The Person Behind Tollwest...


    Hi, my name is Lisa Porter, and I am the owner of Tollwest Kennels Reg'd.

    I grew up around a wide variety of dogs, from herding (3 German Shepherds and a Shetland Sheepdog), toys (a Chihuahua and a Silky Terrier), sporting (a Labrador), working (Alaskan Malamutes) & non-sporting groups (Lhasa Apso, Boston Terriers) plus a few mixed breeds. Even as a child I knew I was a "dog person" and trained my last GSD, my mixes and a Malamute to at least CD level, although we never competed.

    In 1992 I entered the world of dog showing with my first Golden Retriever, and acquired a second one in 1995. But although I love Sammi & Montana, they weren't quite what I was looking for in a dog.

    Finally in 1998 I got a chance to bring home my first Toller, after being thoroughly fascinated with the breed for over 10 years! Right away I knew that Tollers were the breed for me...the size, temperament, personality, activity level, drive and intelligence of the breed were just what I had always wanted.

    My life has "gone to the dogs".... I work as a Professional Pet Groomer and am working towards becoming a CMG (Certified Master Groomer). I mainly groom dogs, but also do the occasional cat or other animal (such as rabbit and guinea pig grooming, bird wings & nails, etc).

    I also enjoy teaching dog agility classes, and am currently instructing at the Novice & Competition levels for my local club. I also run club "fun nights" and have judged at several agility fun matches. I am a licensed AAC Starters & Advnaced Agility Judge, and will be going for my CKC Agility judges license later this year.

    I started breeding, showing and hand-raising exotic birds under the name Elgin Aviary in 1993, specializing in color mutation Peachfaced Lovebirds, but have also bred fancy Cockatiels, Budgies and Zebra Finches . I have bred Best in Show winners in addition to loving family pets. In addition to my own aviary's birds, I also have worked closely with a bird adoption group, taking in homeless, abused or unwanted birds, evaluating & rehabilitating them in a "foster home" environment until they are ready to move on to a new permanent home. Unfortunately, due to my limited time these days (its all gone to the dogs!) I have had to sell all my birds so I currently no longer breed them but hope to re-start in the future if I can find the time to devote to them.

    I have also explored the wonderful world of rodents, and have owned and bred a variety of fancy mice, rats, hamsters and gerbils, plus one great rabbit that thought he was a dog! I have had several aquariums housing a variety of tropical fish (from cichlids to tetras, livebearers to anabantids) and have bred Convict Cichlids, Mozambique Mouthbrooders, Swordtails, Platys, Mollies, and Bettas.

    Aside from my animals.....I am a huge fan of TLC's hit television show "While You Were Out", and especially the show's host, Evan Farmer!

    Evan Farmer, host of While You Were Out

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