Tango

Tango. After many years of having labradors, I decided that I wanted a collie. So, along came Tango, the perfect, 'what can I do for you?' boy...the dog of my dreams. I wasn't so sure about the tri-color...up to that point, I associated the typical collie with Lassie, who is sable and white. But, I figured Tango looked as if he was dressed in a tuxedo, and that set him apart from the rest. From the moment we started working together, we were a team in the truest sense of the word. We worked in obedience, agility and therapy. 

Here he is back in 1996.

His HIC (herding instinct certification) was a cinch for him. Not paying attention to the activities of the herding day at all, he 'turned on' the moment he walked into the arena. This was my first experience with herding...I was so very proud of him. Here's his photo...




Tango is the leader of this pack. The other dogs respect him...he is alpha without so much as a whisper. Here's a photo of him now, at 12 years of age...his colors have faded and his hearing is going, but he still is always ready for whatever I ask of him.


He is my calm.

Allegra

Nooooo, she is NOT named after the allergy medicine (I get that question alllll of the time ). Her breeder is a musician...a violinist, to be exact. Allegro is a music term, meaning 'lively'. In Italian, the 'o' ending is male and the 'a' ending is female...hench, Allegra. She was born with a PDA (check out this link for more info on PDA http://www.stvetspecialists.com/PDA.htm), which was surgically corrected when she was 3 months old...and then she became mine! Here she is the day before her surgery...



Allegra earned her HIC (herding instinct certification) when she was just one year old...here's a photo. She thought those sheepies were just too much fun!



Allegra is very much a talker...and you best be listening when she has something to say! Here is a beautiful photo of her, taken last year when she was 8 years of age...


She is my joy.

Cruiser

I recently heard...'grief is the price we pay for love'. I wrote it down because I didn't want to forget it...and because I believe it to be an absolute truth. You see, I lost my Cruiser this past winter and I am grieving for him still. He was a beautiful tri-factored sable and white rough collie...my loverboy. Cruiser, Cruisie, Doozy, Roozy...I miss you so.

Several years ago, Cruiser passed his HIC (herding instinct certification) with flying colors. The tester joked that one sheep must have mustard on him, as Cruiser was totally fixated on that one sheep. Here's a photo...you can just see Cruiser behind that one sheep...

Here's Cruiser last summer, having a relaxing day outside...

In January, Cruiser was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, a fancy medical term for kidney failure. He had been having problems for about a year, but without extensive and expensive testing, we could never put our finger on what exactly was wrong with him. When he was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, that answered a few questions, but didn't explain all that had been going on with him. In the end, it doesn't really matter...he is gone. I euthanized him on February 28.

When we bring an animal into our lives, it is with the knowledge that we will more than likely outlive them. Yet, we apparently feel that the years of companionship and unconditional love we receive are worth it. Knowing that they will not always be with us doesn't make it easier to say good-bye, but I do believe that it keeps our hearts open and full.

He was my love.

Tag

Tag E. Butt is a funny boy. He's 5 years old and brings a smile to my face always! Sometimes I call him 'naughty boy Tag', but he's not really that naughty. It's just that he's so dang smart that he gets himself into trouble from time to time. But, you know, I can almost see him thinking his way out of the spots he gets into.


Tag and I went over to Auntie Kim's today for a playdate. Kim has 4 dogs. Tahoe is her youngest Golden Retriever...she and Tag get along very well! Here they are sharing the fish toy. Oh, don't worry, Tag persisted and got it away from Tahoe. Or, did she let him have it?




Tag loves water (of course). When he sees water, he just needs to SPLASH in it! What better way to cool your belly on a warm spring day? What a funny boy he is. Actually, he's done this since a baby...only, back then, his entire body fit in the water bowl.


He is my laughter.