Written by Joan, Owner of Linden Line Designs

Linden Line Designs was created as a way to satisfy many passions. A passion for sewing, pets and the desire to share with my daughter the principle that Women are strong and can create anything they wish.
Linden Line Designs is truly a family labor of love. My husband, Tony; our daughter, McKenna; and myself have each contributed in many ways to make this business and website become a reality. Right down to the name, we all had a say in choosing it! Linden is a type of tree with heart-shaped leaves and also represents "Feminine Power". Additionally, the other members of our family, Skippy the pug, Larka the Siberian husky/mix, Khonsu the cat, Sandy the collie, and Urquell the boxer are the inspirations for most of the products available.

My Mission
I am dedicated to sewing top quality fashion accessories for your pet. In addition to this, I'm hoping my products will put a smile on your face. Alot of love truly goes into each product. I especially enjoy what I consider to be the Linden Line Designs' trademark, which McKenna suggested...
~ Those cute little charms on every collar which read: "Made with Love" ~

Thanks for stopping by.
~ Joan ~

About the Pets of LLD

Written by McKenna, Graphic Designer of LLD
All the animal 'models' featured on our current site layout are members of our family; all our pets mean the world to us, and each is unique and special in her own way.

Skippy

When I was nearing five years of age, I decided I wanted, as a birthday present, my own puppy; my parents, always being animal-lovers and already owning a dog of their own, agreed to this idea and we began the search. (Truthfully, since I was around two years old I'd wanted my own pet, but my parents thought it would be a wiser decision to find one for me when I was of an age where I could take care of it, in some ways, by myself.) We decided on the pug breed because of my love for the pug, Percy, in the Disney animated film Pocahontas. When we went to look at the puppies, I was very serious, almost duty-like, about the task at hand, and wanted to make sure I picked out a, to me, satisfactory pet. Usually people's attention is drawn to the puppies that wriggle and wobble about, wagging their tails at the prospect of finding a home; the puppies that are energetic, rough-house with their siblings, nibble on your fingers when you pick them up: but I decided that I wanted a more calm, contented puppy for my own, and I found just that in Skippy. She was the runt of her little, and all she seemed to do when people were near, was sit in the farthest corner of her outdoor enclosure and stare about as though in fear. She was very timid- she wouldn't approach anyone- but she called to me. I got the sense that she needed me, and I, in turn, needed her.

Eleven years later, Skippy is at my side, my best friend, the best dog I could ever imaging sharing life with. Something, some bigger power such as Fate, I am sure guided my choice in picking her as my pet that day, so many years ago; she has been my constant companion, and a family member enjoyed by everyone, and she will forever remain such. She and I have gone through life together and she's made me a better person for it- she makes me laugh, she comforts me in times of need, and she's always there, a stationary blessing to me and my family.

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Urquell

Urquell was my parent's "baby" before I was born; she was their first dog as a couple, and even after my birth, kept her status in the family. She was a beautiful boxer, one of the sweetest dogs I've known; she couldn't resist giving you friendly licks on the face whenever she saw you, stranger or not; she loved people. I grew up with Urquell- the first seven years of my childhood were spent with her as a companion, a sibling, of sorts- and I know I am better off for it. Urquell taught me how to treat animals, how to respect them, and how to take advantage of all they have to offer; I am determined that it is because of her affection and love that I enjoy animals so much to this day, and am able to form such bonds with them.

Sadly, when I was seven, Urquell passed away from cancer- she had a long life, reaching nearly twelve human years, but the sadness of her leaving us wasn't dimmed much, even by that comforting fact. I was fairly young and don't remember much about that time- all I can recall is how I didn't quite understand what had happened, but that I missed Urquell and didn't understand why she wasn't coming back. To this day I miss her; but I know she's up at the Rainbow Bridge watching over us.

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Sandy

When I was nine our family came to the decision that it was time to get a new, larger dog; after Urquell, we wanted to wait awhile before adding a new member to the family, but finally my parents took me to see some collie pups. We wanted a timid, gentle-natured dog that could be trained easily, but would be a good companion as well. There were many collie puppies to choose from, but Sandy caught my eye because she seemed to like doing all sorts of wacky things to attract attention- she chewed berry bush branches, and yapped loudly so all the other pups jumped on top of her. She seemed comical, and she was gentle, so I decided she was the one I wanted to bring home. A week after getting Sandy, she had to have surgery on her eye for an ingrown eyelash- though the problem was solved, the rest of her life she had a scar on her eye from where the eyelash had, before being removed, scratched it. She was such a trooper through the process; she never showed signs of distress during the healing process, and she was always just a calm, enjoyable dog. Throughout her life she had skin conditions that were ongoing and seemed nearly impossible to fix- rashes from dry skin, allergies to foods; in general she had very sensitive skin. But again, she handled all of this nobly, not seeming to notice it that much. She was always the gentlest of souls- she had her silly moments, but in general she was very sweet-natured.

