Kenny and Susan Severns

Long before I had met Kenny, I was actually just barely in kindergarten, my parents Rodney and Charlene Lawley bought an Australian Shepherd as a family dog from a ranch in Burson, Ca.

Freckles was my best friend. Though his life was cut short by a tragic accident, it was Freckle's companionship that began my love for the Australian Shepherd breed.

In the early 70’s I met two girls from Placerville, Ca., Sherry Klarer Baker and her cousin, Maureen Hayes Johnson at a horse event. The girls were with their mothers Audrey Klarer and Muriel Hayes. The three of us weren’t even teenagers yet. I can still remember their "red" pick-up, that "red" horse trailer from the Bloodhorse Ranch, and of course their "blue dogs."

Not long after, both families moved to Galt, Ca. In my senior year, my family moved to Galt as well. The girls and I ended up attending Galt High School together where we became even closer friends. Muriel, Maureen, Audrey, Sherry and I attended some fun matches where we competed in obedience and entered some confomation classes.

It was during that time that I bought Twin Oaks Shawnee, my first registered Aussie from Twin Oaks. Shawnee was later bred and produced a red pup, Ettles' Korby. It was Shawnee who introduced the "red gene" into the Twin Oaks bloodline.

More About Us and Sliding S

In 1980 I met my husband Kenny. I owned two Aussies at that time, Shadow and Joe. Kenny fell instantly in love with my dogs and the breed. Before long he had his own Aussie, Cheyenne Kid. Kid was out of my dog Shadow, by Twin Oaks Kiowa.

We took some time off from raising Aussies and had two beautiful daughters. Once the girls were near grown, I decided to buy another pup. We moved from a Stockton suburb to a house with a little acreage which would better support an active Aussie, and the time was right. I contacted Sherry to buy a pup but she was only selling her dogs to working homes. In order to buy a pup I would need to trial or own my own stock.

Kenny thought a hobby of trialing might be something I would enjoy so I bought Shiloh and started learning and eventually trialing. Twin Oaks Shiloh was the first dog I trialed. She earned her WTCH title and I was bitten by the trialing bug, and hooked. I spent the next 5 years trialing and learning as much as I could, then eventually retired Shiloh from competition.

In 2008, I was ready for my next dog. I had always loved Francesca Canfield's Sweetgrass Brie, so it just made sense to buy one of her pups. When the time came to breed Skye after her open titles in all stock, I consulted Sherry about a male and Bart was the man. Sliding S was registered as a kennel and that first litter was enough to get Skye her Hall of Fame Dam title.

The Bart X Skye cross was such a nice litter, after moving to Idaho we did a repeat cross in 2014. This litter produced yet again some very talented pups. While competing and making finals Skye took some time off for a few more litters, proving to be a great producer. She produced 4 litters and made it to 4 Finals in 7 years.

Skye is now semi-retired, so I'm putting some time in with her son, Sliding S Right to Bear Arms "Colt." Currently Skye and Colt are qualified for finals this coming September, in Greeley, Colorado.

I still make it back to Sherry's when possible for friendship, trials and lessons.

What We Strive For In the Australian Shepherd Breed

We want our Australian Shepherds to have a good temperament and be easy to live with. We like our dogs to have a strong working ability, work a circle and have a decent rate. We prefer the "Old Style Aussie" and want a healthy dog with good structure, movement and appealing to the eye. Our dogs’ bloodlines are primarily Twin Oaks, Windsong, Sweetgrass and Slash V. In addition to raising, training and trialing stockdogs we also offer boarding, socialization and basic obedience services.

Our Aussie litters are ASCA and AKC registered.