The decisions made in life often come at a high price. I'm human, I've made a multitude of poor choices and bad decisions. I've also made some great choices and have had a couple of decades of wonderful dogs that brought me limitless joy, taught me a multitude of new skills and on countless occasions have humbled me.
Years of training and showing the dogs have been full of both joy and tears and I would not change one moment of it. There have been so many dogs that were extra special beginning with my special heart dog Murphy, my first Collies Rahab and Cooper and my first Champion, Ripley. There were some special non-Collies in there as well: Nugget the Golden Retriever, Sophie the Wire Fox Terrier-ist, Hank the Golden Retriever, Trace the Cardigan Welsh Corgi and Charlie the Border Collie. Obviously there are too many Collies to mention them all, but several come to mind including one that wasn't mine-dear sweet Toby who belonged to Clara, he taught me humility several times. Jenny, Topaz, Tempest, Declan, Harold, Lemmy and the sweet grandma-Shortcake. Then there were the rescue dogs that I fostered-each has a special place in my heart. And two very special boys that brought me so much happiness and love in a short amount of time-Hobbs and my beloved Jam.
It's time to move on now with Spice at my side. All of my dogs are in wonderful new homes with long happy journeys ahead of them. My time of having multiple dogs, training and showing is over with the exception of playing around with Spice in obedience. My body has decided to "cry uncle" and I'm listening to it. It's pretty difficult not to when it's screaming at you on a daily basis. So Spice and I are off on a new adventure and moving to Tennessee to live for a while with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Oh and don't forget Dora-I'm sure she will be beyond thrilled to have another dog around. Poor Dora. Our last stop will be at the 2013 Collie National to help out my dear friends Sahra, John and Becky. I'll take one last hurrah in the ring showing Spice's granddaughter, Zena.
It's been a great adventure--
Judy
