I got my first dog in 1972 and my first Icelandic Sheepdog in 1993 after I moved back to Iceland from England with my family. I started breeding them in 1995. Apart from of course Iceland; there are now dogs from my breeding in America, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Germany, and soon there will be one in England.

My dogs are kept as pampered pets, occasionally I breed from them but only after careful thought and contemplation in my choice of stud dog. I don't breed solely for the show ring and I never use popular sires, my aim is to produce good looking, healthy dogs with good temperaments that will be good family pets and also of value in breeding.

I have had cats on and off since I was a small child and got my first British shorthair in 1986. I started breeding them in 2002 with cats imported from Denmark and Holland. I am still the only British breeder here in Iceland.

All my cats live in my home, as I live out in the country I need them as mousers and they are extremely good at it. Of necessity the males are not allowed to roam free with the queens and they have a room to themselves.

At the moment I have four Icelandic Sheepdogs, three bitches and one dog and five British, four queens and one male. I have a litter on the way, due around 11th April 2009

I took the kennel name SINDRA in 1995 and took the same name for my cattery in 2001. Sindra in Icelandic means ‘scintillating’ or ‘shining from within’ which so aptly describes the personality of the Icelandic Sheepdog and expression of the British with their glowing amber eyes.

I have worked at the offices of the Icelandic kennel club, Hundaræktarfélag Íslands (HRFÍ) since 1996 as pedigree registrar; I also handle the applications for kennel names, hip and elbow dysplasia results and foreign correspondence.

I have been quite active within the dog world; I am on the board of the Icelandic Sheepdog breed club, Deild íslenska fjárhundsins (DÍF) and have been for over ten years. I am on HRFÍ’s Standard Committee and the committee campaigning for the acceptance of the pet passport scheme for pets coming to Iceland. I have worked at the HRFÍ’s and DÍF’s shows for many years writing the critiques for the judges.

Other activities I have taken part in are; a member of the editorial committee for Sámur (HRFI’s magazine) and as a figurant in their mentality testing programme.

In the cat world I am on the board of Kynjakettir, the Icelandic cat fancy (KKÍ), and have been since 1995 with the exception of a small break of a couple of years in the late 90’s. Within the board I was vice president for several years and am presently co-treasurer. I also work at all the KKÍ shows; I was show secretary for many years but now I am assisting.

My other passions are arts and crafts and the Icelandic countryside. I love drawing, painting, pottery and generally making things. In the summertime we go camping with our CombiCamp trailer tent as often as possible, the dogs love that. I have also inherited a love of photography from my father.