Our journey began in 1998 when my brother and I needed a personal protection dog for our family. We inquired with breeders that advertised in magazines and on the internet but had no luck, until one day a call arrived from a breeder in the U.S.A. with whom we had left a message. That was the first and only reply from anyone so, naively, we didn't waste any time and paid a substantial amount for our first German Shepherd, which we named Tyson.

After a couple of months we started looking for a trainer that could combine both obedience and personal protection training and got in contact with Don Evans from Evans Training Centre. Tyson excelled in Level I and Level II obedience and did well in personal protection. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia. After all the hours of training and emotional attachment, we were heart-sick. He was euthanized two years later due to chronic pain; and our family was devastated.

Don Evans, who has since become our mentor, has trained over 2,000 dogs and educated many more handlers. A graduate of Simon Fraser University and the University of Wisconsin’s Applied Behavior Sciences Program, Mr. Evans has used his education and worldwide experience to originate a practical training program. He has educated us and explained the difference between a true working dog and what breeders and trainers claim they have. Since the loss of Tyson we've obtained two German Shepherds from Don that have completed his two levels of obedience and excelled in all six levels of personal protection training, with no signs of any physical problems. Under his tutelage, we at Black Lion Kennels have been gaining knowledge and learning the true art of training. An additional benefit is that Don Evans is not only our mentor, he’s also our neighbour.

Training. Here, at Black Lion Kennels, we don't believe in the concept of group training. We acknowledge that every dog is unique and therefore requires training methods adapted to that individual dog. We accept only a small number of dogs at a time to make sure training and handler education is complete. We offer two levels in obedience training - on- and off-leash - and six levels in protection training.

The name Black Lion has a special importance to us. Growing up in the Sikh faith, we were taught how important honour, integrity, beliefs and honesty are. We wanted to represent all that in our name. After doing some research, we came across an article, "Lions of the Great War", which stated that Sikhs played a major role in the British Army in World War 1. Even though Sikhs make up only 2% of India’s population, they were close to 22% of the Indian Army that was deployed to help the British Empire. They fought in many battles such as Ypres, Flanders, the Somme, Gallipoli, Suez Canal and Mesopotamia. In the Battle of Mesopotamia, the Arabs called the Sikhs "Black Lions."