I was adopted by my first Labrador in 1990 after having a kidney transplant. He was bred by
Barb Stinehelfer of White Wing Valley Labradors. I named him Bandit because he stole my heart. We went everywhere together.
I was 26 at the time and living at my parents in the country. Recuperating from the transplant, Bandit gave me a reason to
get out of bed in the morning. I started to go to college and then two years after surgery, I was offered a job with
the Department of Defense in Columbus, Ohio. I accepted. Unfortunately Bandit couldn't come with me to an apartment.
I reluctantly tried to find him a home where he could be happy but was unable to find anyone who wanted an adult dog.
Luckily, I found a rental home that allowed pets. So as soon as my apartment lease was up, I moved and Bandit moved to Columbus
with me. I later bought my first home and was again adopted by one of White Wing's Labradors. This pup I
named Sheba. She became the foundation of Blacklick Labradors.
My hobby grew into a passion, and for the people closest to me, some would say an obsession,
For I was bitten by the dog show bug! Many weekends were spent on the road traveling from show site to show site, collecting
ribbons. It was great fun, traveling and getting to meet new people. I was introduced to Laurie and Kim Pierce through Barb
at White Wing. We became good friends over the years and did many breeding's together. Recently we decided to become partners
merging our breeding programs. This merger helps us to refine our program and ensure that we continue to produce
the highest quality Labradors possible.
