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December 19, 2009
'Tis
the season to give thanks
for someone who has made
a positive impact on your
participation in the breed.
Tell us the name of your
mentor or special person
and how they influence
(or influenced) your Sheltie
worldview. What was the
thing they told you that
made all the difference?
Deadline for submission -- December 24, 2009
from
Jacqueline
Brito, Seafox Shelties
Tom and Nioma Coen.
They TRUSTED ME. I was a person with
no experience in breeding shelties and
from another country -- Brazil. I have
no words to say how happy I am that
they sold me my foundation bitch.
She is now Panamerican and Brazilian
CH Macdega Mystified -- "Fergie."
Every thing I know I learned
from them. When it was time
to breed Fergie, they help me
choose the stud dog.
Barbara Thompson.
When I came to the USA to breed Fergie
with BoyBoy, Barbara invited me to stay
with her. She shared her experience
and friendship. Barbara became a mentor
and a friend. Words cannot describe
how pleased I am.
from
Jenny Ackerman, Valbrae Shelties
Rita Devito
of Vinita Shelties has been
a good friend and an open
and honest communicant, sharing
her experiences in shelties
with me. I feel totally relaxed
with her.
from Charlotte
Hulett, Sunridge Shelties
My mentor
was Kitty Reconnu of Aron-Kae
Shelties. When I met Kitty,
in 1966, she was already an
AKC Collie and Sheltie judge.
The first thing she did for me was trust
me with all her old Sheltie and Collie
books and magazines, from which I learned
a great deal. Then, she was
always willing to answer my MANY questions.
One of the best things she did for me,
was accept me for who I was. I had
always felt that "if you are going to
do it, do it right," so I strived to
breed to the Standard, but, I was never
into going into the conformation ring
and "proving" my dogs. It was just never
important to me to have anyone else's
opinion of my dogs. I just never
cared if anyone else liked my dogs or
not. I liked them, so that was all that
mattered to me.
Kitty accepted that.
The absolutely best thing that Kitty
did for me was to be a TRUE FRIEND!
She wasn't just a "dog friend" -- she
became like a big sister.
Kitty has been dead for over 17 years,
and I still miss her!
from
Debra Hill
Rose Chandless
to us has been the
most wonderful mentor
and special person we could
ever wish to know!!!
We have been lucky enough to have the
guidance and help of Rose and there
have been so many things she has said
that will help us make better decisions
and judgements into our future. BUT,
the one thing Rose said to us that will
always be at the forefront of our minds
relates to our breeding plans . . .
"Dont just keep the best from the litter,
keep and only campaign the dog that's
the closest to the written Breed Standard
and conforms to your ideal Sheltie in
your mind and to always follow your
dream."
from
Therese Walters, Walters' Way Shelties
I have
many people I am thankful
for. Firstly, to Sandy
Stanfill for taking much time
to show me the finer details
of the breed, as well as the
finer points of trimming and
grooming a show dog. She
has become much more than
a mentor, she is a treasured
friend, and I'll never be
able to thank her enough,
not only for all of the time
she has spent helping me at
the shows, but all the knowledge
she has shared!
Secondly I'd like to thank Guy Jeavons
and Mark McMillan for their friendship
and support. Their friendship
has afforded me many opportunities in
this breed for which I'll always be
truly grateful!
Thirdly, to Julie Desy for setting the
standard so high in my area and making
me strive not only to be a better handler,
but to want to breed better dogs for
the future generations in our breed.
Lastly, I would like to thank my many
friends and acquaintances for their
support and for allowing me to be part
of this wonderful sheltie family!!
from
Chryss MacGowan
Alice
Carty has been a wonderful
friend and mentor for 10 years.
Alice has an artistic eye and gift for
capturing true beauty. She is one of
the few breeders who can also anticipate
how to produce excellence again and
again. All the while continuing
to move her Daval line forward instead
of relying entirely on the past.
She had taught me over the years, "It
is easy to identify faults. Recognizing
remarkable attributes and how to obtain
them, that is the challenge."
Alice, thank you for continued patience
and friendship. You have taken
my appreciation of Shelties to a whole,
new level.
from
Carol Essrick, Lorain Shelties
I have had many mentors over the years, and I have learned from all of them. But I would not be breeding shelties today if it were not for Al Bianchi. I had been socializing one of their shelties and was considering purchasing her. Al suggested that I had better at home. Like most "newbies" I was more focussed on faults rather than virtues. His words of wisdom were "the true quality of the dog is the sum total of all the parts, both good and bad," In my case he pointed out that many of the virtues my bitch had were those that were hard to get and the faults were of those most fixable. I took his advice and my bitch became the foundation of my breeding program. From my very first litter the dog not only won the Am Bred class at the Mass. National Specialty, but he became my first homebred Ch./VC. His littermate produced my first BISS Ch/VC and many other talented dogs in herding/performance. All my dogs are down from this original litter and continue the pursuit of my original dream of the versatile sheltie, both beautiful in type, soundness and action, no matter what the endeavor.
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