Collie Chuckles

 Since the collie is such a fun loving breed, I thought we would share some collie humor today!

This collie comic is from Existential Comics

Dog show updates!

 Two new collie puppies joined our family last year, and currently live with my daughter.  Rosie, a sable and white rough puppy, and ZuZu, a smooth tri color puppy.  They both turned a year old this past December, and we finally started entering them in dog shows.  We delayed entering them for a couple reasons, the first being that they were too young.  Then when they were old enough, the scary dog virus was making the rounds, so we decided to wait until the dog shows were being held outside, as the virus was respiratory in nature.  The third reason, is that my daughter does most of the handling at dog shows, I’m just the back up, and she was busy giving me my first granddaughter!  My 3rd grandbaby was born in February, and her name is Merryn, and she is absolutely beautiful!  So now that she has arrived, we are back to entering dog shows, and have some exciting news to share.

Last month, in April, we entered four collie specialties, being held on the same weekend.  It was Rosie and ZuZu’s first shows, and they did such a great job.  My daughter gets all the credit, as she did an amazing job training them for the show ring.  Out of the four shows, ZuZu won Reserve Winner’s Bitch twice, and Winner’s Bitch once, giving her the first points towards her championship!  Rosie looked beautiful, and showed like a dream, but was somehow overlooked during the shows.  I’m still very proud of her, and so was her breeder, who was also at the show.  

We are entering quite a number of shows in the upcoming months.  Please wish us luck!

Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

 

Probably the most well-known dog show in the United States is Westminster.  I grew up watching this dog show every year on TV, and I was fascinated by the glamour of it all.  What I didn't know, and didn't discover until many years later, is that what you see on TV is a very small part of that show.  Behind the scenes are the breed rings, where champions of every breed compete for Best of Breed and the chance to compete in the Group ring.  Also behind the scenes are thousands of spectators wandering around, trying to pet the dogs entered in the show.  Westminster is a benched dog show, which means unless you are in the breed ring competing, your dog has to be on display in his or her benching area.  

Westminster 1877

Westminster 1927

The benching area is a very small cubicle, where the dog is kept throughout the day.  The dogs are not permitted to leave the show until the end of the day, not even to go outside.  They have x-pens set up, with shavings, for the dogs to relieve themselves.  And the people who attend the show as spectators are everywhere.  Thousands and thousands of people, so many people that it is difficult to even walk from one area to another.  So many people, including animal rights groups, that the owners of the dogs fear to leave their dogs unattended for even one second.  At Westminster you can actually hire a guard for your dog.  And all of this is hard on the dogs, it's a very hot, very loud and very long day.

(photographer unknown)

But it is the premier dog show in our country, and an invitation for your dog to attend is a coveted honor.  We have entered Westminster twice, and I am not sure I would do it again without more help to watch over our dogs.  So why would people enter their dogs in this show if it is so stressful?  Because to win Best In Show at Westminster is considered the "greatest honor in Dogdom."

My daughter, showing our collie, Holly, at Westminster.

In all the years since the Westminster dog show first began, a collie has only won Best In Show once.  The collie's name was Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven.  He won Best in Show at Westminster in 1929, and he was only 9 months old at the time.  Loyalty was imported by Mrs. Ilch of Belhaven Collies, a very well-known kennel of that time.  He was bred by R.F. Roberts of Ashtead Collies in England.  He was sired by Lucas of Ashtead out of Jean of Ashtead.  In his pedigree were multiple crosses to CH Magnet, from whom my own line of collies also descends.  

Westminster was Loyalty's first show in the United States.  Loyalty was handled by the Bellhaven kennel manager, Mike Kennedy.  He competed against 125 collies, and won Winners Dog and Best Collie.  Back in 1929, the collie was still part of the Working Group, and it was highly unusual for a collie to win this Group.  Best In Show at Westminster was usually judged by men who preferred terriers, so terriers had won the show for many years.  But in 1929, the Best In Show judge was Dr Carlton Ford, a collie judge!  

Dr. Burrows, a columnist at the time, wrote a description of Loyalty for Dog Fancier Magazine.  He described Loyalty as "he is in full bloom, full of life, and has a sweet expression, carries a wealth of coat, good head and ears, is sound all over, and a good mover."  Mike Kennedy wrote about the experience, "I knew I was in the running for the cheers of the people told me that.  I showed him on a long lead, and that is the way you have to show a collie.  There is no posing or holding your collie's tail.  What there was to see of Mrs. Ilch's collie, everyone could see and that is why I am the proudest kennelman in the world today!  Loyalty was shown with a free hand - a long lead.  His tail and chin hadn't to be held.  The puppy won on his own merits."

What is heartbreaking, is that this was Laund Loyalty of Bellhaven's only American show.  He retired after Westminster, and never finished his championship.  He retired amid threats to his life and rumors that acid had been thrown into his eyes.  Mrs. Ilch wrote a letter on September 3, 1974 about Loyalty.  "He was as near perfection as any collie could be and to think that after his great win, he was blinded, never to be shown again.  Someday I will hunt up a clipping of the dreadful death of the jealous fiend who did it - a person who from my first success, tried in every possible way to drive me out of collies."  No one knows the true story of what happened, or the name of the "fiend" who blinded the beautiful puppy, if that is what actually happened.

