Founded in 1998 by Laura, Bellaclan has blossomed into a true labor of love, thanks to the unwavering support and dedication of her parents, Gordon and Maria Shaw. Over the past three decades, Laura has passionately showcased and campaigned her cherished Bellaclan dogs across some of the most competitive circuits in Canada and the USA—from Thunder Bay, Ontario to Southern Ontario, and now establishing roots in Maryland (40 min from Washington, DC). She pours her heart into conditioning, training, and presenting her beloved Border Collies.

Laura’s father grew up working with Border Collies, a love for the breed that he passed on to her. Each year, Laura would eagerly plead for a Border Collie for her birthday, and eventually, her father relented, granting her wish with her first dog, setting the stage for their incredible journey.

Starting with Canadian working lines bred for cattle herding, Laura faced challenges with multiple cases of hip dysplasia. This led her to make the tough decision to spay and neuter those dogs, while searching worldwide for new foundation lines. Their quest brought them to the UK and Australia—the very heart of the breed’s development—where they successfully imported Australian lines from the USA and Australia, as well as a bitch from the UK. The combination of UK and Australian lines proved fruitful, yielding the type of Border Collie they had been striving to produce.

To date, Bellaclan has bred or co-bred over sixty five champions under the ‘Bellaclan’ prefix. If you’re curious to meet some of these champion and titled dogs, feel free to visit THIS PAGE!

Bellaclan Border Collies stands as a testament to the commitment, love, and dedication that goes into breeding and showing dogs. Laura and ‘Team Bellaclan’ are relentless in their pursuit of excellence, ensuring that they preserve quality while paying homage to the dedication of the breeders who came before them.