A Little About Our Family

Thanks for visiting our website! Wes is a 7th generation crop and cattle farmer, Claudia is a veterinarian, and together we share a son named Russell and a whole bunch of Labradors, which our life revolves around! 

I come from a long line of dog lovers, so as soon as I went out on my own, I thought I needed a dog of my own! I have always loved the versatility of a well-bred Labrador. I came upon the opportunity to own my first show-quality Labrador, Flare, about a year after I graduated high school. Throughout my undergraduate studies, Flare and I did everything together, including obedience, therapy work, and conformation shows. It was around that time I joined the Midwest Labrador Retrievers Club where I was introduced to the lovely Lab folks in our area. I quickly became obsessed with this hobby and never looked back.

 I definitely got lucky in the husband department! Wes knew I was both horse crazy and dog crazy when he asked to marry me, so I can't give him any sympathy on that front. Having grown up raising Labradors, he is just as obsessed with them as I am.

​After college, I pursued my lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian. Flare and Bean followed me to vet school and were the best 'practice patients', anatomy models, and study buddies throughout those years. We also managed to begin our breeding program during that time.
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Wes and I have grown to love every aspect of puppy raising, from the countless hours of research that goes into selecting a breeding, to waking up every hour of the night to check on newborn puppies, to cleaning up after them, introducing them to the world, and most of all, seeing the joy they bring to their humans! It is a whole lot of work, but totally a labor of love.

​I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Pam Doubek of Penara Labs for her mentorship. She is a wealth of knowledge in both veterinary medicine and Labrador Retrievers and I am forever grateful that she shared a few of her incredible Labradors with me. I would also like to thank Wes's family for helping us get started in raising Labradors. ​

A few of our cows cooling off by the creek

Flare was the "Dog of Honor" in our wedding

Flare and Claudia after graduating from vet school