2011: Year In Review

2011 will soon be history and we had some special moments...

Miss "Rehannah" was a natural show girl and so much fun...7 BPIS and a BPISS made her Canada's Top Sheltie Puppy for 2011, and 2nd in the Herding Group!

I was in St Louis at the ASSA and was proud to watch Ch Laureate Cold Play "Player" win 2nd in Open Blue. A big thank you to Sherrie Sparling for having him in such fabulous condition and for getting him back out to the shows after a long hiatus. He finished in the States very quickly afterwards.

Along with some highs, there were also lows. The passing of our beloved "Gabi" this summer shortly after her 16th birthday.  She did enjoy her day though...and we'll always treasure this photo of her on the chaise with her great-granddaughter Paris and great-great-great granddaughter Rehannah.  We have Gabi to thank for the strength of our sable program...four generations of ROMC's, and Paris with four Ch's.

Sadly in 2011 was the loss of the very special litter sisters MBISS/BIS Am/Can Ch Laureate Fifth Avenue (Pavey) and Ch Laureate Meringue (Hamelin).  Epitomizing grace and lasting beauty; as their breeders we can only aspire to breed that level of quality once again in our lifetime.  A dream perhaps but it is good to have goals.

We celebrated another birthday (number 15) with LuAnne and she'll be joining us this evening in our New Years Eve festivities.

Our dogs had a wonderful summer on the farm, even if it was HOT!

One of my favourite images of the year...such joy!

But I think this is my favourite photo of the year...sums up why we do this. :-)

Show Results In the U.S.

New American Grand Champion El Solo Serenity (Owners Shirley Wong and Margie Norstrom) co-bred with Margie.

American Championship for Can Ch Laureate Cold Play (owner Sherrie Sparling)

American Championship for Can Ch Laureate Jivara

ROM title for Laureate Beloved (Madeleine Griffin-Cone)

In Canada

MBPIS/BPISS Ch Laureate Immortality (thank you Diane Biggar for handling Re when we were unable)

BPIS Ch Laureate Dominatrix (thank you Kim Wendling for handling our wild child)

BPIG Ch Laureate Double Exposure (now owned by Nancy Everett, handled by Diane Biggar)

BPIG Ch Laureate Inception (also US Specialty major)

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!  May it be joy filled, healthy and prosperous.

2009 Year In Review

I thought I'd include in this entry some of my favorite photos taken over the year. It was hard to choose, as we've taken a LOT of pictures this year. Many are great shots, but these are a few that matter to me. This one of Pete with the dogs shows our beautiful Mais Oui demanding affection. We lost this wonderful girl to pyometra this April, so this is one of the last photos of her. On the far left is her dam, Tiramisu who also passed away this year...she was Pete's shadow and constant companion. Lexus, our oldest, not in the photo passed away in April as well.

We also had some happy times to offset the sad moments. Good times with great friends. Showing our Portuguese friends Rui, Paula, Henrique and Isabella our little part of the world. Raising a beautiful healthy litter, a successful ASSA, and travelling in Australia, going to Westminster in NYC, the National in Georgia and visiting with family and friends in Vancouver. Most of all, we enjoyed our quiet moments at our farm with the dogs.

This photo shows that even though we have almost 50 acres, the dogs tend to wrap themselves around my legs! I have an entourage of my old girls that follow me on our walks. It is the boisterous youngsters that will break away from the group and go wild.

Characteristic of our photos this year...muddy, grubby and very happy dogs out on their walks.
Babies...we enjoyed playing with our puppies this year. Emma and Barbie grew up together.
We had a ball with our summer litter...Miley and Maisie (Mayer and Mandy).
Stormy and the deer fly. One of my favorite photos...taken with Brenda's lens.

2009 Show Results

ASSA National

1st 12-18 month Futurity: Can Ch Laureate Jivara
1st 12-18 month sable and white bitches: Can Ch Laureate Jivara
1st Open Blue Bitches: Can Ch Laureate PaRay Per Se (co-bred by Tray Pittman)
1st Over 12 Years Veteran Bitches: BISS Am/Can Ch Laureate Louisiana
Award Of Merit: BISS Am/Can Ch Laureate Louisiana

Canadian Champions:

BPIS Can Ch Laureate Embelish (co-bred by Aneita Frey, owned by Kim Aston and Peter Culumovic)
Can Ch Laureate Lancome (Bred by Kim Aston and Peter Culumovic and co-owned by Pennylynn Woodruff)
Can Ch Laureate Lutece (breeder-owners Kim & Pete)
Can Ch Laureate PaRay Per Se (co-bred by Tray Pittman, owned by Kim and Pete)
Can Ch Laureate Rachael Ray (co-owned by Pennylynn Woodruff)
Can Ch Ruffleith's Remy Martin (co-bred and owned by Pennylynn Woodruff)
Can Ch Ruffleith's Rose In Bloom (co-bred and owned by Pennylynn Woodruff)
Can Ch Ruffleith's Tina Rufette (co-bred and owned by Pennylynn Woodruff)

Other Titles

Am Ch El Solo Serenity (co-bred by Marjorie Norstrom, owned by Marjorie and Shirley Wong)
Laureate Due South, Am CDX (owner Lori Drouin)
Laureate Tiramisu, ROMC (co-bred by Karen and Robert Henley)
BPIS Laureate Epitome

Many thanks to the co-breeders and owners for making this possible!

Our best wishes for a Happy and Successful New Year!

Year in Review

I thought I'd start this entry with my favorite picture taken this year of myself with the dogs. That day was memorable as the snow was so hard I could walk on the surface. The thick crust of snow was also on top of our enormous hedges. Bridgit had walked up on top of the hedge and I didn't realize until we were out in the field that she was stuck. Pete heard the commotion and came out to have a look. This is what he saw:
Little Bridgit high in the air on a nearly six foot hedge! After Pete showed her how to get down, this was Bridgie catching up to us in the field! I have nicknamed Pete..."Paparazzi Pete" for having his camera handy and taking pictures of us. The great thing about having a website and now a blog, is that I can go back and see what happened during the year. It is like a journal; it helps me remember all the details! With Cocoa finishing her Canadian Championship over the weekend, I thought I'd look back and see what titles the Laureate bred/co-bred dogs achieved this year:

*Obedience Trial Championship for OTCh Laureate Delicate Crystal, Am CD, CGN (owned by Lynda Morrissey)
*NADAC Top Ten again for Laureate Dancin' Chimney Sweep (owned by Lin Battaglia)

*American Championship for Am Ch. PaRay's Make A Splash (owned by co-breeders Tray Pittman/Paul Flores)
*American Championship for Am/Can Ch. Laureate Givalia (Pittman/Flores)
*American Championship for BIS/BISS/BPIS/BPISS Am/Can Ch. Shelhaven Pop'n Up At Talisker (owned by Sharon Ayers)

*Canadian Championship for Am/Can Ch. Laureate Givalia (Pittman/Flores)
*Canadian Championship for Ch. Laureate LaPerla (Aston/Culumovic)
*Canadian Championship for Ch. Laureate Jivara (Aston/Culumovic)

*ROMC for BISS Am/Can Ch. Laureate Gabrielle, ROMC

A pretty good tally. Thank you to the owners and co-breeders for all your efforts.

With the Holiday Season well upon us, we wish all our friends the happiest of Holidays.

Kim and Pete and the Laureate Shelties