The last three weeks have been a whirlwind of activity around here. I knew it was going to be busy, but I really didn’t have a clue how busy! The middle of the month Cynthia and I had a trip planned to fly to Newark pick up her new Danish Swedish Farmdog puppy, Jet! We’d been waiting, (not patiently I might add LOL) for what seemed like months for him to come. To check out what a cutie Jet is you should hop on over to Tiptail and read all about his adventures! www.tiptail.com

That would have been plenty exciting and fun in itself but just a few days before we were scheduled to leave, I got an email from Judy with Himark Shelties in Florida. I’d been on a waiting list for one of her puppies. She was writing to let me know that a puppy had become available that she thought was just what I was looking for. Judy and Dave Guaraldo have consistently been producing some of the top ranked performance shelties in the country for years. They are even being spotlighted in this summer’s issue of the Sheltie Pacesetter.

I have to say that I was a bundle of mixed emotions. I was so excited to meet this little girl! At the same time there is always that question of when, (if ever), is a good time to introduce another dog into the family. Also, since I’ve been involved in rescue, our dogs have mainly been rescues. I think I felt a twinge of guilt for looking at buying from a breeder, (regardless of how reputable), when there are so many Shelties in rescue. However, while I absolutely adore my rescues, at times the baggage that has come along with them has made competition Obedience and Agility a real challenge. So, to make this long story shorter…the conclusion I came to was that Cynthia and I would fly down there and meet her and make the final decision then.

Well, I’m sure that you’ve all guessed…we brought her home with us. She is everything that I was hoping for and more! All my hesitancy is gone. I can’t thank Judy enough for matching me up with and entrusting me with this little girl. We’ve named her Dare. All the dogs in the house have been quite taken with her too, which is wonderful. Layla is thrilled to have a new playmate and even Zoe is playing with her. Here is quick clip of Dare and her littermates the day we met them tugging on a toy. I’ll post more pictures in a separate post.