| Dear Friends Who are Dearly Missed... |
| Vashti's How Bizarre FD, JHD, CGC, TDI September 1998 - April 2005 A dog who's legacy will live forever. Biz left us all too soon. He accomplished more in his 7 years than many dogs do in twice that number of years. He was a fireball of energy, but more impressive was his intelligence. Biz could communicate clearly with not just his owners, but with everyone. He was a true joy to be with. It is hard to say what Biz's favorite activities were. He seemed to adore them all! Early in life, his extreme passion was flyball and, indeed, his siblings and parents have excelled in that sport. routinely setting and breaking records. He adored herding sheep and was highly skilled, earning his Junior Herding Dog (JHD) title easily. Biz was a Therapy Dog as well. However, his best-known skill was search & rescue (SAR). Biz demonstrated incredible talent as a wilderness search dog and evidence search dog. He logged hundreds of hours of training, performed several demonstrations and impressed many experts (some of whom were skeptical of a Border Collie's ability to perform as a SAR dog). Had he been given more time, I have no doubt that he would have had a stellar career in search & rescue. He was a tireless worker and a true asset in the field. Biz was diagnosed with anal gland adenocarcinoma in November 2003. He had surgery to remove the tumor at UC-Davis and received chemotherapy in late 2003, early 2004. He had more than a year of symptom-free, happy life. He even returned to training for search & rescue. For a while, we thought we had beaten the cancer monster. Unfortunately, the cancer came back and spread very quickly. He lives on in my heart. Please visit the link to the left for www.wearethecure.org. This organization funds cancer research in dogs |
| Vashti's Simply Irresistible FM, HCT, CGC August 1989 - March 2005 Jessie came into my life as a frightened, matted, fear-biting, submissive urinating, nearly euthanized shelter dog at the age of 2 years. Jessie's true nature could not have been more different than the dog I was presented at the beginning! After only a few months, she was social with both men and women and finding new passions...sheep and flyball! Jessie was my first Border Collie. She was intense, as most Border Collies are, but incredibly gentle and genuinely a friend. She almost never did exactly what I asked of her around the house. Living with her was always a compromise. But she loved flyball and was flawless in her execution of the game. Jessie cheated death a number of times. The first had to have been at that shelter. Her time was up and I was a "last chance" home for her. Jessie later consumed an entire tennis ball that she had hidden in the blankets of her crate, puncturing her intestines and blocking her stomach. Needless to say, she was never allowed to have tennis balls lying around for play toys any longer! Later in life (age 12), she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and I was told she had months to live. As luck would have it, the cardiologist was aware of a UC-Davis study about taurine deficient diets (lamb & rice) and cardiomyopathy. Jessie is a part of that study now and a true success story! She finally succumbed to muscle wasting disease that prevented her from getting up from a down position and walking normally. She was 15 years young and she is deeply missed. |
| Sky Vashti's I Wanna Go Too Far FDCH, CGC January 1990 - March 2005 Sky had an interesting life! Adopted from the Agoura Hills Animal Shelter near Malibu, California in 1992, she had already indentified herself as extremely independent. I learned her story several years later through some pretty miraculous circumstances, but it turns out that she had originally belonged to a ranch hand. The owners of one of the ranches where he worked seasonally were unable to tame this feral pup out of one of their working Border Collies. The pup had taken a liking to the ranch hand so they gave him the pup that he called "Chica". She ran with him in the fields, chasing rabbits as he rode his horse checking the fields and fences. At 8 months of age, he went to L.A. to celebrate his birthday. While he was visiting with friends at a local watering hole, all of his worldly possessions were stolen...his truck and in it, his saddle and Chica. He searched for her for months, unable to find her. A year later, Chica was picked up running as a stray in the Malibu Hills and housed at the Agoura shelter...right where I found her, adopted her and named her Sky. Sky had a few definite passions in life: her ranch hand owner (which she did get to meet again) and flyball. She was an amazing flyball dog and was never entirely able to compete as she should have because of a long drawn-out problem with the North American Flyball Association. She lost several years of her racing career which was a true shame. Sky headed for the flyball team at the Bridge only a short time ago. Sky was 14 years old. She is likely providing her own brand of excitement to the team. |
| Starli CH. Windrift's Crystallite O'Kemont CGC February 1992 - January 2003 Starli came to live with me in 1995 when breeder, Jan Corrington, decided to trust me with this little sweetheart. Starli was an active Kees with an active mind. Although she finished her breed championship, she just wanted to do more. Agility was something that came very naturally to her, well, at least the obstacles did! Doing them in a prescribed order was not what Starli had in mind! If she could not do them her way, she would run to her crate and refuse to come out! Starli was a barrel of fun to have around and she is sadly missed. Starli was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 12. |
| September 1984 - January 2000 Vashti was an incredible dog! She found obedience barely tolerable as it was just a little too boring for her liking (and didn't provide her with as many cookies as she liked). Flyball was her game! Treats after every run! She would try anything...agility, sheep herding, frisbee, rabbit hunting...you name it and she was up for it! On a personal level, she was my best friend. If not for her, I would not have had the pleasure to meet so many fine people that I now call friends. It is also because of her that I met and married the man of my dreams. Vashti was diagnosed with lymphoma and after a short battle, left us for the Bridge. Her 15 years of life were healthy and full of fun. She continues to be an inspiration and a source of many happy memories and important life lessons. |
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