Dedication

Around 1949, my grandparents decided that English Shepherds would become their all-purpose farm dogs. Their farm consisted of a number of cows, pigs, chickens and a couple of mules.  The first dogs were ordered through an ad found in one of the farming magazines they received. Since my grandparents lived in a rural part of North Carolina, these puppies were shipped to them by train from somewhere in the mid-section of the US.  The male was given the name Jack and lived with my great-grandfather located right down the dirt road from my grandparents.  My grandparents kept Joy, the female, at their house, and thus began 25 plus years of breeding and raising purebred, but unregistered, English Shepherds.  My favorite visits to their house were always when there was a new litter of puppies around. I guess you could say that English Shepherds have been in my blood since I was a little girl.  My grandparents' English Shepherd line came to an end around 1978 with the death of my grandfather, soon followed by the death of his last dog.

Today, I am carrying on the English Shepherd legacy passed on by Early C. & Blonza H. Smith.  As hard as I tried, I was never able to locate any remaining remnants of their bloodlines.  My grandmother often told me that if she were to have another dog, it would definitely be an English Shepherd.

The name White Oak English Shepherds is derived from the name of the area and community where my grandparents resided while raising English Shepherds.

This website is dedicated to my grandmother, Blonza Smith, who died at the age of 104 on December 6, 2006.  She has taught me about faith in God and perseverance in all things, shared many a plant from her yard, and instilled in me the love of English Shepherds.

With much love and appreciation,

Rebecca