Our Story
My very first dog was a German Shepherd I named Maxine. She was my "bargain" dog, at 13
weeks was the last one left in the litter, so the price was reduced by the family in Evanston, IL
who bred her. Such a deal! I was single, living alone at the time, so I thought a German
Shepherd would be a good idea. Maxine was actually the best dog I've ever had, and when she
left us at 15-1/2 years of age, we were devastated. But that began a 30 year history of German
Shepherds in my life, which continues even now with Wyatt, a dear, sweet rescue, who is my
husband Jerry's best pal. It is said that "Every dog comes into your Life for a Reason, with a
Lesson to Teach you"......all of the German Shepherds in my life over the past 30 years have led
me to this amazing journey called Life With Dogs. To my GSD "Teachers" - Maxine, Ben, Erich,
Zora and Wyatt - "THANK YOU!!!"
weeks was the last one left in the litter, so the price was reduced by the family in Evanston, IL
who bred her. Such a deal! I was single, living alone at the time, so I thought a German
Shepherd would be a good idea. Maxine was actually the best dog I've ever had, and when she
left us at 15-1/2 years of age, we were devastated. But that began a 30 year history of German
Shepherds in my life, which continues even now with Wyatt, a dear, sweet rescue, who is my
husband Jerry's best pal. It is said that "Every dog comes into your Life for a Reason, with a
Lesson to Teach you"......all of the German Shepherds in my life over the past 30 years have led
me to this amazing journey called Life With Dogs. To my GSD "Teachers" - Maxine, Ben, Erich,
Zora and Wyatt - "THANK YOU!!!"
| Jerry and his pal, Wyatt |
In the summer of 2005, Jerry and I moved
out of the crowded, congested Chicago
suburbs -- the postage-stamp sized yards
were not accommodating our growing
family of 2 German Shepherds and 3
Corgis! We found an amazing house in
need of a little TLC on 1.4 acres which
backs up to a Nature Preserve. The
community of Lake Villa is still semi-rural
and situated in far-northern Illinois on the
Chain of Lakes water recreation area,
out of the crowded, congested Chicago
suburbs -- the postage-stamp sized yards
were not accommodating our growing
family of 2 German Shepherds and 3
Corgis! We found an amazing house in
need of a little TLC on 1.4 acres which
backs up to a Nature Preserve. The
community of Lake Villa is still semi-rural
and situated in far-northern Illinois on the
Chain of Lakes water recreation area,
located an hour from Milwaukee and an hour from the Chicago O'Hare airport area. We love watching the deer frolic on the
OTHER side of our 6 foot fence, and Wyatt takes his responsibility to keep the coyotes away from the Corgis VERY seriously!
This lovely, open, quiet space provides both of us the opportunity to work out of home offices.....my Classy Canines
photography business and Jerry's security consulting business......and enjoy having all of our dogs in this wide-open space.
The acreage has lent itself to three separate fenced dog yards, with one being anyone's dream agility yard! But there is still
almost an acre of grass for Jerry and his John Deere to lovingly tend to.
OTHER side of our 6 foot fence, and Wyatt takes his responsibility to keep the coyotes away from the Corgis VERY seriously!
This lovely, open, quiet space provides both of us the opportunity to work out of home offices.....my Classy Canines
photography business and Jerry's security consulting business......and enjoy having all of our dogs in this wide-open space.
The acreage has lent itself to three separate fenced dog yards, with one being anyone's dream agility yard! But there is still
almost an acre of grass for Jerry and his John Deere to lovingly tend to.
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| All photos are copyright Classy Canines Photography. |