|
Important Information about
vaccination protocols is available at
http://www.critteradvocacy.org/
Please read the
information, and realize that over vaccination can be just as hazardous to
your pet as under vaccination.
About Us
Vinita Shetland Sheepdogs
was founded in 1978. The current breeding program at Vinita is based on Am/Can
Ch Dury Voe Zydeco, ROM, ROMC, co-owned with his breeder Judy
Kelsey. "Deco" has so many of the qualities I value in my dogs. At 13 years
young, Deco is now a Register Of Merit Canada sire, with 11 Canadian
Champions and 10 American Champions to his credit.
As a child I lived in a
third floor Chicago apartment and my father worked the 4 - midnight shift.
Twice a year the Sears Roebuck catalogue would be delivered and in those days
along with all their other wares they had all breeds of dogs pictured and
available for purchase through the catalogue.....I would sit down as a child
and write Daddy this long letter about how much I wanted a Collie pup and all
the promises I made about grooming and caring for the pup Oh Please Daddy -
can I have a Collie??????
I was
maybe six years old at the time......When I was nine we
moved into a house and I got a dog as a surprise - not my
dream Collie, but a mutt from the local pet shop.
In 1970 I
was still living at home and our most recent crossbreed
had died - now I was going out to buy my COLLIE pup.
However, by this time my father was elderly and not in
good health - a Collie puppy was going to be too big and
too much dog, for him to handle while I was away all day.
I decided to go with my second choice - a "miniature
Collie" or Shetland Sheepdog. Finally a dog of my own!
That first sheltie - a sable male - was the light of
my life. I trained him in Obedience at the local Park
District and got his CD in four shows with a Dog World
Award. Sadly, in 1978 he died of kidney failure. The dog
had been living with my mother, Dad had just died a few
months earlier and I was now married and living elsewhere.
I decided to go out and find Mom a new sheltie to keep her
company. Well I made my way to a local show kennel and
bought my mother a four year old female who had 4
points but hated to show - she was the perfect companion
for Mom. However, while purchasing her I saw a litter of
pups and fell in love with a sable female who became my
first show dog....
Nothing at Vinita today comes
down from that first show female as she had a seizure disorder and had to be
euthanized at a very young age. Lots of lessons learned from that experience and
others since. I decided that the health of the dogs I would raise would be
paramount. That concept has not changed from that day to this. So all VINITA
shelties are fully tested for eyes, hips, VWD and thyroid. My motto, if I have
one, goes something like this; if you need a pill in order to live a
healthy life, you aren't living here. I will not put animals into my breeding
program who are not first mentally as well as physically sound - above all
else this statement is and always will be true here at Vinita.
From
1978-1988, Vinita was active in the show ring with the
following:
Ch.
Vinita High Profit Margin (one of Ch Banchory High
Born's last Champions to finish)
Ch. Tull E Ho A Perfect
Rose (by Ch Andale a Sportin Venture)
Ch
Barwoods Magic Moment (Barwoods Formal Attire)
Ch Barwoods This Moment in Time
Ch Tull E Ho A Perfect Rose
Ch. Tull E
Ho Hot Fudge (raised by me and finished by Mary Couzens during my time out from
shelties)
Vinita
Shelties became active once again in 1999, and since then
has owned and finished
Ch Gemstone Devotion,
Ch Lynnlea Fascinating Rhythm, and Ch Realities Special
Design.
Post 1999
Champion Lynnlea's
Fascinating Rhythm (Deco)
Ch Vinita the
Virginian (Dundee Arizona)
Can Ch C Mar N Dotted
Swiss (Deco)
Can Ch Lynnlea Feel
the Heat (Deco) now owned by Robin Clemas in Canada
ABOUT DECO
Deco came
into my life one rainy cold Chicago evening in November
2000. I remember that night very clearly. I was so worried
about him as it took nearly three hours for him to arrive
at the cargo area from the terminal after the flight had
landed. Trucks were backed up at the cargo docks waiting
for their loads to be delivered from the terminal, delayed
due to the heavy rain that night. After two and half hours
I was in tears when finally a truck driver saw me crying
and stepped in , forcing the cargo handlers to drop
everything and "GO AND GET THIS LADY' S DOG RIGHT
NOW". That big man was my hero that night.
Everything I have done in dogs from the moment Deco
entered my life at that cargo terminal has been
about him and because of him. My life in dogs
changed that night and no one is deserving of more credit
than Judy Kelsey, who gambled by sending him to me in the
first place just to stand at stud for a while. When we got
home from the airport that night Deco stepped out of his
crate and into my heart, becoming my best friend
immediately. From that time until his passing, there was never a
moment where he acted odd or unsettled - he just
walked into my life and stayed in my heart forever, again thanks to
Judy Kelsey.
Even in
his latter years, his muzzle is greying and his
eyesight dimmed somewhat, he was still my best
friend, passing his legacy on to the Deco daughters, grand-daughters and
grandsons that share the Vinita household. Losing Deco was
almost unbearable..
We hope
you enjoy visiting with us. Please feel free to contact us
with any questions you might have about our breeding
program, or our available dogs.
All content copyright Vinita Shetland
Sheepdogs
All Rights Reserved
|