It’s officially Fair Season!

Yesterday we attended the Chester Dog Fair.  We love to do AKC Meet the Breeds events, to help promote the rough and smooth collie.  But this time we had a booth to promote and educate the public about therapy dogs.  Our friends, Kenny & Judy, brought their therapy collie too.  As our therapy dogs are collies, we had three smooth collies with us, and about half of the people stopping by our booth wanted to learn more about them, and many said they were going to research the smooth collie as a future family dog.  We also had another therapy dog team volunteer to join us.  Pattie and her golden retriever, Shamrock, were both wonderful.  (And I fell in love with her beautiful boy, he was so sweet!) It was a long, hot day, but I think it was very successful in promoting therapy dogs and the great work they do.  The dog fair had some great vendors, and some great dog rescue booths too.  They had a variety of food trucks, including a doggy ice cream truck!  They were doing CGC testing, had live music, and even a beer and wine tent.  It was such a fun Fair, since the public was invited to bring their own dogs with them.  The fair is being held today too, if anyone in CT is looking for something fun to do! (We won’t be there today, we only signed up for one day)

Addi enjoyed the pie eating contest…a lot!

Scarlett participating in the doggie pie eating contest!

Scarlett was “painting” me a picture!

Three very good girls!

This golden retriever puppy, Finn, fell in love with the smooth girls.  He was adorable!

The very handsome Shamrock!

Shamrock participated in the pie eating contest too!  I think it was a big hit with all the dogs!

Kelsea thought the pie was yummy!

Kelsea and her art!

It was such a fun event, I hope to participate again next year!

Fast CAT? No, it should be called Fast Collie!

We had another busy weekend, and the collies made it to another Fast CAT trial.  ZuZu, “Lightning Legs McCollie”, had two great runs.  On her second run she had her fastest time yet!  She only needs 15 more points for the first Fast CAT title.  With her speed, she is already in the top 40 fastest runs for collies.

Addi, my sweet, happy-go-lucky girl, did her best.  But with her calm, laidback personality, she is unlikely to set any records.  She has decent times and has so much fun chasing the plastic bag, and that's all that really matters.  She will hopefully get enough points at the next trial, on the 29th, to also earn her first Fast CAT title, BCAT.

And then there is Peyton.  Her first run went really well, with Peyton finally earning a respectable time.  And looking at her face in the picture, she seemed to be really enjoying it.  But on her second run, she changed her mind halfway down the track, and gave up the chase.  In her collie mind, it just wasn’t worth it.  I’m not quite ready to give up yet, because I think she’s having fun, it’s hard to tell with my stoic girl.

All these amazing pictures were taken by Wild Sage Photography

I’m so thankful we discovered this fun dog sport! The collies are really enjoying getting the chance to hang out with us at the events, the fresh air and sunshine, and the excitement of everyone cheering for them.  The collies 10/10 recommend giving Fast CAT a try!

Collies in film

When you think of film stars of the canine persuasion, the first that is likely to come to mind is Lassie.  For the newer generations of canine cinephiles, they may think of golden retrievers, beagles, Dalmatians or even the malinois.  But for the classic canine film connoisseur, it would be either a collie or a German shepherd that tops the list.  As this is first and foremost a collie blog, we wanted to share two of our favorite films that feature a collie.

Of course we can’t talk about collie movies without Lassie, so the first film has to be Lassie Come Home.  This movie is based on the book written by Eric Knight.  The story is about the collie heroine, Lassie, who is separated from her boy, Joe.  Her love and devotion has Lassie traveling from Scotland to England in a perilous journey to reunite with her beloved family.  The movie is a classic, and many families got their first collie because of their love of the Lassie movies and television shows.

The next is a lesser known film, called Lad: A Dog.  Long time readers of our blog may be familiar with this title, as it was based on the Albert Payson Terhune book, of the same name.  This movie is about a collie named Lad.  This collie also has epic adventures, he saves the life of a child, wins a dog show, and rescues his family.  The books about Lad, and this film, were favorites of mine growing up.  In honor of this heroic collie, I had to name my very first collie Lad.  

Our Lad

Do you have a favorite movie about a dog? Let us know in the comments!

Run Collies, Run!

The collies enjoyed another weekend of FastCAT, and were able to earn more points towards their first FastCAT titles, BCAT.  They still have a way to go to get the needed 150 points, but they are having a lot fun at the trials.  Well, Addison and ZuZu are having fun, Peyton still hasn’t decided if she likes it yet.  They are entered in another trial this coming Saturday, so I’m hoping Peyton decides it’s fun after all.  She seems to enjoy going with me, and is happy to be included, but chasing the lure…just doesn’t seem to excite her.  She saunters after the lure, just taking her time, going at her own pace.  And maybe, that’s just how it will be with Peyton, and that’s okay.  I will continue to try to find something she enjoys, but right now, Peyton’s passion seems to be snuggling on the couch.  

As for ZuZu, she did amazing, it was her first trial, and she ran so fast!  She is already in the top 40 for FastCAT times in collies.  My daughter gave her a new nickname, ZuZu Lightning Legs! And Addison beat her own personal times from two weeks ago, and seems to be having fun, so I’m glad she’s enjoying herself.