Being a double Leo, I never get tired of talking about ME, so feel free to click on to another page if your eyes begin rolling back in your head. I grew up in Mississippi, moved to Dallas as soon as I graduated from college and lived the uber-fast Dallas life for 15 years or so. I worked in the fashion industry and my life revolved around looking good, having fun and seeing how big I could get my blonde hair. For a few years I worked for PETsMART and PETCO and loved it, and I am so grateful for everything I learned from all those years of working in the pet industry. But when I turned 40 I had an itch, a yearning, a desire to just DO something else. That was when I decided to take a job as a graphic designer and moved to Minnesota, but I am getting ahead of my story…

Along the way I fell in love with the sport of purebred dogs and bred Top Ranked, Top Winning French Bulldogs (including both of Martha Stewart’s Frenchies) for almost 20 years. For more on THAT, visit Jackpot! French Bulldogs. I achieved almost all the goals I set for myself: multiple Top Ten French Bulldogs, Best in Show & Best in Specialty winner, National Specialty Winner, the very first ROM awarded to a Frenchie, bred the very first OFA Excellent hip French Bulldog, and more of that type stuff. It was a lot of fun and we met some amazing people who will be in our lives forever, for that I will always be grateful. But nothing lasts forever (except paying taxes and cellulite) and I am no longer breeding Frenchies, though I am active in the breed and actually judged Sweeps at the 2008 FBDCA National Specialty.

I also have my holistic dog products business, The Blissful Dog, home of the world famous The Blissful Dog nose butters, paw butters, boo boo butters and elbow butters and now The Blissful Dog Clearing Sprays and Relax Roll Ons. These will be available at Paws and Tails Too, of course.

Ok, back to my saga…Right after I turned 40, I took a job as an apprentice graphic designer in St. Paul, MN and headed north. Nope, I had never lived in the cold and knew I would need boots and a BIG coat. Literally a week after I got to Minnesota, I met my future husband, Steve Vitcak. Talk about things happening for a reason! I wanted to get married that second date, but he wanted to wait a bit…so we waited five years, but get married we did! Shortly after the festive wedding we bought a fishing resort, Dancing Bear Resort, in far northwestern Minnesota and here we are! I still have three French Bulldogs, one Great Pyrenees, one mini-horse, and a YAK, yep, a yak. Plus, peacocks, guineas, and fancy chickens and more. Life ROCKS here in the Minnesota big woods.