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.
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.
This year we once again attended The Gathering at Sunnybank. But this year we proudly came home with exciting news!
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| Phoebe (left) and Maizie (right) |
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| By the graves of some of the Sunnybank collies |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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!