Loyalty was not used much as a stud dog, which I think is a terrible loss.  Laund Loyalty sired only one champion, a dog who played an important role in founding the Tokalon family of collies.  His son, CH Bellhaven Loyalty II, sired Tokalon Loyalson. (CH Bellhaven Loyalty II x Phyllis of Beechtree) Tokalon Loyalson is behind almost all the Tokalon collies.  Even though Laund Loyalty never became a champion, he will always be remembered because of his famous win, Best In Show at Westminster.

Holly, on the train ride home from Westminster.

We are sharing this post, from May 2012, as the Westminster show begins tomorrow.  Good luck to all the participants….but especially the collies!  Maybe 2024 will be the year a collie wins Best In Show at this prestigious dog show once again!

Let me introduce you to Lassie!

A friend and I recently took our collies to a local University for a therapy visit.  It was held at their School of Nursing, since it was Nurses Week and final exam week.  Addison went on this visit, and as she had been there before, the students recognized her, calling out her name as we walked around the campus.  She pranced around happily, like a little celebrity.   For the students who had never met her, we got asked what kind of dog she was, and I replied, “She’s a smooth collie, like Lassie, but with short hair.”  Every time I said this, I was met with a blank stare.  None of these twenty-something students had ever heard of Lassie! 

A little bit of collie history…can be yours!

There have been quite a few magazines devoted to the collie, and sadly most of them are no longer in print.  Magazines like Collie Cues, Collie Review and Collie Expressions gave collie aficionados the chance to see pictures of collies from across the country.  They enabled collie owners and breeders to share their pride in the new titles their collies earned.  They also had articles that kept us entertained and educated about our beloved breed.

Unfortunately, the information age has greatly contributed to the demise of magazines and newspapers.  Everyone wants to read content daily, or even hourly, and are less willing to wait for a printed magazine to arrive in the mail.  This is a huge loss, as there is something very special about waiting, anticipating, the upcoming release date for that magazine or book.  I have very happy memories of attending midnight release parties at the local bookstore.  There was such excitement as we all waited to be handed that brand new, first edition of a favorite author’s newest release.

And I had the same feeling of excitement when the new Collie Expressions magazine was delivered, as we couldn’t wait to see the beautiful collie pictures, stories, and judging results from the collie specialties held around the country.  I still have favorite editions of the old collie magazines saved, so I can reread an article, or view some of the collies from the past.

Yes, that’s my Scarlett on the cover!

What many may not know, is that there is still a collie (and sheltie) magazine in print.  This charming little magazine, called The Cassette, has been around for at least 60 years!  They publish just four editions a year, in the Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall.  (The Spring edition will be mailed out soon.). I’ve had a subscription for a number of years now, and eagerly look forward to each printing.  The Cassette has even printed a few of my stories over the years, which has been such an honor to see my words in print!

If you are like me, and enjoy collecting collie (or sheltie) memorabilia and stories, then I highly recommend subscribing to this magazine.  We need to save the small, printed magazines, before they all disappear.  The nostalgia alone is worth the price of the subscription.  (And a subscription makes a very thoughtful gift!). If you do subscribe, please let us know, I really think you will enjoy it!

Meet Kori!

Still reminiscing, so Sharing this post From June 2013, back when my Kori was young…

Let me tell you about my sunshine girl, Kori.  She is Abby's daughter, and the first smooth collie that I ever bred.  When interacting with all the collies, she gets along with everyone, but her best friend is her younger sister, Scarlett.  The two of them put their heads together, and create a lot of mischief!  Kori is the first to make new dog friends at dog shows or the dog park.  

She is 21 months old, and will turn 2 years old on August 30th.  Kori spends most of her day playing with Scarlett and the other collies.  Throughout the day, she will check in with me, for some quick loves and attention, and then she is off playing once again.  And while she is pretty independent during the day, at night Kori curls up against me to sleep, wanting to be as close as possible to me while we slumber.

                    

Kori is very gentle, like the rest of our collies, but she is a bit of an imp.  I have watched her sit back and look around the room, searching for something to grab, or some mischief to accomplish.  Now that she is almost 2 years old, she seems to be less inclined to grab things she shouldn't, but she still slips sometimes.  And her younger sister is usually the cause, as Scarlett engages Kori in games of keep-away with things they have stolen from us.  One time, when we had company, Kori and Scarlett decided it was the perfect time to play keep-away, with one of my daughter's bras, right in front of everyone.

