At the Rainbow Bridge
I met my first Border Collie Ace (1985-2000) in 1986, but it took two more years before I convinced his owner to sell him to me. But better late than never. I got more than I never was able to image of. Ace introduced me to tracking and made me fanatic in obedience. He was also the first Border Collie in Europe to win Best in Show at all breeds international show after arriving Finland. He had fantastic temperament and lots of instinct for herding, even though he never competed in herding.
In 1990 I imported a 6-year-old bitch from Australia, who had already had two high quality litters in Australia. Sally (1984- 2000) enjoyed her life as family dog with my parents after living her first 6 years as kennel dog, and never wanted to move to city and start training with me and my other dogs. She lot preferred to lie on the coach or garden than run on the woods and do obedience training. Unfortunately I have lost her line practically totally due many sad circumstances, one of them being that she lot preferred having dog puppies than bitches, and we simply made wrong choices with the studs of her daughters.
In 1992 I imported another bitch, Cola(1989-2004), in whelp. Cola was to become my Once In A Lifetime Dog. Too much to be called a dog. One day I will be able to write more about her. She was my everything. She left incredible inheritage in her progeny, but even more than that, she left huge hole into the heart to anyone who knew her, biggest one into mine.
Now all of them have moved into Rainbow Bridge, to the better place, where nobody needs to suffer, where everybody has better to be. They have met each other again, and are waiting there to meet their beloved ones one day. Thank you, our dear ones.
My dogs at home
At home I have two dogs. Mike was born 1999 from Cola-daughter and imported frozen semen from Aceīs very famous Australian son. I had just got seriously ill after unlucky total knee replacement, but it was to take still well over two years before the correct diagnoses was to be made. I chose Mike due to my current situation, but I had to send him to the United States for 2,5 years before I got back home from the hospital. So Mike was already 3 years of age before I got him, and cultural differences were quite big. Mike is a great big teddybear, who had taken therapy dog international test and herding instinct certificate while in the states. In Finland he is training to be my assistance dog, and he loves tracking more than anything.
My little girl was born in September 2001.I had imported her dam Jojo from Australia for myself in 1998. However, I got really ill in the end of that year, and was never able to have her at home. After asking my friends to look after her for a couple of months, it turned out to be some years and finally co-ownership of lifetime. Jojoīs daughter Tuisku also had to spend almost 3 years in the States before I was able to have her permanently at home. Just couple of weeks after saying goodbye to my beloved Cola, arrived Tuisku after several months wait finally at home, and settled down immediately. Even though Cola is only greatgrandmother in her pedigree, there are so many similarities in their personalities that it is hard to believe. Like Cola, Tuisku is also working maniac, only thing in her mind being work, work, work. No matter what kind of work, as long as there is something that she can do going on all the time. However, she is not restless, she can calm down inside, but it takes her 2 seconds to speed from zero to 100km per hour. She would love to do obedience, or anything in general, but currently her main job is to study her duty as an assistance dog along with Mike.
I have always sweared that I never have bitch and a dog at the same time, but still, even when I have my normal two dogs, I once again, I find myself having one boy and one girl - once again. And I wouldnīt change the situation for anything. And always we hace coped somehow, despite the situation that I canīt walk, and neither of the dogs are spayed or castrated. We still havenīt had an accident litter yet. Always I have managed the find the most difficult sire from the other side of the world for my bitch ;-) .
All my dogs have always been more than anything my pets, and working partners, whatever their work has ever been. Before my illness I did mainly obedience Ace and Cola, now I have a whole new challenge in training both dogs as assistance dogs. Time will tell how that will work, but at least that will give both the dogs and myself lot of work.
Most of my breeding work happens with the dogs that I have placed on breeding terms. I breed when I consider breeding worth something I would want to keep something for my own breeding program. Therefore I usually place the best puppy on breeding terms. If she turns out good enough temperament and healthwise and is structurally good enough to improve the breed, I will breed from her. If she has got any problems with health, or her temperament is not good enough to live with or her trainability is not what I am looking for, I leave her out of breeding. I donīt mind minor mistakes in looks, if the stud covers them.
You can read more about breeding ethics pages about that, and about my dogs, you can read more about their personal pages.
