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.

The Gathering of Collies…

It’s that time of year, the time when collie lovers gather from near and far, to celebrate their love of the collie.  Each year, on the third weekend in August, the Collie Health Foundation hosts The Gathering at Sunnybank.  What and where is Sunnybank?  Back in the 1920s and 1930s the famous author, Albert Payson Terhune, wrote many books about his beloved collies.  His home was called Sunnybank, and it was located in Wayne, New Jersey.  His collies, called the Sunnybank Collies, lived on the estate and their many adventures, both real and fictitious, were the subject of Terhune’s beloved stories.   

Terhune and three of his collies, Bruce, Wolf and Lad

The Sunnybank collies were real, and their graves can still be found at Sunnybank today.  The home and barn are gone now, but the property remains and has been turned into a park.  It’s there, at the Sunnybank park, that the Gathering is held.  During the weekend there are guest speakers, covering a wide range of topics, from collie history to collie health issues.  There is also an auction held with collie books, memorabilia, paintings, and so much more.  On Saturday they hold a memorial, with a bagpiper playing a lonesome tune, to remember the collies that have passed away.  They also offer a walking tour of the grounds, as well as therapy dog and CGC tests.  On Sunday they hold a puppy match, where breeders can show their new collie puppies, gently teaching them how to be show dogs one day.

Items from a past auction

For collie lovers, The Gathering brings everyone together to socialize, search for items to add to their collie collections, add a new title, and maybe learn something new from the guest speakers.  But it also gives us the chance to remember the collies of the past, both the Sunnybank collies and our own.  To walk the grounds of Sunnybank, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful collies, while hearing their joyous barks fill the air, can be a magical experience.  It is something every collie lover should get to experience at least once in their lifetime.

This Saturday we will be heading to The Gathering, and we can’t wait to walk the grounds that the Sunnybank collies and Terhune once called home.  We will be sitting by the “fire-blue lake,” as described by Terhune.  We will be petting all the collies, visiting with friends, and maybe trying to find something to add to our own collie collection.  I’ve written numerous posts about Sunnybank over the years, so I’m including links below.  And hopefully next week I will have a new post with new pictures from Sunnybank to share, so make sure you check back with us!

To learn more about Sunnybank, check out these posts:

Sunnybank Remembered

It All Started with a Book

The Gathering at Sunnybank

Sunnybank, then and now, always beloved

Sunnybank (2016)

Sunnybank Revisted

Sunnybank (2012)

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. 

Sunnybank Remembered

This past weekend we had perfect Summer weather! The sun was shining, with low humidity and a nice gentle breeze, it was a wonderful weekend to be outside with your dog.  And this weekend, in New Jersey on the historic grounds of Sunnybank, the collies and their people gathered together to celebrate both Albert Payson Terhune and this breed we all love so much!  There was the sound of laughter, and collies joyously barking, echoing across the hills of Sunnybank and the fire blue lake once more.  The collie folk call it “The Gathering,” and it is hosted by the Collie Health Foundation on the 3rd weekend of August every year.

Terhune and his Sunnybank Collies

Albert Payson Terhune and Anice Terhune

I’ve written about Sunnybank, Terhune, and his books numerous times over the years.  And I doubt I could improve on my previous posts on the subject, so I will link them down below.  But to briefly explain, Sunnybank is a magical place for most collie lovers.  It was the home of Albert Payton Terhune and his wife Anice, and it was where their beloved Sunnybank collies lived.  Terhune wrote numerous books and magazine articles about his collies, and is thought to be the main reason collies were so popular in the past. (No disrespect to Lassie) Children and adults couldn’t help but fall in love with the collie after reading one of Terhune’s stories.  Most of the grounds of Sunnybank have been sold off, the house and barn torn down, but the main ten acres are still there, along with the root cellar and the graves of the Sunnybank collies.

Living within a two hour drive of Sunnybank, we have been fortunate to be able to attend The Gathering many times.  For me, no matter how many times I attend with my collies, the excitement never dissipates. When I first turn down the long, winding drive and spot the sparkle of the “fire blue lake” through the trees, I am transported back in time.  I can almost see the Terhunes strolling across their expansive lawn, the Sunnybank collies gaily romping by their sides.  Visiting Sunnybank is something every collie enthusiast should get to experience at least once.  And The Gathering isn’t just about Sunnybank or the Terhunes, there are guest speakers, a celebration of rescue collies, a puppy match and silent auctions of collie and Sunnybank memorabilia.  On Saturday they have walking tours, and they offer both the Therapy Dog and Canine Good Citizen tests.

