I have loved dogs my entire life. Growing up, every birthday wish and every letter to Santa contained exactly one request. It took years, a cattle ranch in Montana, and a move to the Sierra Nevada foothills before I found the dog that truly changed everything.

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Long before the ranch, I was a suburban kid who just wanted a dog. I eventually got one, a Bichon Frise, and loved every minute of it. But it was working as an adult on a large cattle ranch in Montana, raising Black Angus cattle, ranch horses, and Australian Cattle Dogs bred and trained for real work, that my understanding of animal stewardship truly took shape. Caring for working animals with purpose, evaluating them honestly, taking long-term responsibility for what you breed. That experience shaped everything that followed.

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When my family and I moved to the Sierra Nevada foothills, we had three acres and the space to finally welcome a larger dog. We found a red and white female Siberian Husky, and that was it. I had always loved the breed. Balto was a childhood favorite, and later Togo. But living with a Siberian Husky is something else entirely. They arrive with a personality already fully formed. They will talk to you, make you smile, keep you active, and fill your heart with joy every single day. Other breeds wait for you to give them a purpose. Siberians show up already knowing who they are.

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After our first I wanted to go deeper. I studied the breed standard, learned about health testing, and began seeking out showline dogs with the goal of building a preservation-focused program. Like many breeders, my earliest litters were not without missteps. Wooly coats are a fault in the Siberian Husky standard, and it took time and education to fully understand what correct breed type required. I pivoted quickly and deliberately, investing in formal education through AKC's Canine College, pursuing breeder credentials, and earning certifications as an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator, AKC Temperament Test Evaluator, and AKC FIT Dog Instructor. The temperament-first philosophy at the heart of this program didn't come from instinct alone. It came from study.

 

Along the way, Revi came to us undersocialized and needing significant work. An agouti and white female who bears a striking resemblance to Togo, she required well over a year of patient rehabilitation before she was ready to show. She is now confident, social, and genuinely enjoys the ring in UKC and IABCA. Tracing her pedigree later, we found a direct line back to Leonhard Seppala's dogs and to Togo himself. Our first husky looked like Jenna from Balto. Our first showline dog looks like Togo and traces back to him. Some things are just meant to be.

That experience with Revi deepened our commitment to the breed beyond our own program. When we can, we make room for huskies in need, particularly End of Life dogs that find themselves at our local shelter. It is not something we advertise, but it is something we will always do.

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Jacques was the first dog I ever showed. Breaking into the show world is not easy, and I came in without a mentor and largely figured it out as I went. I was strategic, did much of the work myself, and finished two AKC Championships in my first thirteen months of showing. Jacques and Reba are both AKC Champions of record, with Jacques continuing to accumulate wins at the highest levels of both AKC and UKC competition.

Today Thistle Hill is a small, home-based program on our three-acre property in Meadow Vista. My husband Corey and our son are part of the daily life of the dogs, and this is genuinely a household built around them. Over the years we have fenced and built out a large dog yard where the dogs have room to run, play, and just be dogs. They live with us, not apart from us.

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Every dog in the program is health tested, actively shown, and selected with intention. Litters are limited and carefully planned. Puppies are placed based on temperament and lifestyle fit, not color or order of inquiry. And every dog bred here remains my responsibility for life.

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The long-term goal is to produce bred-by AKC Champions, dogs that carry the Thistle Hill name, compete confidently at specialties, and hold their own at prestigious shows like Westminster. That is what this breed deserves, and it is what this program is building toward.