I collect model horses and cattle and several years ago a friend gave me a Breyer Australian Shepherd as a gift.  As a long time breeder of Aussies I wasn't very impressed with its color nor the silly position it was in but it was fairly structurally correct.  It sat around for awhile before I just had to do something with it and painted it to a red merle.  Someone suggested I put it on ebay, and that was the beginning of a new way to pay for my model horse hobby!  I soon tired of painting the same model and learning from my friend Kris McHugh who customs horses, I experimented with moving the legs, then removing heads and putting them back in a different position, resculpting ears and adding coat.  Other breeds followed and I began painting and remaking resins too.  Now I do many portrait models from photographs and still paint and remake dogs to sell on ebay.  That of course led me to photo show my model dogs and to use them in live shows in scenes with my horses.  I recently moved my model dogs to their own website, modeldogs.com, where I have examples of my dogs, some of my horse collection and also the mosaic tile items I do in my spare time!  You are welcome to visit either of my sites!

I breed working Aussies and judge them in conformation so have strived to keep my Aussies realistic and as close to the Breed Standard as possible.  When I do another breed I carefully study the Standard for that breed and research colors.  This has all turned into a fun hobby and runs parallel to my lifetime love of working dogs, stock horses, and cattle.  We used to live on a ranch where we bred and trained Quarter Horses.  Now it is 32 acres in West Central Texas ranch country so there is still plenty of space to enjoy the outdoors and our Aussies.