Acadia ! It’s Mirluc I found You ! Part 1

I knew EXACTLY who he was the minute I saw his name in my email in-box. Steven Ieronimo. I was excited to read, “Growing up my mother use to breed and show shelties. My mother, Betty Ieronimo’s kennel name was Mirluc and I see you started your breeding line with a dog from Shirley Vicchitto, Shirley started her kennel with dogs purchased from my mother. I would be very interested if you have any now or in the future puppies that trace their line back to my childhood dog “Mirluc’s I’m a Handsome Devil” “

The reality is even better! *I* got my start from his mother too!

The dog that started it all (for me) was Ch. Parker of Mirluc, CD.  ALL of my shelties go back to Steve's childhood dog, Ch. Mirluc I'm a Handsome Devil, UD !!!

My parents didn’t have any interest in having a pet, but their youngest daughter, (me), wasn’t going to be able to live without one. After years of trying to see if small caged animals (gerbils, fish) were going to fill the need, they finally gave in and in 1977 we got our first dog- a sheltie we named Tyler. I was a bit too energetic for Tyler and he preferred my less raucous older sister. He was only 2 years old when he was hit by a car and killed. I was devastated, my parents were devastated, our family was devastated, and my father, wanting to protect his children from the pain of such a loss, said, “NO MORE DOGS!!!” For me, that was the most devastating!

I read my horoscope, and that of my dad’s, and one day they matched! I took my dad to breakfast at Friendly’s and explained that I NEEDED another dog- and he listened- and agreed. This time I had decided that I wanted a “show dog” (but I had never been to a dog show before). I bought the book Sheltie Talk and read it cover to cover. My mom and I looked in the classified section of the paper for puppies, and we went to look at them. Can you even imagine a young girl, in 5th or 6th grade, going to look at puppies, and not coming home with one? When we got to the places that were selling the puppies I could just tell that I was not going to find my “show dog”- and we would go home empty handed.

When we answered a newspaper ad and arrived at the Ieronimo household, I KNEW that this was the place! Betty showed me her champion male- the very same, Ch. Mirluc’s I’m a Handsome Devil, UD. He was breath-taking. She showed me the mother of the puppies, and she was beautiful(and SMART!) too. As a matter of fact, all of the dogs were beautiful !

Betty told me that she was keeping both of the girls from that litter and only the two boys were available. I got them to trot along so I could see the gait, I played with them, she showed us the father of the litter in Sheltie Pacesetter, and I went home with Parker.

To be continued….