My affection for Border Collies started with my first one. “Rue” was about 2 when I got him, he had had some training but had been deemed unsuitable for much let alone a trial dog. He was supposed to be just my chore dog. As he taught me more and more about handling I decided it was time to try him in the trial arena. Well what a trial dog he was!

He earned all Three of the arena Championships, AHBA, AKC, and ASCA. He was as good on sheep and ducks as he was on cattle! He could do open field work and was a great dog for me to learn on.

When he retired I was given a 6 yr old male, “Sid”. He was amazing, and although not a trial dog, he was a great all around ranch dog, doing chores and working with my students so they could learn too!

I was trialing a nice female “Lonestar Missy” for a friend and we talked about breeding her to “Sid”. That was a breeding made in heaven.

The resulting pups all turned out to be awesome dogs, as pets, agility, herding, whatever the owners wanted.

I kept a red female “Sweet” and she has totally lived up to her name. She has been an awesome trial dog, a great mother and now is my chore dog.

She is the foundation of my “Darqside” breeding of Border Collies.

I chose that kennel name because it has always been joked about in the herding world that if you started with other herding breeds and then got into Border Collies you had gone to the “Darkside”! So I thought it, with a twist, perfect for me.

In addition to Sweet I have Lance who is Sweet’s uncle. He is also the ranch, chore dog. And all my students love working with him and learning from him. He is the “set out” dog for our trials and he loves it.

I have two of Sweet’s daughters by Bill Berhow’s Coal. “Faye” is coming 4yrs and has a bright future ahead of her. And “Etta” is almost 1 yr. She is everything I wanted from this breeding and it was fate that made me wait till the last litter to get the right one!

The Darqside pups are doing great in all venues, Agility, Herding, Nosework, Companions, with the temperament and drive to allow them to do just about anything their owners want.

I am looking forward to the future with these awesome dogs. They make me proud as their breeder.

I do very limited breeding and I want to make sure my puppies are placed as family pets and companions first, then show and performance dogs second. Anything that these dogs go on to do, either in the show ring or performance arenas is just icing on the cake.

While I work very hard to breed loyal, healthy, intelligent dogs free of genetic defects, I feel that the public must realize and take into consideration that as breeders we are dealing with genetics and as such, problems can arise. I do my best to support my puppy owners and see that any and all questions they have are answered in a timely manner and that they are happy with the puppy they have chosen for its entire life.

I try to ensure all my breeding stock has been certified free of inheritable genetic defects.

I will screen homes to make sure that the puppy and the potential owner(s) are suitable for each other. When someone takes a puppy from me, I expect that person to remain in contact with me for the life of the dog. With all the good stuff and accomplishments. Also letting me know of any potential problems or if there is a need for advice of any kind. It is vital as the breeder that I am made aware of health screening results of the puppies as they grow up in order for me to continue to breed only the healthiest of dogs. I cannot address problems if the owners do not keep me informed.

My lifelong dream is to have people enjoy the same love of this breed that I have.

If you are interested in future breedings let me know and I will send info.