Happy New Year?
It’s New Year’s Day 2014 and snowing and cold here in
Kalamazoo as is usually is at this time of year. It seems to me such weather may not be good for dinosaurs,
but we persevere.
As with most people who write, I sometimes decide to check
my facts against the foremost authorities. In my case this generally happens after the fact because
dinosaurs often “walk in where angels fear to tread.” The authority for things I say about what makes a good
Collie is the Collie Standard. I
realize some folks have never read it and many who have still don’t understand
it or, even worse, chose to ignore it.
It has been a roadmap for me for over sixty years as a breeder,
exhibitor, writer, speaker and judge.
I have complained in the past about Collies with extremely
small squinty eyes. This creates a
hard expression which is not pleasing to anyone who loves the Collie. The standard says quite plainly with
regards to this “they are almond-shaped, of medium size, and never
properly appear to be large or prominent.
Nowhere do I find a reference to tiny, squinty, or the smaller, the
better.
One of my other complaints is one shared by many and a
likely reason for the Collie losing popularity with the public. If you ever watched the movie “Lassie
Come Home” you know you were not looking at a show Collie in today’s
world. In spite of that this was a
pretty dog and the public loved her (him). To clarify I again quote the standard. “The well-fitting, proper textured coat
is the crowning glory of the Rough variety of the Collie.” It further elaborates on proper texture
and reminds us that incorrect coats regardless of quantity are penalized. No mention of the more coat the better.
Another point I’ve noted has to do with properly grooming
our dogs for the ring. Again I’ll
quote the standard. “The forelegs
are smooth and well feathered to the back of the pasterns. The hind legs are smooth below the hock
joints. Any feathering below the
hocks is removed for the show ring.”
We obviously have some exhibitors who are either poor groomers or
haven’t read the standard or both.
Read it and reread it and learn what it really means. The Collie Standard represents the best
thinking of people who deserve our respect and for the good of the breed we
should follow this road map not just do what we like.
On a more personal note, I want to write about our recent
loss of a dog named Grace. The
story of how we acquired her from the local animal control shelter was told in
Collie Expressions some years ago.
They considered her pretty much unadoptable due to her condition
physically and mentally. She was a
forty pound bundle of distrust complete with fleas, ticks and a coat so matted
with filth we had to cut much of it off.
With regards to her being unadoptable they had underestimated my wife,
Phyllis.
We got Grace right after my knee replacement surgery in
April of 2008. She spent some time
in an ex-pen with me on crutches reading a book to keep her company. She couldn’t be out with the other dogs
until she was de-ticked, de-flead, had her shots, and was free of worms. The other dogs in time helped because
she could trust dogs, but not people.
Phyllis reached out for help and found lots of people
willing to offer suggestions. Some
worked and some didn’t, but Phyllis doesn’t give up very easily. One of the real break-thru’s came from Marianne
Sullivan who was very patient and had worked with some traumatized dogs
herself. Step by step, inch by
inch, it came together. After
months and years we had a dog who was having a good time. She never trusted strangers and barked
at anything she didn’t identify quickly, but she had a great time and loved
Phyllis above anything in this world.
As Terhune might have said “she had found her god.” She might have been a recreational
barker, but Phyllis figured out what it was all about much sooner than I
did. Grace barked at nothing until
we came outside. Then she only
barked for good reason. She had
found people to trust finally and wanted them with her. My wife, Phyllis, often tells me she
wishes she knew as much about Collies as I do. My answer to her is very simple. She knows all she needs to know and has a way with dogs that
we all might wish to duplicate.
She doesn’t give up!
As Terhune also often said “People live too long and dogs
die too soon.” Our goofy,
recreational barking Grace is gone.
It’s time now to grieve her loss, or is it? You can imagine that over sixty some years in Collies I’ve
had to say goodbye to many dog friends.
You could ask yourself why continue to put yourself thru the hurt of
losing them. I won’t say my answer
will work for everyone, but it works for me. We gave Grace back her life and watcher her thrive as much
as a dog with her baggage ever could.
She was well-fed, groomed, loved and had doggy friends who loved her as
we did. So I just think of the
good things not the loss. It
relieves the hurt and helps me build on the only advantage of growing old –
memories!
Think about it!
