Our visit to Sunnybank

We made the trek to Sunnybank, and it was just as special as all the past visits to the “collie Mecca.”  There were friends, laughter, the beautiful grounds, the fire blue lake…and the collies.  The excitement we feel as we turn onto the long driveway of Sunnybank never lessens, no matter how many times we visit.

The town, who maintains Sunnybank, made some big changes to the property.  They cleared many trees and growth from the edge of the property, which opened up the beautiful view of the lake.  Looking back at pictures of Sunnybank during Terhune’s time, I think this was what the property looked like in the 1920s and 30s.  But the border along the lake was never cleared in any of my visits, so it was a bit of an adjustment.  It did look beautiful, just not what any of us were used to seeing.

With the lake now clearly visible, ducks are now visiting Sunnybank, which greatly amused my grandsons

I was originally planning to have Rosie take the therapy dog test and the canine good citizen test, but while I was running her through the different test exercises for practice, I realized she just isn’t quite ready.  Sits and downs aren’t something we focus on when training a dog for the show ring, as you don’t want the dog to do either while the judge is examining them.  But every time I asked Rosie do something, smart little Sorsha was right behind her, showing me that she knew how to do it!  Since she was so well trained by my daughter, and since Sorsha was so eager to show what she could do, my daughter took her in for the two tests.  Sorsha passed them both!  What a good girl!  Now my daughter has her own therapy collie, so she can go on visits with me.

Rosie will take the therapy test eventually, she has the perfect temperament for it.  But she needs some more practice on sits and downs.  For now, we will concentrate on her show career. (Once her coat comes back in, she’s naked right now.) And Rosie is still very young, she won’t even be 2 years old until New Year’s Eve, so there is plenty of time.

Sunnybank is such a treasure for collie lovers, as well as the fans of Albert Payson Terhune’s books.  I am so grateful it was saved, and that we can visit it whenever we choose.  The graves of all the past Sunnybank collies are still there, and we always visit them.

Sorsha by Lad’s grave

To get to experience The Gathering in person, while so many can’t, is something I never take for granted.  

As we lost our beautiful Kori this past May, we included her in the memorial.  It’s always so sad, hearing all the names of the collies lost over the last year while the bagpiper plays in the background.  And this year was especially heartbreaking, as our Kori was included in that list.

So another Gathering at Sunnybank has ended, but next August, we will return, and once again join in the celebration of the collie and Terhune.  If you love collies, and are able to make it to Sunnybank, I hope you seize the opportunity.