25 is a nice milestone

Today I received an AKC championship certificate for my 25th homebred champion, Ch. Acadia Trusted Opinion ("Tristan").   It is also 25 years ago that my first homebred champion, Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, NA, NAJ, RA ("Payson"), was born (10/17/1998).  

Payson's mother was a cutie named Dana that Shirley Vicchitto, Zion shelties, leased to me for a litter.  I was hoping for a boy, and Dana had a litter of 6 boys.   I kept two brothers, Payson, and Rocky- who would also be one of the 25 champions bred by me.  He became Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT. 

1982- Ch. Parker of Mirluc, CD with
future Ch. Arista's Abbey Road (bottom)

Both Payson and Rocky produced champions.  Rocky can be found in Tristan's pedigree.   Payson can be found in many of the pedigrees of Sharon Crawford's Sunburst shelties. 

I have also had 10 dogs I purchased that completed the championship- for 35 champion dogs as of today.  Shirley met me because of my very first champion, Ch. Parker of Mirluc, CD, who I purchased from Betty Ieronimo, Mirluc shelties.    It was because of Parker that Shirley sold me Tucket, Ch. Zion Acadia Town Heroine, CDX, PT, VCX and it was because of my success with Tucket that Shirley leased Dana to me.  Tucket did produce 1 champion daughter- also a multi-titled dog, Ch. Acadia Another Story, UD, PT, NA, VCX.   

    I was living in Arizona, as was Sharon Crawford, and Sharon fell in love with Tucket.  Shirley sent Tucket's mother, Tuffy to me to show and Sharon loved her too.  Tucket had a brother, Ch. Zion's Man About Town, HT, NA, VC, 5CC ("Jamie"), who was THE hot winning dog at the time!  Sharon bred to Jamie which was very successful for her.  Subsequently I was able to purchase Ch. Sunburst Acadia Here I Come, ("Carrie") a descendant from these successful pairings who became the anchor of my breeding program.  

    It is so interesting how these dogs and people weave together.  I love looking back and seeing how the family is still going strong- thanks to good breeders who care about the dogs.  Many of the dogs in this family have titles in multiple venues.  They are smart, happy, and good "Shetland sheepdogs".   I look forward to the next 25.

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Congratulations to the 5 new title holders

Sheltie Pedigree Lines  is a great service to sheltie breeders.  This site is a historic and current record of sheltie genealogy.  I use it constantly to test out possible stud dogs and the pedigree compatibility with my girls.

One of the services of this site is that they keep track of new title holders.   I enjoy seeing the new title holders. The site has two lists, one for new Champions, and one for new performance titles.  When I just looked, there are 5 Acadia bred shelties on the new performance title holder list.  On this blog I updated Lucy's title to reflect her MACH.  Congratulations to all!!  I am a proud breeder!

Acadia Don't Rain On My Parade, SWN, SCA, SIA, SHDN  (Rain)
(Ch. Acadia Rock Star, HT x Ch. Acadia It's My Treat)
Owned/Loved/Trained by: Phyllis Sanders

Ch. Acadia Independence Day, CD, RAE, BN  (Mason)
(GCh. Barwood Clearsky Fireworks, ROM x GCh. Acadia Serenity)
Owned/Loved/Trained by: Anita Rhawn

Acadia Teagan Rose,CDX, NF, NFP  (Teagan)
(GCh. Solange Surround Sound, ROM, ROMC  x GCh. Acadia Presence of Mind)
Owned/Loved/Trained by: Dr. Amy Scheiner

MACH Acadia's Catch Me If You Can, CDX, RAE, BN, XF, GO, T2B, GN, THDN  (Lucy)
(Ch. Heart Lake Acadia Le Roi De Couer x Ch. Acadia Peace of Mind)
Owned/Loved/Trained by: LeaAnne Thorne

Acadia's Keep It Simple, CGC, TKN  (Muffin)
(Acadia's Stage Director x Acadia Keep It Simple)
Owned/Loved/Trained by: Phillip Meyer & Ann Pomeroy-Meyer

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Ch. Acadia' Bright Idea, RA, NA, NAJ (10/17/1998- 6/17/2011) and Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT (10/17/1998- 10/6/2011)

Today is the birthday of Payson and Rocky, but they were not here with us to celebrate.

Friday, October 7, 2011, we had a memorial service for these brothers and laid them to rest at Acadia. Mary and Martin Smith, their daughter and grandchildren along with Erica Smith (no relation) and her daughter, and Mike and I attended. Rocky had lived with Mary and Martin and their family for the last 7 years and had become a very important part of their family. Each summer he enjoyed going to the beach (pictured above) and he always enjoyed just going for a walk or a ride in the car. Rocky enjoyed Mary's cooking and Mary was happy to cook for him. He passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Payson passed away while I was in training in North Carolina. It was quite a blow to get the phone call from Mike telling me Payson would not be there to greet me when I got home. Mike said that Payson waited until he came home from work, greeting him, then when outside and laid down.

It is Never easy. It doesn't matter if you have one dog or many. The love for each is deep and the bonds that are formed are real. This was not the first service we have had, and it won't be the last, but it is painful and raw every time. Payson and Rocky- we love you and miss you.

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PLAY BALL!!

