Way to go Shaman! #1 Rough Collie CKC Arena Herding 2007
Ch. Tallywood Spiritdance Shaman TD HI JHD STD-s celebrates his 11th birthday on December 27. He got an early birthday present when we found out yesterday that he is the #1 Rough Collie in CKC herding arena trials for 2007!
It is a miracle that he has made the move from Thunder Bay to Red Deer, considering he was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in June 07 - see this link: http://spiritdancedogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/shamans-brush-with-death-and-miraculous.html
Shaman and I working sheep. The two sheep on the far right were mine - Patch and Hazel - back at Tanya's for a trial. They came home afterwards. Patch was a beautiful and very clever sheep who died of old age several years ago. I just loved her! Hazel now lives at Fort William Historical Park as part of a living history farm flock.
Nancy took this photo of Shaman in November, at her place - where he was born nearly 11 years ago! December 27 marks his 11th birthday. We love you Shaman!
Shaman working the ducks. This photo was taken at the trial where he earned his last Herding Intermediate leg.
This is a very tiny photo taken by CKC herding judge Shelley Fritzke with a zoom lens of me working with Scott Glen. I flew to Alberta in 2005 with Shaman to attend this clinic, and it was worth every penny! I met Scott, met other nice people, Shaman earned a HIT that fall, AND I decided that week I loved Alberta. Three years later, I live here - an hour away from the location of this clinic, which was in Cremona at Cindy Swiney's place in the foothills.
So Shaman has been a very special dog to me. He is the dog who kept me interested in herding enough to want to really work at it and improve my skills. I flew to Alberta with Shaman to attend a clinic with Scott Glen, so because of Shaman, I was introduced to Scott and later, got my two Border Collies, Jet and Ted. Shaman was my second dog from Nancy Anstruther, Tallywood.
My first dog Kate (pictured above - Ch Tallywood Banreigh Spiritdance Can/Am CD TDX TT HCT CGC) was a lovely sable who was very successful in the show ring with specialty wins and group placements.
Shaman and me at Tucker Creek with Roy Sage (Oregon) and Marie Murphy (Wisconsin) after earning his ASCA Started Sheep title (above) and me with Shaman after earning our HIT AHBA Ranch trial, under judge Andrea deKennedy.
It is a miracle that he has made the move from Thunder Bay to Red Deer, considering he was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma in June 07 - see this link: http://spiritdancedogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/shamans-brush-with-death-and-miraculous.htmlShaman and I working sheep. The two sheep on the far right were mine - Patch and Hazel - back at Tanya's for a trial. They came home afterwards. Patch was a beautiful and very clever sheep who died of old age several years ago. I just loved her! Hazel now lives at Fort William Historical Park as part of a living history farm flock. Nancy took this photo of Shaman in November, at her place - where he was born nearly 11 years ago! December 27 marks his 11th birthday. We love you Shaman! The day I found he had hemangiosarcoma, I came home to find him nearly comatose in his run. I struggled on my own to get him from his run outside to my car. The emergency vet, for whatever reason, was over an hour late to meet me at the clinic, but that may have saved his life, because on his own, he began to rally. When she diagnosed him, she recommended I put him to sleep. I saw how he had fought his way back from impending death to walking on his own steam in a matter of hours and said it was not his time.
At the end of July, he was well enough to finish the last leg of his Herding Intermediate title, to become the 4th Rough Collie in Canada to boast this level of herding skill with a title. See this post, that describes that day: http://spiritdancedogs.blogspot.com/2007/07/asca-and-ckc-sheep-herding-trials-new.html - and I want it known that I have LOST 40 pounds since then!
Shaman working the ducks. This photo was taken at the trial where he earned his last Herding Intermediate leg.
Bob Vest is the judge who gave Shaman his last Q. He comes to Thunder Bay every July and first saw Shaman when he was just a 6 month old pup. He said that Shaman was very natural, and my job would be to ensure he listened to me and didn't take over. How fitting that Shaman earned that leg, the last in his herding career under Bob! In the previous two years, Shaman and I got our act together enough to earn a HIT in an AHBA Ranch Trial under Andrea deKennedy, and a 2nd place out of 19 for his ASCA Started Sheep title. That weekend, we were also the popular choice (by secret ballot) for the team most demonstrating the bond between dog and handler, an award known as the Raleigh Memorial Award, donated by Nancy Chase in memory of her collie Raleigh.
This is a very tiny photo taken by CKC herding judge Shelley Fritzke with a zoom lens of me working with Scott Glen. I flew to Alberta in 2005 with Shaman to attend this clinic, and it was worth every penny! I met Scott, met other nice people, Shaman earned a HIT that fall, AND I decided that week I loved Alberta. Three years later, I live here - an hour away from the location of this clinic, which was in Cremona at Cindy Swiney's place in the foothills. So Shaman has been a very special dog to me. He is the dog who kept me interested in herding enough to want to really work at it and improve my skills. I flew to Alberta with Shaman to attend a clinic with Scott Glen, so because of Shaman, I was introduced to Scott and later, got my two Border Collies, Jet and Ted. Shaman was my second dog from Nancy Anstruther, Tallywood.
My first dog Kate (pictured above - Ch Tallywood Banreigh Spiritdance Can/Am CD TDX TT HCT CGC) was a lovely sable who was very successful in the show ring with specialty wins and group placements. Shaman finished quickly, but his true calling was to be a sheepdog. AND it has to be mentioned that he is also a tracking dog, earning his TD under respected judge Ilene Newman in 2000.
This photo of Shaman was taken on a weekend when he went BOB over specials all three days.
The truth is that he is the #1 Rough Collie for arena trials, because no other Rough Collies qualified. This doesn't mean there are not many out there with this talent (even though I do think my dog is special!) More people need to take their Rough Collies out and let them discover their heritage by letting them herd sheep. They are very gentle and capable herding dogs, very kind to their sheep. I have seen a lot of wonderful herding collies and hope in the coming year to see more out at herding classes and clinics.
The top Smooth Collie for 2007 is Marilyn Clayton's Zephyr, and Kathy Warner's Rough Collie Rush is in the top ten in the CKC advanced stockdog program. I am proud to be in this company and proud of Shaman's accomplishment. It brings back good memories of a great dog who lies at my feet as I type this. Amazingly, ten years after coming to Thunder Bay, he has come home to live 20 minutes from where he was born. Far out!
Thank you so much Nancy for placing such a special dog with me. I still remember the day Nancy called to say "I have a male that would be perfect for you!" She was right!
River and Shaman hamming it up in the snow. Shaman now lives the life of a retired grand old man, sleeping on the couch and mooching for treats. I call the picture below "Bad Boys" because Shaman and Thorn look like bad boys as they trot off together looking so full of it!
River and Shaman hamming it up in the snow. Shaman now lives the life of a retired grand old man, sleeping on the couch and mooching for treats. I call the picture below "Bad Boys" because Shaman and Thorn look like bad boys as they trot off together looking so full of it! Category Article Cancer, Hemangiosarcoma, Herding trial results, Shaman
