Laureate Shelties Blog
A bit of this, a bit of that...with a lot of free spirits.
We had a lovely celebration for Gabi's 16th Birthday. She has not been well for the last week, so the fact we were having a birthday was a celebration in itself.
Hugs on the lounge chair to start off her party...
The grill master working on the main course...we left Gabi in the chair and she loved every moment
Some grill chicken for starters
Loving the chicken...
Hanging out with her great-granddaughter Paris and her great-great-great granddaughter Rehannah...
She enjoyed a bowl of ice cream with maple syrup to finish off the meal.
Our sweet girl Gabi...always our puppy and now 16 years old. Where does the time go?
It was LuAnne's birthday today...she turned 14 years old.
A little confession. Like many pet owners our guys all have nicknames. LuAnne has been called "Boo" almost all her life...or Boo Boo. Gabi is Gibby (pronounced Jibby) or Jib Jib.
I wondered what to make for this special occasion. She isn't a real big meat eater...and I wanted to make a cake. Since it is strawberry season, I thought I'd make shortcake. We'd have it with strawberries and I'd put some green beans on hers!. Green beans are her favorite...go figure. It must be why she looks so good!
So we invited a few in to celebrate her birthday...and then a few gate crashers. Joining Boo were Foo (Bunny), Widgie (Bridgit), Junebug (Juno), Mokie (Cocoa) and Paris (but you have to say that with a lisp...Parith).
First were the appetizers...arrowroot biscuits with peanut butter and cottage cheese.
Nom nom. They were messy but a big hit!
More please!
I only gave them one small shortcake to share. I didn't want to deal with upset tums tomorrow...
LuAnne got the majority of it!!!
The cake and whipped cream was the first to go...these guys aren't as fond of the beans as Boo.
It was a good party...Gabi's is next; she'll be 15 on July 17th.
It is hard to believe that the youngest daughter from our foundation bitch "
Holly" is now our oldest girl and just turned 14 years old.
Holly had come into heat just in time for the 1995 ASSA National in Boston. We had the luxury of spending a few days to decide which dog we felt would suit her the best. We chose the beautiful Am Ch Macdega Malibu ROM who was the ASSA National Best of Breed winner in 1993. Gabi was the standout in her litter of five. She is pictured above at 5 weeks of age.
Gabi flew with us to Calgary and along with the Clement's, we rented a Van and toured around
Banff and on to Spokane to attend the National. It was a memorable trip because I took Gabi out of her crate and she sat on my lap for hours. I hadn't to that point, and not afterwards either, had a dog that was content to stay put on my lap without fidgeting. (She much later made a two day trip to Alabama and rode on my lap the entire way). As a bonus, she won her Futurity class under noted breeder judge
Nioma Coen. She was such an easy puppy. We always said, she never had a bad day...always ready for whatever you asked of her.
Gabi finished her Canadian Championship as a puppy and then was put away for several years. We thought she didn't have enough length of coat to finish in the U.S., but then when she was five we gave it a go, and she finished quickly with Specialty majors along the way! She was the ROM maker for her dam.
Gabi pictured just last month on one of our walks. She has some arthritis and is slowing down, but will still follow me
wherever I go. She is my devoted companion, my beloved friend, my little "
Cinnamon bear".
The earliest photo of "LuAnne". This is at about 7 1/2 weeks of age.
LuAnne at eight weeks. She was pretty special to us right from the start. Our first blue, and the smallest newborn we had that ever survived (2 1/2 ounces). She was so pretty even then...soft grey, pink belly, all the flash. Plus the outline; that was evident even as a tiny baby.
She was slower to mature, but so very elegant at 10 months of age at the Chicago National.
She's had an impressive record at the Specialties. Winning the CSSA National owner handled, BOS at the 2005 ASSA National under noted judge Tom Coen, handled by Rachel Pratt.
The following year, she won the Veteran Bitch class and an Award of Merit in her big 'spayed girl' coat. Handled by Julie Desy.
And three years later; once again winning the Veterans class, but this time the 12 Years and Over class and on to an Award of Merit. The response to our girl was overwhelming. I felt very privileged to be escorting our girl in the ring. My first time handling her at ASSA since the Chicago National when she was a baby! Thank you to Rachel Pratt, and Julie Desy and team for helping us with her hair!
We feel so fortunate to have shared our lives with such a special girl. Here she is resting on the deck.
Happy 13th Birthday LuAnne...here's hoping there are many more to come!
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