Great Dogs and Great Friends!

Many VERY successful “Acadia shelties” live in Tucson.  I am so lucky to have such great friends who share my love of dogs- and who share my dogs with me.

 The group picture are all dogs I bred that live in Tucson and each one of them is a star.

Left to right we have:

“Cache”  Acadia’s Hidden Treasure

“Tryk” Acadia’s Perfect April Tryk

“WIT” Acadia Whatever It Takes, HXAsd, AX, AXJ

“Kai” MACH, ADCH, NATCH Acadia’s Candidate, MX, MXJ, HSAs

“Mike” Acadia’s Microburst, AX, AXJ

 Cache and Tryk live with Lori Gregor.  WIT, Kai, and Mike live with Morene Brown.  Lori invited me, Morene, and Leslie Carle, my very good friend who I am staying with while in Tucson, over for breakfast so I could see all of the dogs before I went home.  How nice!  She had a wonderful breakfast set up, and the 4 of us had a great time, as did the dogs.  Thank You – each of you wonderful ladies, for making my trip (and my life) such a pleasure.

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"Welcome Home, Cadie"

Last Thursday I had the honor to judge sweepstakes at the LAST specialty show the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Tucson was hosting.  This club has been in existence for 40 years, but for the last two it has been struggling and decided to end.

I was the President of this club back in the ‘90’s and we had great shows, fun meetings, and we even hosted the ASSA National in 1998- for which I was the Local Show Chair.  We hosted 2 specialties a year in conjunction with the Phoenix sheltie club.  Mike and I would bring chicken to barbeque and club members and show attendants would bring side dishes, and after the show we would have a dinner in the park.  I always loved that because the dogs could be taken care of, yet the people could socialize and enjoy each other and a meal.   I always loved those shows. 

Back then we had good entry numbers and the shows were always majors.  People would come from as far as Oregon, California, Nevada, and New Mexico to attend.  Over the years not as many people took the trip to Arizona and the entries went down.   This year the entry was not enough for a major. 

When the club decided to do one last “hurrah” they invited me to come back to judge sweeps.  I was SO excited.  When I got here, it said, “Welcome Home Cadie” in the catalog.  That was very sweet.   I sorry this club is folding, but I am happy to have been a part of it.

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Genetics are a mystery: Acadia Italian Ice, aka. "Bianca"

As a “reputable breeder” I would like to think that every one of my dogs is, and will produce, “Perfect” puppies. Genetics are a mystery in many, many ways and we know that even in the best of families genetic “flaws” appear. No matter how hard someone may try, no living being is an “engineered” product. Most people who are willing to take a “less than perfect” dog look to shelters or breed rescues, because that is where most dogs with “issues” end up. That is not the case for me. I have produced my share of dogs with “issues” and I am devoted to the dogs I produce. I keep all the dogs I produce until I have found the right home for them- no exceptions. I have been very lucky to have found WONDERFUL homes for each of them so far. It takes a special person to decide to take a dog with a disability and this weekend Bianca met her new person.

Bianca is deaf. The man, Dave, who purchased her says that “Deaf people (and dogs) can do everything except hear”- and he is right. Bianca is a “normal” dog- and in many respects, even healthier than many dogs that are without disability, because she was raised to be confident and well-adjusted. The only “special needs” Bianca has is a fenced yard to insure her safety. Because Bianca cannot hear someone calling her, most people whom I discussed her with said they would be afraid that she would get out, and get lost. I did fear that I had “lost” her one time, but I also knew (or expected- although I was beginning to wonder) that she was in the fenced yard. I did start to worry as I went about the yard looking for her, only to find her curled up under a bush, fast asleep.

One of the aspects of having a deaf sheltie that I enjoyed the most was her complete lack of “sound sensitivity” that can plague this breed. Bianca never reacted to the vacuum cleaner, never reacted to the doorbell, never got upset during thunderstorms….. obviously, if it was something that dogs react to that involved sound- it didn’t affect Bianca. I must say, that was very nice.

I am very excited for both Bianca and for Dave as they begin their new life together. I know that they will be great company for each other. I know that Bianca will enjoy being the center of Dave’s attention, and I am so thankful that there are people who are willing to accept a “less than perfect” dog into their lives.

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