I have had three of my collies take the Therapy Dog test at Sunnybank, and all three have passed it and gone on to earn AKC therapy dog titles.  Ryder was my first Therapy dog, followed by Scarlett and Sophie, and all three still do visits.  I decided somewhat last minute to have Addison take the test.  So we spent a little over a week preparing for the exam, and she passed with flying colors.  The evaluator loved her, and was very impressed with her happy, gentle nature and her beautiful face.  We didn’t plan on taking it, but my friend Diane suggested I go ahead and have her take the CGC test too. I was hesitant, as there are some portions of that test I hadn’t practiced with Addi, but I decided to give it a try.  She easily passed that test as well, earning two titles in less than hour! You just can’t beat a collie with the correct temperament, they have such an innate sweetness and eagerness to please that it makes them very adaptable.

It was such a fun weekend, visiting with friends, surrounded by collies, and earning new titles.  We even got to visit with Handsome Finn, who is Addison’s uncle, and belongs to our friends, Steve and Diane.  (He is one of Maizie and Sophie’s littermates, and earned his Therapy Dog and CGCA titles at Sunnybank a few years ago!)

Our little Rosie visited Sunnybank too, to get in a little practice at the puppy match, before we enter her in a real show.  I think she enjoyed being at Sunnybank, even if she wasn’t aware of the history beneath her paws…

Here are the links for more information and pictures:

Sunnybank (2012)

Sunnybank revisited (2015)

Sunnybank (2016)

Sunnybank-then-and-now-always-beloved.html

A Collie named Lassie, a Place Called Sunnybank

The Gathering at Sunnybank

Summer Days, Sunnybank 2018

It All Started with a Book!

It all started with a book!

 When I was a young girl I would stay with my grandparents while my Mother was working.  With the beach at the end of the street, Summers were always fun, there was swimming, exploring the beach and collecting sea glass with the other neighborhood kids.  But in the cold New England Winters there was less to do, less to entertain children.  And while there was always television, this was back when families only had one TV, a limited number of channels, and a ten year old was not usually interested in watching soap operas with Grandma.  On one of those days a random act had a profound impact on my life.

Searching for entertainment, an old, worn book cover caught my eye.  I pulled it off the shelf, recognizing it as one of my Uncle Fran’s books, which he had left behind many years ago.  I immediately knew it was his because it had a collie on the cover.  From my earliest memories of my Uncle, every time he would visit with his children, he would have at least one collie by his side.  The book was about a collie named Lad.

I still remember reading that book for the first time.  I fell in love with the beautiful, heroic collie named Lad.  I had always loved the Lassie movies, which were usually shown on Sunday afternoons, along with the old black and white Shirley Temple and Tarzan movies.  But when I discovered Albert Payton Terhune’s books about his collies, I knew I had to have my own collie one day.  Those books weren’t works of fiction to me, I believed every story about his amazing dogs.  The collies were real, he wrote about his own beloved Sunnybank Collies, and some of the stories actually did happen.  Some of the stories were slight fictionalizations, some were true stories about other dogs incorporated into his books, and some were pure fiction.  But at the time, I believed every word, and vowed I would have a collie to love.

When I was little, all of my Uncle’s collies were rough coated.  It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that he got his first smooth collie.  I didn’t like the way the smooths looked at first, they were so different in appearance from the famous Lad and Lassie, and my Uncle’s other collies.  It took a while, but since they had the same great collie temperaments as the rough coated variety, they soon won me over.  They didn’t resemble the collies that graced the pages of Terhune’s books, in fact he never mentions smooths in any of his stories.  But if you look into their eyes, you can see that smooths are just as devoted and loving as any collie found in the pages of a book.

So when my daughter and I finally got our first collie twenty years ago, he ended up being a sable and white smooth collie, and of course we named him Lad.  He may not have had the beautiful, majestic coat like Sunnybank Lad, and during his lifetime he may not have performed any of the heroic acts found on the pages of Terhune’s books, but he was perfect in our eyes.  Our Lad taught us just how amazing life with a collie truly was and how much joy this wonderful dog breed elicits in the hearts of their families.

There have been many collies in our family, each beautiful and unique, and their stories can be found in past and future posts on our blog.  I may not have the talent to write entire books about my collies, but I can share them here, with you.  They are all loved and every day with them is treasured, and my life with collies started with the opening of a book.