 

Kori is growing up to be a very pretty young collie.  We began training her to compete at dog shows when she was little, and then we waited for her to mature.  We have recently started entering her at dog shows, and she seems to enjoy them.  She isn't as excited by dog shows as Holly is, but she has fun.  Sometimes she has too much fun.  For some reason Kori thinks running around the ring is actually a race!  She is supposed to move at a nice pace, and she does move at the correct speed when we take her to handling class.  But at the dog shows, she starts running faster and faster, until she is trying to pull my daughter around the ring.  We are working hard on fixing this, by trying to convince her to move a bit slower in the show ring.

I think the root of the problem is that Kori is built for speed!  When we take her to the dog park she races around the park, and none of the other dogs can keep up with her.  She loves to run, and she is fast.  I have not seen one dog able to catch her yet, and I think she enjoys leading the chase.  So at the dog shows, when she is following the other dogs around the ring, she is speeding up because she wants to be in the lead and she wants to show the other collies what she can do.

Each of my collies is special in his or her own way.  I love them for their individual personalities, and I love them for their wonderful collie temperaments.  But out of all our collies, Kori reminds me the most of our first collie, Lad.  She resembles him, as if she were a feminine version of Lad. Since I miss him a lot, she is special to me for that reason and for the joy she brings into our lives.  I feel so lucky to have this girl by my side.

Edit to add:

We ended up giving up on showing Kori, which I regret, because she definitely could have earned her championship.  She was so beautiful, and still is, but she just didn’t end up enjoying dog show competitions.  As she matured, she ended up becoming best friends  with Holly and the two of them were often inseparable.  Kori is the center of my collie family, she is the mother or grandmother of all the younger collies we have now.  I can see her beautiful features in all of their sweet faces.

This picture of Kori was taken last night on our walk.

 

Dreaming of a collie like Lassie?

Americans have always been enchanted by the rough collie, thanks in large part to all the Lassie movies filmed throughout the years.  Lassie became a star of both television and the silver screen and everyone fell in love with the beautiful, majestic collie breed because of her.  Lassie also had books and memorabilia created with “her” image, and her very own comic book series.  (A little trivia, the collies playing Lassie in the movies and tv shows, were always male.)  People became avid collectors of all things Lassie, and for many, a deep rooted desire to one day have a collie of their own was born.  It’s really not a surprise, Lassie was a hero collie, portrayed as brave, compassionate and highly intelligent.

But how do the real life collies compare to this icon?  Well, some of the capers that Lassie found herself embroiled in were highly improbable.  No collie could perform such daring rescues, such harrowing escapes, or such problem solving feats…could they?  I have to say no, at least not with the regularity portrayed in the movies, books and television shows.  But that doesn’t mean they are incapable of greatness, I have read many stories of the countless acts of heroism and of the intelligence of the collie breed. 

Albert Payson Terhune wrote one such true story about his collie Wolf.  In his book, entitled Wolf, Terhune writes of how his brave collie saved a stray dog from being hit by an oncoming train, only to be struck and killed during the rescue.  

In 1954 a collie named Tang was honored by being awarded the very first annual Ken-L Ration Hero Award.  On five separate occasions this hero collie saved children from death or life threatening injuries.  On four of the occasions, people witnessed Tang pushing a child out of the path of oncoming cars.  And for the fifth rescue, he placed himself in front of a milk truck, barking to alert the driver that a two year old little girl had climbed on the back, saving the child from a serious fall.

In 1957, a sable collie named Blaze won the Hero award for saving his family’s two year old daughter from an enraged mother sow who was trying to protect her piglets.  In 1964, another collie named Buddy, guided a herd of goats out of a burning barn, and kept all 70 goats safe until his family could arrive to put out the fire. In 1966, a collie named Hero lived up to his name.  He won the annual award for saving his family’s three year old son from an attacking horse.  The blue merle collie was a show dog, and had a sweet, friendly temperament.  But at the time of the attack, the normally affable collie, prevented the horse from trampling the young boy by fighting off the crazed animal.  Hero suffered multiple injuries during the rescue, including four broken ribs and a skull fracture.  He fully covered, and returned to competing at dog shows a couple months later.

Buddy, with two of the goats he saved

Hero, and his boy

There are many other stories, of collies saving their families from house fires, drowning, and finding lost children.  One of our own collies showed an uncanny ability, when he escaped my sister’s yard.  He somehow found his way across town, and arrived at our Grandmother’s house, and alerted her to his presence when he barked to be let inside. What made this even more remarkable, Reggie was still a puppy and had only been to her house once before!

In the book, The New Collie by the Collie Club of America, there is a story of how my Uncle Fran’s collie, Dove, helped find my cousin when she was lost.  It was in August of 1967, on Cape Cod, where my Uncle was working as a naturalist, when two year old Martha wandered away.  Dove, using one of Martha’s stockings, was able to track Martha by scent, and led Uncle Fran to her just as the sun was setting.

Martha and Dove, Blackrobe Snow White Dove, CD

In my writing, I have extolled the collie’s compassionate and sweet temperament, which enables them to excel at therapy dog visits.  And I’ve also written of my collies countless antics, which show both their intelligence and their innate sense of fun.  So while they may not perform heroic acts on a daily basis like Lassie, I think there is a heroic heart inside every collie.