It's Spring- and that can only mean....... the start of BASEBALL season. I love baseball (sorry Utley- I am a Red Sox fan). When Mike and I lived in Tucson, I used to go to as many spring training games as I could (which was a lot). My "west coast" team is the Seattle Mariners and they did spring training in Arizona. This picture is of Acadia's Rocket Man- aka- Utley. He is sired by Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT x Ch. Acadia It's My Treat and owned by Sally and Dave. He is now beginning agility training. We look forward to hearing more success's from Utley (and how could he NOT be successful with that name!) Click HERE to see a video of Utley when he was 4 weeks old.

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New *NATCH*, *V-NATCH* Acadia Paint The Town

A HUGE Congratulations to Sharon and "Hannah"!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Hannah" and Sharon began the quest for the NADAC agility Championship- the NATCH- in May of 2005. "Anything worthwhile is worth working for" comes to mind when I read the message that these two accomplished both the NATCH AND the Versatility (agility) championship, the V-NATCH within one week of each other.

Sharon reported that the Chances points were the hardest to get, but she persevered and managed to get all 130 necessary points.

On the final run that completed the championship, Sharon reports that all of her friends were there to cheer her on. There is nothing like sharing an achievement.

Congratulations again.

Hannah is the daughter of Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT x Ch. Zion Acadia Town Heroine, CDX,PT,VCX and the litter sister of Ch. Acadia Another Story, UD, PT, NA, VCX. There were only two puppies in this litter- I would say it was a successful one!

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Happy 11th Birthday Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, RA,NA,NAJ and Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT

Today is Payson and Rocky's 11th birthday. These two boys are the BEST! Payson (Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, RA, NA,NAJ) was my first homebred Champion. I showed him to all of his points, including a 5 point major awarded by Mrs. Patti Long Smith on the VERY competitive Wine Country Circuit. Payson began his show career the year we moved to PA. I had never been to ANY of the shows (meaning location) we attended and we had quite an adventure. He minored out quickly and then I had the headache of looking for majors. Everyone said, "there will be majors at Wine Country."- so I entered.

The Wine Country circuit is 4 days- Thursday - Monday. I packed my van on Tuesday night and on Wednesday I got in to leave, but the van wouldn't start. Battery problem? No. I called AAA. While I waited for them to arrive, I unpacked my van. They took it to a repair shop and I waited..... and waited..... and waited...... finally they called and said, "we need parts- you won't get it back this weekend."

I called a rent-a-car company and they told me they only had one passenger van and it was out, but due back that day, but then they would have to clean it. The earliest I could have it would be Thursday (first day of shows). Well, what are you going to do- Ok.


Thursday late morning I got the van, took out the passenger seats, packed it up, and headed out on our 4 1/2 hour drive. Friday I groomed Payson up and headed to the ring. It seemed that every "big" handler on the east coast was there! and me and my one dog! Payson WON that day! It was a 4 pt. major- 1 dog short of 5 points.

Saturday I groomed at the van. I had the slide door open the whole time I was grooming. We headed to the ring to find there were a few more dogs that day and it was a solid 5 points. Again, Payson WON! OH MY GOSH! I thought- then I thought- Hey- I can leave today and save a whole day of rental on this van!!
We got our pictures taken, repacked the van, got in to leave- the battery was dead! The whole time the slide door was open, the dome light was on and it drained the battery.

Luckily there was a tow truck on the show grounds, so it didn't take long for them to come jump the van (it seems that no one else had jumper cables) then I floated home. We went, showed 2 days, won both- went home. All of these years later (that was in 2001) I still remember that weekend clearly.

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New *HT*- Ch. Acadia Rock Solid, HT

Rocky is 10 1/2 years old and yesterday he got the second (of two) legs necessary for the Herding Tested (HT) title. He complete this title at the first herding trial and test that the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Greater Baltimore hosted. The weather was clear, cold, and a little windy. I am so proud of Rocky for completing this title.
Over the years, I have occasionally "instinct tested" Rocky- and he always passed. One time he was hit by the Shepard's crook (accidentally) and then for a while he wanted nothing to do with the sheep. It has taken me all of these years to get to the point where *I* knew enough to even attempt this title with him. I am SO HAPPY that he was willing to participate in this quest for a herding title.
Rocky's litter brother, Payson (Ch. Acadia's Bright Idea, NA,NAJ,RA) also was subjected to my early attempts at learning to herd, and also at finding a trainer. I had wanted him to achieve the HT title because that would have qualified him for the ASSA (American Shetland Sheepdog Association) Versatility Certificate (VC). I hold that certificate in high regard, so I had really wanted Payson to get his HT. Unfortunately, he decided that it was the sheep that were the source of the bad experiences we had in my early attempts, and he decided not to participate anymore in herding.
In order for Rocky to achieve the VC, he would need a title in agility, obedience, or tracking. Rocky lives with a co-worker of mine (a few miles away), but it is unlikely that he will get trained in any of those venues, so - I will just have to be excited that he now has 1 title at the "other end" of his name (the breed championship being the title at the beginning of his name).

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Friends Helen and Spice at the herding trial

My friend Helen Smith and her Samoyed, Spice, went to the herding test this past weekend too. The herding trial/ test was in Bangor, PA at a farm called Raspberry Ridge. Helen was entered with Spice (pictured) in the herding tested class and I was entered with Rincon in the Pre-trial class and Rocky in the Herding Tested class. I already mentioned that Rincon completed the PT title, but both Spice and Rocky got one leg (out of the required two) for the HT title. Spice comes to our farm to train and it was really nice to have someone there to share the experience. We both look forward to more herding to come for Spice and Rocky. One of Helen's goals is to complete the HT title and be ready for the PT title in time to compete in the Samoyed national specialty herding test. I know she and Spice can do it.

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