About Us...
My name is Tina Bjork and I'd like to welcome you to Heart Lake Shelties home on the Web! We are a small kennel dedicated to producing sound, intelligent, quality packed Shetland Sheepdogs. Every one of our Shelties is considered a beloved companion. Presently we have seven shelties over the age of six months. I feel very strong about keeping my number of dogs reasonable so that each dog receives the attention I feel it deserves.Believing that all good things take time, we only raise a few litters a year and spend quality time with the puppies while they are in our home. All of our shelties over two years of age are fully health tested with good or excellent hips, normal eyes and thyroids, MDR1 normal/normal and are non-carriers of vWD. All of our shelties over six months have had their eyes checked and their hips OFA prelimed.
I began showing in Conformation around twenty five years ago with my Penny. You can see Penny off of my Rainbow Bridge page. As a complete novice I started to show Penny when she was a puppy. It took me some time before I realized we would only go so far with this sweet dog in the Conformation Ring. However, showing her gave me the desire for a dog I could get a bit more serious with in the show ring, and that's where it all really began.
I have enjoyed many aspects of owning Shelties, from conformation, to obedience to just loving them as pets. I've been the breeder eight AKC champions and owner of several more so far. I have enjoyed showing my own dogs to several majors, many Best of Breeds, group placements, specialty wins and Best in Specialty Shows. I love to handle my own dogs in the conformation rings, but I also know my limits and when it is time to let someone more experienced take over.
The Sheltie isn't just a pretty dog. The versatility of the Sheltie is what makes this breed so great. There are countless Heart Lake Shelties titled in Agility, Obedience and Herding.
Heart Lake Shelties is located on 60 acres of rolling fields, woods and the shore lines of Heart Lake. We are 15 minutes north of Scranton, PA, and 40 minutes south of Binghamton, NY, 20 minutes from the end of the PA turnpike, right off Interstate 81.
Below are some
photos
of the main areas
where we keep
and care
for our Shelties:
These are two different angles of my dog room. This is the room that makes caring for my dogs so much easier! The room is dog proofed with ceramic tile, raised outlets and heater. The room is separated from the rest of the house by sliding glass doors, yet it is just a few feet away from our main living area making it very easy to bring the dogs into the living areas for us to enjoy their company.
This is part of a corner pen off of my dog room that the gang has access to from a dog door (so they can come in and out as they please).
This is around a third of our large back yard. All of the dogs enjoy runs in this yard at least twice a day for two plus hours each time.
This is my back porch, which is enclosed in the fencing that goes around our back yard. This is the main "hang out" as you can see. The dogs enjoy taking breaks in the shade and the coolness the cement floor provides. One of my favorite things is to just sit here drinking my morning coffee and enjoying the company of my shelties.
This is the front of our home. It is approximately 100 years old, so when I'm not busy with my shelties, it keeps me busy with renovations!
Member in good standing:
American Shetland Sheepdog Association
Interstate Shetland Sheepdog Club
AKC Breeder of Merit