And Now for Some More Good News!

A couple weeks ago our ZuZu earned her next FastCAT title, DCAT!  She looks so proud of that ribbon!

And this past weekend we were entered at another dog show.  On Saturday, Nolan won Winners Dog, which gave him another point towards his championship.  And on Sunday, he won Best of Winners, for a 3rd point.  He is such a handsome, happy boy.  We can’t wait to see how he does at future shows.

But he wasn’t our only winner.  Saturday ZuZu won Best of Opposite Sex and Best Owner Handled collie.  So she got to go to the Owner Handled Herding Group and won a Group 1!  On Sunday she won Best of Breed, and Best Owner Handled.  We were sure she would have placed in the herding group as well, but sadly a last minute judge change messed that up for her.  We can’t complain though, these were nice wins, and gave her points towards her Grand Championship.

Thank you

Thank you Ann for this image

I just wanted to start this post by thanking everyone who reached out and left condolences about the loss of our perfect boy.  I needed to take a little break, as this blog was started in celebration of our collies, when Ryder was still a puppy.  He was a huge part of our lives and I miss him so much.  And he was always the star of our Fall collie pictures, it won’t be the same without his beautiful face in the pictures.  Ryder was my only boy, and my only rough collie.  We do have Rosie our rough girl, but right now she lives with my daughter.  She will eventually come to live with me, but not until my daughter is finished showing her and she earns her championship title.  We also have our new puppy boy, Nolan.  But Nolan also lives with my daughter, so for the first time in over 20 years, I don’t have a collie boy.  I love my girls, they are each special in their own way, but there is nothing sweeter than a collie boy.  So from time to time, I’ve decided to share some of my favorite Ryder stories and memories.

But we do have some good news to share, and the first is that my Addison has become an AKC Canine Ambassador for the collie breed.  So she and I will be promoting collies, purebred dogs and educating about responsible dog ownership.  We haven’t decided where we will start, but there are many possibilities.  And she will be going to the big Meet the Breeds event in NYC again this Winter.

And speaking of Meet the Breeds events, last week we attended the Big E fair with the collies.  The Big E, or Eastern States Exposition, is a 2 week long fair here in New England.  And each day members of a different purebred dog breed are in attendance, to introduce them to the public and educate everyone about the breed.  We brought Addison, Nolan and Rosie; and 3 members of our collie club brought their collies as well.  Of course, with handsome Nolan being a friendly 9 month old puppy, he was the star.  It was a fun day, and we were able to hang out with the other animals in the agricultural building.

Saying Goodbye

Today is one of the hardest days.  Today we had to say goodbye to the best boy, to my best friend, Ryder.  I’m feeling lost and heartbroken, and I just don’t have the words to adequately describe the loss of my beautiful boy.  He was perfect inside and out, and will leave a huge hole in my life and in my heart. I knew this day was coming, but I still wasn’t ready.  While we were blessed with 14 years together, it still wasn’t long enough.

It’s Ryder’s birthday!

Today is a very special day…today is our Ryder’s 14th birthday!  Ryder has been the sweetest, best boy his entire life.  He’s brought so much love and joy into our lives, and has made so many friends online, that he deserves to be celebrated.  Not only has he been devoted to us, he spent 8 years performing therapy dog visits, bringing countless smiles and endless comfort to everyone he visited.  Here are just a few pictures from the last 14 years.

Our Sunnybank Weekend

This year we once again attended The Gathering at Sunnybank.  But this year we proudly came home with exciting news!

Phoebe (left) and Maizie (right)

By the graves of some of the Sunnybank collies

My daughter and Grandson

On Saturday, both Maizie and Phoebe passed the Therapy Dog test!  They can both help fill all the requests we get for visits!  The ladies doing the testing gave me so many compliments on their wonderful temperaments.

Photo courtesy of Roseann Cyngier

On Sunday the Collie Health Foundation held their puppy match.  A match is different from a show, as it’s held just for fun and to help puppies learn how to compost future shows.  We brought both Rory and Morgan, and they did amazing on the long drive to Sunnybank.

Rory 

At the match, the girls made us so proud!  Before the official puppy match began, they hold a “Virtues Match.”  You can choose from Best Front, Best Rear, Best Gait, Best Expression, and a few others.  As collies are judged mainly on their beautiful expressions, a win under the  Best Expression judging is coveted.  And this year our beautiful Rory was awarded Best Expression by the respected panel of judges!

Morgan

Then during the official puppy match that followed the virtues match, our Morgan won 1st place in her age group by Judge Gerry Oliver! (And Rory came in 2nd, showing how similar and consistent these puppies are!) We were so excited and honored by these wins, and can’t wait to see what the future holds for these two beautiful puppies!

It was an unforgettable weekend for us, and one we will never forget!