Lone Birch Shetland Sheepdogs is a family owned and family oriented canine residence. (We are neither a back-yard breeder nor a puppy mill, only after great research and consideration do we consider producing a litter and they are very few and far between.) Thank you for perusing our website. Although I don't have any plans for another litter anytime in the near future, I would like to impart some very important information to anyone who has or is considering any kind of dog. LYME's disease is rampant. It is transmitted via deer ticks. All three of my dogs have been exposed to it and have undergone treatment and have since been vaccinated. When Trouble displayed symptoms of random lameness at 11 months of age, I had asked my vet to check him for Lyme's, having been in Oklahoma I was familiar with it, but here in the North East it was relatively unheard of albeit it was first coined from Lyme, Connecticut. My vet said he had never seen a case and after a second recurrence of lameness a month later, Trouble tested positive. Almost exactly a year later I had all the furkids in for their annual vaccinations the other two tested positive and the vet was astounded at the record number of cases he was seeing as were all the vets in the area. If you or one of your family is bitten by a tick or even if you don't recall being bitten but have symptoms of lameness, stiffness, fever, etc, contact your physician. From what I understand Lyme's can remain dormant and can cause very serious medical conditions. Caught early it can be treated with antibiotics. I don't by any means claim to be an expert on the disease, but have had enough experience with my dogs and having had a friend in Oklahoma with Lyme's who developed heart complications as a result of the Lyme's. I feel it very important that as many people be aware of its rise in ocurrence and wary of its symptoms. Use repellant when out of doors, wearing light colored clothing helps to find any ticks on you, tucking in pantslegs and longsleeves in wooded areas is a good idea. For the dogs there are many tick repellants on the market, although most claim to kill the tick, it has usually bitten the animal before it dies. Insect spray formulated ESPECIALLY FOR ANIMALS is on the market and can be helpful. Regular checking of your pets and even of your children if they are out playing is crucial. Our Shetland Sheepdogs are our family members and lifelong companions. We are committed to producing only structurally sound and temperamentally superior puppies. All our pups have excellent temperament and sound structure. Our dogs are well socialized and encounter many stimuli. If anyone is interested in references from the 2000 litter please contact me for their e-mail addresses. We know only too well that when one wants a puppy they want it NOW and quite often "IMPULSE BUYING" is a terrible mistake for not only the owner but the puppy as well. We here at Lone Birch spend considerable time, interviewing potential owners and evaluating the specific temperament of the pup to make the perfect lifelong bond of friendship that will bring a wealth of love into your family. From my 2000 litter, I held 3 pups back and at 9 & 10 months found the perfect match for them. And I am very very proud to say that the female that I was holding onto for just the right person to come along, Shelly is now a therapy dog. She could have been sold 4 or 5 times over but I thought she would be great at therapy/obedience and along came Carol and they are doing wonderfully. Bringing joy and happiness to people who are confined to nursing homes and patients in hopitals. I am very proud of Shelly and so thanful to Carol for her commitment to helping others and letting the true sheltie spirit shine through Shelly. I don't believe in rushing the pups out the door at 6 weeks to avoid the continual responsibility and clean-up of a litter. I have learned that the right person "will" come along for the right pup, I just wait until the right match meets us. We take bringing life into the world very seriously and the responsibility doesn't end when the pup leaves our home. We are always available for help or a home if the pup/dog is no longer able to stay in his/her original home. OUR HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: We got our first "Sheltie" Shelby (now gone to Rainbow Bridge much too young)in 1993 from Okie's Shetland Sheepdogs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We presently have just our three furry companions. Bailey - "Okie's Goin' for the Gold" (CH. Okie's Gold N' Dominator x Crawfords Caress O' Springstir) and Andy "Okie's Private Collection, CGC, CD" (CH. Barwood Salutes Longsine x Okie's Ribbon O' Darkness) PLUS the LoneBirch Nothin' But Trouble (CH. Ozark Crest City Slicker, ROM x Okie's Goin' for th' Gold) who is now 3 years old. Andy is our Obedience guy right now. He started Obedience classes just for something to do and became Top Dog of his graduating class of over 300 dogs from the Tulsa Dog Training Club in the spring of 1997. He went on to win his first Obedience Title the CD (Companion Dog) in 3 consecutive shows less than 6 months after starting school. Andy is now going to Agility Classes and absolutely loving it we are in intermediate beginners. Bailey was in beginners Obedience class when we moved from Oklahoma to Massachusetts. She had been trained for the breed ring when we were fortunate enough to get her at 9 months of age. She has successfully raised a gorgeous litter of 6 in 2000 and is quite content to be the Queen of her castle (notice in the picture to the right that the "boys of the family" bow down in her presence). OUR LONE BIRCH FURKIDS 2000 Litter LONE BIRCH is very proud of the Sable & White Six Pack born January 27, 2000 starting at 1:18 am and finishing up at 4:35am. We had a lovely split of 3 ladies and 3 handsome gents. The sire to these little munchkins is "CH. OZARK CREST CITY SLICKER, ROM" (CH. Kylene Cindahope Town Cryer, ROM x CH. Ozark Crest Abracadabra, ROM)owned by Kathy Dziegiel of Kylene Shetland Sheepdogs. Trevah is the sire of 5 of the 2000 National Shetland Sheepdog Show top 4 in their class Sable and Whites. Health Documentation: Bailey is OFA-EXC, vWD clear; any stud that I would consider would have to be OFA and vWD certified as well as have excellent teperament and confirmation. Being a show champion is not a requirement that I look for, but a solid pedigree certainly is. Our 2000 Furkids are LoneBirch Nothin' But Trouble who remained on the homefront, LoneBirch Wile E Codi living in Wayland, MA; LoneBirch Ain't Miz B Havin', TDx, CGC(Shelly) living in Weston, MA and was the star of her obedience class, she is now promoting the versatility and sheer joy of her fellow shelties by working as a Therapy Dog (Congratulations to Carol and Shelly for their dedication to helping bring joy and happiness to those who desparately need some loving); LoneBirch Zoe (the miracle baby) & LoneBirch Riley living in York, ME & last but not least the first to leave the doggie bed and farthest from the nest LoneBirch Sister Mary Margaret living in Knoxville, Tennessee. All of the furkids are perfectly matched with their people. All our furkids are PhD's - "Perfectly Happy Dogs" ANYONE INTERESTED IN A BASIC INFORMATION, PLEASE E-MAIL ME, I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT PET EDUCATION.