Sandy loved the ocean so much- I named her, before ever knowing this, 'Sandy Beach' because I, at nine years old, thought the name was cute; then when we actually found out how much she loved the ocean, it seemed like a name chosen for her not by me but by Fate. I only wish she could have visited the beach more- but her sudden death on October 8th, 2006 prevented this. She passed away within two days- two days of her sudden illness, which had shown us no signs of its existence before; two days of us not being entirely sure what was happening to her, and not at all expecting her to leave us for good. We found out later that she had someone obtained an infection in her chest cavity- the medical term is Pyothorax- and there wasn't much we could have done for her; we didn't even get a chance to attempt treatment, because she passed away on the way to the vet's office. Even if we would have succeeded in getting her there, treatment may not have proved effective- seeing as the disease had already taken a turn for the worse, it seemed.

Looking back, it all happened so out-of-the-blue; I never would have guessed that she would have left us, at only over five years old, and I wish I could have done something to keep her with us, but there weren't any such options. I'm just glad we had five good years with her- that she was a happy dog, that she had a great life, even though it was shorter than it should have been. I still grieve for her but know, like Urquell, she is watching over us.

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Larka

After Sandy's passing, we weren't really expecting to get another dog soon; but two days after the fact, we were looking for another pet, because the loneliness of not having her, the empty place in the house and in our hearts, was becoming unbearable. We decided to go to a rescue this time, and hopefully bring some luck and joy to a dog who hadn't experienced much yet. The owner of the rescue brought Larka out to see us; she looked like a white wolf to me, and as soon as she saw me she sort of smiled at me and licked my chin. She pretty much had me at that, I'll admit; we took her for a short walk, and though she was a little hyper and needed some training, she also had a calmer side to her, and seemed like a nice dog.

The day we brought Larka home, she was incredibly fearful of our house; she didn't want to go inside the door, and once we had coaxed her inside she sat right in the entrance to our house and wouldn't budge. The thing that finally got her exploring was Skippy, coming out to see the new family member, sniffing her and acting so nonchalant that Larka couldn't help but feel the same, I suppose. Skippy and Larka were on good terms from the beginning- I don't know if you could call them best friends, because Larka's goofy, energetic personality often annoys Skippy more than it amuses her- but they sometimes sit with each other and seem to enjoy each other's company well enough. Larka is perhaps the silliest dog I've ever come across- she will do literally anything to get your attention, whether that means running up to you and giving you a friendly little nip on the hand; "talking" at you; or rolling over on her back, letting her tongue loll about, and kangaroo-kicking her back legs straight into the air, Larka loves to play and just have a good time. She's a joy, and she helped bring us out of the darkness after Sandy left us- I will forever be grateful to her for that.

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Khonsu

Khonsu is pronounced hon-sue (the 'k' is silent) and she was named after an Egyptian God of the Moon.
When I was around twelve I started getting an idea that it was about time I got a cat- at that time I had Skippy and Sandy, but I thought a cat would be an excellent addition to the family. When my mom and I went to a local animal rescue to do a bit of volunteer work, I never though I would be coming home with a kitten! After walking some dogs, I played with some of the kitties, little babies only a few weeks old, at the shelter who were outside in a pen; I heard a meager meow behind me and turned around and laid eyes upon the kitten who would soon become my Khonsu. She was in a crate on the porch of the rescue, and she apparently had taken interest in me, for she was mewing over and over and reaching for me, stretching her dainty little white-booted paw between the crate rail, the chicken wire mesh around the crate, and the rail of the porch; I couldn't resist going to her and picking her up and cuddling her, and when she purred continuously in my arms I couldn't let her go.

Khonsu is four years old now and she is one of the best cats I've ever met- she, of course, has somewhat of a 'cattitude'- but she still loves to cuddle, and she often just melts in your arms, and she'll even give kisses- (if she feels like it!) All-in-all I couldn't have asked for a better first kitty.