I am Sara– the person behind Elevare Finnish Lapphunds! My husband, Jarrett, and I live in Northern California with our two cats and three dogs. I have loved animals for as long as I can remember. I grew up carrying the encyclopedia of dogs wherever I went– pointing out breeds to my parents, siblings, and anyone else who would listen. Outside of dogs, I grew up riding horses and competing in three-day eventing, raising livestock for FFA, and caring for a slew of animals that passed through our home– lizards, mice, guinea pigs, chickens, etc.

I attended the University of Kentucky and earned my Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. After finishing undergrad, I went to Columbia University in NYC, where I received my Master of Public Health Degree. The day I graduated with my MPH, I flew to Colorado to pick up my first dog “on my own”– an eight-week-old Siberian Husky puppy named Aggie. Aggie taught me so much about dog training, behavior, and socialization, and through her Instagram account (@saraplusdogs), we met so many wonderful friends.

Aggie is very much a “one-person dog,” and while she loves Jarrett, she is “my dog” and is extremely bonded to me. Jarrett wanted to find another breed that would not make him feel like the third wheel. We began searching the AKC website for breeds we both liked and thought Samoyeds, Icelandic Sheepdogs, and Finnish Lapphunds would be a good fit for what we both wanted in a second dog.

We met Linda Marden of Sugarok Finnish Lapphunds in August 2020. Jarrett was hooked and didn’t even want to meet the other breeds we had planned to meet. Linda helped us find Rey, our first Finnish Lapphund and first show dog, in the Fall 2020. Since then, we have added a few more Finnish Lapphunds to our crew– Joey, Chewie, and Cove.

Our lives revolve around our dogs. We compete in a number of dog sports: Conformation, Barn Hunt, Scent work, Rally, FastCAT, and hopefully more to come! We also love to spend time with our dogs in nature. We regularly take our dogs hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, kayaking, camping, and more. Our dogs live in our home and sleep on our bed.

Elevare Finnish Lapphunds unequivocally supports the LGBTQUIA+ community, believes Black Lives Matter, trusts in science, and believes that no human is illegal.

BREEDING PHILOSOPHY