Happy 10th Birthday Ch. Sunburst Acadia Here I Come

Yesterday Carrie turned 10. Well tempered, well adjusted, a sheltie who exemplifies the standard, and who has provided a solid backbone for my breeding program, and who has continued a tradition of quality for Sunburst Shelties in Phoenix, AZ, Carrie is a wonderful example of all the good purebred dogs have to offer. She continues to be an important part in of the lives of many people, and an important part of the breeding programs of at least two different kennels – Carrie is everything a breeder and a dog owner could want.

I am not the breeder of Carrie- Sharon Crawford of Sunburst Shelties in Arizona bred her- I was just lucky enough to be able to purchase her when she was 12 weeks of age. Mike and I were living in Tucson, AZ at the time and everyone in that sheltie community knew and liked my Ch. Zion’s Man About Town, NA,HT, VC,ROM 5CC (Jamie) sister, Ch. Zion Acadia Town Herione, CDX,PT, VCX (Tucket). Sharon Crawford had a very well established breeding program, and bred to Jamie partly because of his own merits, but also partly because she could see his quality was not just a fluke in his litter. [note: when Sharon bred to Jamie he had not yet won the herding group at Westminster, become an established producer, or earned his many additional titles- he was a young dog]. The blending of her established line with Jamie really clicked. Carrie’s mother was one of the 7 champions produced from the two breeding of Ch. Zion’s Man About Town, NA,HT, VC,ROM 5CC to Sunburst Hurricane Shiloh, ROM. Carrie's mother, Ch. Sunburst Oasis Cat’s Meow (Kitty), was bred to another dog from the Zion breeding program, Ch. Zion’s Ready Or Not (Ready), and when I saw the puppies, I knew that if Sharon would sell one to me that I would really have a breeding program of my own. I was in luck and was able to purchase Carrie.

I just didn’t know how lucky I truly was. Carrie was a devoted mother who LOVED puppies, she continues to be a nurturer- but now a nurturer of the human spirit, and it is her steady, fun, and loving temperament that is her most valuable contribution to all who have had the pleasure of being a part of her life.

To read about her life beyond Acadia, see my entry from a year ago on her 9th birthday.