About Me
I was first introduced to Shih Tzu as a
child during our family trip to Maryland
to visit my grandparents. At the time, my
grandma had a 1 year old black & white
female shih tzu named Tara. I secretly
named her Tara the Terror. I hated that
dog, but my parents absolutely loved her.
She had the temperament that I avoid in
my dogs. She was very moody, territorial,
and not at all kid friendly.

I was surprised to find that on my 14th
birthday my parents bought me my own
Shih Tzu puppy. I knew they were puppy
shopping for me, but I thought it would be
a Maltese! Well, I told myself that I
would make it work and that this little 10
week old brindle & white boy would not
end up like Tara. He turned out to be the
BEST dog ever. Very obedient, eager to
please, and is such a gentleman. Sportly
was the start of my renewed love and
involvement with the breed. Sportly now
lives with my Dad since his retirement
from the Air Force, he needed a buddy to
get into trouble with 

I am very big on temperaments, training,
and health. My dogs, those that live with
me, continually take some form of
obedience or agility training, whether
through classes or competition. I
recommend at least one form of obedience
training within a class setting for all of
my puppies/buyers. Obedience training is
easy to do at home, but it does not beat
the many distractions that an obedience
class will introduce. I also at least
encourage one beginner’s agility class.
Agility brings out the confidence in dogs,
builds a strong bond with their owners,
and is just a fun sport to do with your dog.

Other than the Shih Tzu, I am also a
junior at Mary Baldwin College. To
prevent myself from having to relocate to
Staunton, Va I decided to complete my
MBC classes online. I am also a
nutritionist assistant for the health
department. With the dogs, school, and
work my life stays pretty busy. However,
I always have time to chat about my dogs
and give advice to all of my puppy owners.