FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tina Barber Spends a Lifetime Creating the Perfect Dog

(Huntington, WV)  May 2006—The publisher believes that this book is a first of its kind in the modern era.  After extensive research back until the early 1900’s he was unable to find a memoir written by a breed founder.

Tina Barber is no ordinary dog breeder. She has met and overcome a succession of disappointments, disasters, and betrayals, any one of which would have been enough to cause an ordinary dog breeder to give up.

The woman they call "Ma Shiloh" had a vision, a dream of a very specific kind of dog: big, beautiful, protective, intelligent, stable and manageable in temperament, an affectionate, trustworthy and loyal family dog: "A dog straight from the heart of God," in her words. She tried to develop a dog like that on her own, and failed. Then in 1974 her life changed and she tried it all over again with a different set of motivations. She changed her kennel name to Shiloh Shepherds and went into partnership with her savior.

The results—the Shiloh Shepherds of today—speak for themselves.

The Shiloh Shepherd Story narrates with candor and frankness the story of how the Shiloh Shepherd dog came to be a living reality. Few of us have any real conception of what is involved in the birth of a new dog breed, or the difficulties and setbacks that seem necessarily to go along with the process. Tina Barber's tenacity in pursuit of her vision, her refusal to give up in the face of adversity, make up the elements of an inspiring real-life drama of triumph through faith—in her God, in herself, in her dream, in her dogs. This book is probably unlike any dog book you have ever read: rip-roaring, gripping, exciting—a spiritual and canine thriller.

About the Author

Tina Barber, born in Germany in 1947, has lived her entire life with dogs. Her grandmother raised and her father trained guard and protection dogs. Tina's family came to America when she was eleven. She started her career as a Schutzhund trainer in her early teens, earned money as a show handler on the Southern Circuit, and did whatever she had to do to be with dogs, work with dogs, train dogs. 

Unimpressed with the lack of training and discipline of American dogs and their owners, Tina remembered her grandmother's protection dogs, especially one family dog named Rex, a massive, powerful German Shepherd. All her life she remembered that huge guard dog who could be safely handled by a small child.

Eventually Tina was led to the dogs that she needed to accomplish her goals and to fulfill her vision of a big, powerful, intelligent, great-hearted family guardian breed, a breed of dogs like Rex. But before that could happen she had to come to terms with the Lord. Even then, her trials had only just begun. For Tina was troubled, tried, beset and tested like Job. Yet she has continued to promote and protect her magnificent dogs during their tortuous journey toward full breed recognition.

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Only 450 beautiful limited editions have been printed.

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