About Us
"TJ", "Kylee", "Belle", "Traverse",
"Tigger", "Teak", and "Tyler". Photo taken by my father John
in July 2011.
Our dogs are split between myself and my parents. I live in mid-Michigan and they live in western Michigan. We have owned Shelties since 1997, with Traverse being our first.
The Clarks - Kelly & Derrick
Let me take a minute to tell you a little about myself, Kelly, (the webmaster and owner/co-owner of the dogs).
I am in my late 20s and I have been involved with shelties since 1997. Before that, I was chasing strays down the road and returning them to their owners, training neighborhood dogs, and begging my parents to get a dog. I have worked in animal-related jobs since I was sixteen. These include: Pet Supplies "Plus" (a pet supply store, not a pet shop; employed almost three years), Animal Medical Center of Wyoming (as a Pet Attendant/Kennel Assistant; employed over a year), The Animal Clinic Inc (as a receptionist; employed one year), Chicago Drive Veterinary Clinic (as a veterinary assistant/technician; employed about a year), then, in 2003, I made the move to Lansing, Michigan so my fiancé could attend Michigan State University.
In Lansing, I found a position at Petco part time for a couple
months before working for Mt. Hope Veterinary Hospital as a
veterinary assistant. I took a year off of the animal field to focus
on training and showing my females while working part time at
Celebration Cinema. Since then, I have since returned to the animal
field by obtaining a position at Cedar Creek Veterinary Hospital (&
Exotic Bird Clinic) in Williamston, MI as Kennel Manager for a
couple years. I have worked as an assistant
instructor/volunteer for Diamonds In The Ruff Dog Training, who
works very closely with For Better Independence Assistance Dogs (see
link page). I was thrilled to have the opportunity to assist
in getting these dogs socialized & trained for people who really
need them. Currently, I am working as a web site designer,
amateur photographer and soon-to-be starting up dog classes (most
likely in Grand Ledge).
For schooling, I am following the path to become a veterinarian. I
am currently taking courses at Michigan State University to earn my
degree in "Genomics & Molecular Genetics", at which time my plan is
to apply to vet school.
I belong to the United Shetland Sheepdog Association. I feel that shelties are the best all around
type of dog - "agile, obedient, affectionate/loving, independent
thinkers, gentle, playful; you could not ask for more in a dog in my
opinion." It is also very hard to own just one, so that is how
Sympatheque Shetland Sheepdogs came about.
My parents - John & Jan Thompson
(as told by
my Dad, John)
Jan and I live in Wyoming, Mi., on the west side of the state. We
have lived in the same place since 1975 where we raised all three of
our daughters, Kelly being the youngest. During the years the girls
were growing up we didn’t have any dogs, although we heard how much
we needed a dog from the time Kelly learned the word, “doggie” , and
it continued until Kelly was in high school! Most conversations with
Kelly always seemed to get around to talking about a dog! Jan and I
had owned a beagle for a while before Kelly came along, so we knew
life with a dog was a responsibility that we didn’t want added to
our family at the time of the girls growing up. Our decision not to
have a dog was also because one of Kelly’s sisters had allergies
that were triggered by dogs, so we didn’t own any dogs or cats.
After Kelly’s sister moved out of the house, Kelly went to work on getting a dog! With both Jan and I working and Kelly going to school, it just didn’t seem fair to a dog to be stuck home alone all day, so Kelly didn’t make much progress bringing a dog into the family! Our opinions of a family dog also were different, I always said if we ever got a dog it would be a Siberian Husky or a Malamute, Jan said no way, they are too big for our house, Kelly just wanted any breed that would fit in!
In 1997, Jan had surgery and was going to be off work most of the summer. At that time while on vacation all of Kelly’s life long work to get a dog into the family finally paid off! Finding Traverse, the perfect fit for our family, seemed to be the right timing with Jan being home for a few more weeks before returning to work.
Jan and I didn’t know much about the breed, heck, we knew nothing about the breed! So the way it worked was Traverse learned from Kelly and Jan and I learned from Traverse! Because shelties are so much a family dog, it didn’t take long for us to begin to admire the breed, and as it turned out, we have kept adding to the family since meeting Traverse!
Since adding shelties to our family we have included them in all of our activities, we take them with us on our camping trips, and they love it as much as we do! They have helped keep us healthy by making us stay active! We think they need to be an important part of the family. Unless you have a sheltie in your life there is no way to understand how much love and joy they bring into your life!
We leave the breeding and the showing up to Kelly, she is the one with all the knowledge of dogs, especially shelties. Jan and I just reap the rewards of having all the shelties in the family!