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You are visiting the "Bonnie" page. Links to the
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Bonnie was a slate colored bitch with very little white on her.
She was eight years old in 2005. Her dam was Blue.
Her sire was Alex Stewart's Rocky.
I purposely did not train Bonnie because her
father died just before she was born. I did not want to
lose his bloodlines. Therefore, I was unwilling to risk her
getting injured, or losing her in some other way. Example:
in a shepherd's world, dogs are "tools of the trade." If I
were to train her to work, and if someone needed a working dog,
they might make an offer that would be difficult to refuse. Now,
this might seem heartless to a non-working Beardie owner, but
the fact remains that if you have several dogs that can work,
you might part with one if the price was right. But, if I didn't
train her, I was comfortable that she would be staying with me.
Bonnie had a very strong natural ability, and I could get by with her working
stock if I had no other dogs. She was an extremely good brood bitch. So
my reason for keeping her turned out, at least for me, to be a
good one. She has bred good litters. At present (late 2005), two of
her daughters sired by Mac live in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
They are full sisters but from different litters (two years
apart). Phoenix is quite an outrun from Llandrindod Wells, Wales.
Another pup went to a very well known agility handler (residing in England), who
stated that Boogie demonstrated a very quick brain. He picked up many
new commands after only one showing.
Bonnie's mother, Blue, died this summer (2005) at
nearly 13 years of age. Bonnie's pedigree can be traced back to Robert Brown's dog, Craig, who
shepherded at Calroust, Bowmont Water, near Yetholm.
I read a book entitled "Country Diary" by Matt Mundell. In
one of the chapters, the author talked about his meeting with
Shepherd Brown. Mundell saw his dog Craig. Mundell
wrote: "Craig was a powerful dog, good for cattle work and at dealing
with trough-fed hoggs. His master reckoned the beardies would
never baulk at any work....A regular demand for progeny of his
dogs was credited to their ability to pass on power and force
when handling sheep."
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Bonnie in 2003. |
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This is a picture of the Bonnie x Harry litter. One of the pups went
to live with Jo Sermon; she provided this image for the website. |
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Boogie was selected by Jo Sermon. This picture was
provided by Jo Sermon. |
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Boogie, in action on an agility course. This picture was
provided by Jo Sermon. |
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This picture is of another Bonnie litter
(sired by Mac) born June 9, 2002. One of the pups demonstrated in this
photograph that she was more interested in the hen than playing
with her littermates. She ended up being selected by me to be
sent to America. The new owners named her Ceba.
Another pup went to a shepherdess working in
Norfolk, England, where she worked about 2,000 sheep. This
littermate was bred, and one of the offspring went to live with Linda,
also featured on this website. The pup's name was Wraggs.
The remainder of the pups were placed in working homes
in the U.K. |
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Ceba was keen whenever she saw sheep. Here, she reacted to
seeing sheep within a fenced area (August 2, 2003). |
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Ceba penning sheep in March, 2007, similar to what was
required at the herding competions she attended. This photo was
provided by Kristin Rush. |
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I was able to spend some time in the home where Ceba was
residing in America in 2003 and again in 2005. In this image, I
was requesting Ceba to move some young cattle at Joe Escobar's
place in Florence, Arizona (December 2, 2005). It was sundown
making it difficult to get a clear picture. Eventually, Ceba
competed in several cattle competitions handled by her owner.
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Ceba was awarded an Honorary Herding Hall of Fame plaque
after an unfortunate accident in Spring, 2009. She had
previously completed all the requirements to earn a WTCH
(Working Trial Champion) award in the Australian Shepherd Club
of America's (ASCA) herding program. She was required to
complete eighteen legs; six each on ducks, sheep and cattle (two
each for Started, Open, and Advanced levels) to earn her WTCH.
She had also completed an Advanced title in the American
Herding Breed Association's (AHBA) program.
She lost one of her rear legs before she was able to earn
her two remaining legs at an Advanced Sheep level in the
American Kennel Club's herding program. She previously completed
three legs (at each level) to earn titles in both the Started
and the Intermediate levels for sheep. She had also completed
two of the three required legs on Started Cattle being only one
leg shy of earning that title as well.
I am very proud of all that she accomplished, and she
continues to occasionally herd ducks and sheep which she does
quite well and makes her very happy (according to her owner).
The Arizona Herding Associate had two duplicate plaques
made; one for me as the breeder of Ceba and one for her owner. I
was quite surprised when it arrived one day in the mail. |
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This image was placed on the plaque. It was taken October 8,
2007 while herding some Barb crosses. |
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This picture was taken of the second Bonnie-Mac litter
(May 18, 2004). My youngest daughter was getting a smooch from a pup that
was soon to join Ceba in America. She was named Siri.
Of the remaining pups, one went to live on the Isle of
Harris, where he was able to be working. A female pup went to a working home
on the Isle of Skye. Two other dog pups are working in Scotland;
and one in Wales. |
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Siri was first exposed to cattle on December 2, 2005. In
spite of it being quite dark, she didn't hesitate to first see
cattle up close. I asked her to move off them which she did.
When one of the cattle kicked up at her, she instinctively knew
to duck. I told her owner she should do well in competions where
she must work cattle to earn her titles. |
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Siri was ready to begin working some stock on October 8,
2007. |
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This image was taken of Siri on May 13, 2010 while moving
some mixed stock at Joe Escobar's home in Florence Arizona.
As of March, 2011, her owner indicated she will be eligible
for the Arizona Herding Hall of Fame award after completing just
one more Advanced level leg on sheep in the American Kennel
Club's herding program. Like Ceba, she is a Working Trial
Champion in the ASCA program. |
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