Barb grew up with dogs of many different breeds, but got her first Great Dane in 1975. She took that dog to college with her, and has never been without a Dane since. She began showing in Obedience in 1983, and has put obedience titles on several different dogs of different breeds. She became involved in Animal Assisted Therapy in 1989 and that activity - extremely worthwhile in its own right - led to her current career in Occupational Therapy. She also met her husband Ronnie through that organization. Dogs have truly changed her life!
One dog who particularly changed Barb's life was Patience. Patience was the first (hopefully not the last) of Barb's dogs to earn the advanced obedience title "Utility Dog". Patience made history in 2005 when she came out of retirement to earn the ultimate Rally title of "Rally Advanced Excellent". She was the first Great Dane in the U.S., the first dog of any breed in Texas and only the 8th dog of any breed in the entire country to do so.
Barb enjoys all types of canine activities, but devotes most of her time to training her dogs in Obedience and Rally, and teaching training classes with Metro All Breed Obedience Club in Fort Worth and PAWS Agility in Rhome, TX.