The history behind Stormy Lee Kennels involves a very special mare named "Stormy Lee". When we first started our kennel, we were living in Ohio with lots of horses and a boarding stable that offered riding lessons and trail rides. We bought our mare "Stormy Lee" in 1986 at the age of 5.  She became the best horse we've ever owned. During the time that we owned this mare was a time of good fortune for us. We had lots of good things happen and Stormy Lee had many nice foals. During this time of extremely good luck,  a dear friend of mine, who was a wonderful sign painter, made us a nice hanging sign for the front of our farm that read "Stormy Lee’s Stables". My friend has since passed, but her memory remains in the name that she gave to our business that encompassed such a bright time in our lives.
 
In 1990 we got our first Australian Shepherd. She was a Red Tri by the name of Shawnee. Within a month, we found a Blue Merle male named Jake. The two made the perfect pair to start our breeding business. We then moved from Ohio to Andersonville, Tennessee to a nice spread on 100 acres about a mile from Norris Lake. It was there, in the Smokey Mountains, that we got our first Labrador Retriever, Bo. Soon after Bo, we purchased a female Labrador Retriever named Dixie. Our talented friend that painted the original "Stormy Lee’s Stables" sign then created a new very large sign saying "Stormy Lee's Stables and Kennels". This sign seemed to bring in as much business as we could handle. We then started a full boarding and grooming facility for dogs and horses. We raised our children there.  Several nieces and nephews lived many summers with us. Numerous children came and stayed on this farm.
 
As we began to raise purebred dogs, we learned the importance of health certifications. We studied our two breeds and their characteristics in order to allow us to raise quality animals. At the time, we were also raising horses and had three of our own stallions to complement our small band of broodmares. We enjoyed our children, the farm and raising our animals. As the years flew past, John and I raised our first Champion dogs. Our first Champion was a bred by dog thanks to breeder Lisa Camron, who provided my show dog Native Drum Of Touchstone.  This dog is still with us today at age 13. We have involved ourselves in many dog and horse shows. Our farm in Tennessee provided 15 wonderful years for us and to this day we still have many folks that request to purchase our dogs and consistently send us photos of dogs from our past litters. We are proud to say that we are missed in Tennessee along with our boarding/breeding business and we miss our wonderful customers in return.
 
Moving to Colorado was a dream in the making for us for about 6 years. John had been an avid hunter and archer for many years. Finally in 2005, we found a nice 40 acre ranch in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains in Westcliffe, Colorado. The children are now all grown and many of our dogs have lived out their lives here in Colorado, as well as our wonderful mare Stormy Lee that passed at the age of 27. Stormy Lee's son,  Spinner, still remains with us.  We also have a mare that we purchased at the age of 3, who is now 26 years old along with two of her granddaughters that my brother raised in Ohio.

John and I together still raise quality Australian Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers with a heightened knowledge and awareness of our own health care.  These wonderful dogs have become our family. We love the state of Colorado having made several Champions and met wonderful breeders and dog friends.  We have continued to move forward and venture out into performance venues with our dogs.

Yes, the children still come and visit. Our nephew has lived with us and our niece has moved to Colorado. Our kids have Aussies and some have Labs.   Both breeds are wonderful and co-exist together very, very well making our life a dream.
 
A huge Thank You to all of our doggie family friends that provide us with so much assistance and give amazing new homes to our special dogs. We love hearing from you, so don't be shy and send us an email or give us a call today.