter, who took me to lunch and said I needed to join the Durham Kennel Club, which I did right away. Since then, Surf, Splash, and RipTide have joined the greatly loved Wallace Shelties. We have competed in conformation, rally and obedience, but most of our time is spent on the agility field. I’ve been competing in agility now for 26 years, have earned 3 MACHs and 1 PACH, competed at the AKC National Agility Championships 6 times, and we’ve achieved many titles along the way. Here at DKC I’ve served on various agility trial committees and now am loving the AKC Agility League. I was very touched to be honored with the club’s Outstanding Sportsmanship Award a few years ago

.
In my spare time I volunteer with Helping Horse Therapeutic Programs, working on the training team with the horses, and with children, veterans and first responders. I’m also involved in Bible study, our church and a lot of other volunteer activities in our community. But my favorite times are spent with my husband George, our Sheltie RipTide and our cats Tux and 007. I love meeting new people and dogs, so please come say hi!