Cocoa Pups at almost 8 weeks

It was snowing and blowing all day so I took the opportunity to snap some photos of the Cocoa pups.  Quite a lot of growing and change has happened since the last blog post and even the little hand reared puppy was finally ready to make his debut.

The white face girl loves playing in the tunnel, but gets even more enjoyment with the toggles. 

Looking very innocent!

The small girl on the left and the narrow blaze girl.  They are very nicely put together and have sweet faces...all three will be grown on as show prospects.

Here is the male in the litter that was hand raised.  He has been making up for his slow start and his growth has really started to accelerate.

Despite The White

In our first litter, born January 25, 1989 was a puppy with a big white face blaze.  I remember going through the magazines trying to find pictures of other Shelties that had lots of white on the face to see what it would look like on an adult.  I came across a female in one of the magazines that was called Ch Istari Despite The White.  A clever name that said it all...despite the white the quality is there.  It isn't everyone's cup of tea, but markings shouldn't matter if the individual has excellence.  The ones we've kept over the years or have sold to others have gone on to prove the point.  So now we'll watch and wait to see if Cocoa's puppy will factor into our breeding program in the future. 

Above is pictured MBIS/MBISS Am/Can Ch Laureate Starlight Express (Sparkle) at 3 weeks of age.  Next to her is a picture we took this morning of Cocoa's girl at three weeks...they are similar but different.  She might look more like Ch Laureate Vanilla Sky than Sparkle, but time will tell.

This is how Sparkle looked at 6 years old...

Top left is Ch Laureate Savanna White ROMC (owned by Karen and Bob Henley) and underneath and the baby photos are her daughter, Ch Laureate Vanilla Sky.  Two more beauties 'despite the white' face markings.

Cocoa Pups at 19 days

While we were on holiday our good friend Diane whelped our Inception x Jivara litter.  There are three girls (pictured) and a male who will wait until he is bigger before he makes his debut.

Diane nicknamed the girls "the three little pigs" I like to think because they are fat and healthy and not because they have pink noses.

All that eating makes you tired!

Nap time...

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.

Merry Christmas

We had a white Christmas this year after all...and a brisk -9.  We enjoyed a lovely walk after lunch with the gang and relatives.  Not enough exercise to counter the caloric intake, but we made an effort. 

Our best wishes to all for the Holidays.