 |
BCSA
Board of Directors |
|
I
am honored to be nominated for Recording Secretary. I have really enjoyed
the time I have spent on the board this past year, after being appointed
to fill a vacancy. I am fairly new to border collies. My first border
collie, Slider, will turn five years old in September of 2008. I also have
Steam, who is Slider’s half brother. Steam will turn 2 in November 2008.
I grew up with animals. My family had a hobby farm in Oregon where we raised sheep, pigs and horses and we showed our animals in 4-H. In junior high I started training my dog Rocky in 4-H. Rocky and I ended up doing pretty well and I was bitten by the dog training bug. Then it was off to college where I received my B.S. in Animal Science from Oregon State University. During my third year of college, I had the opportunity to be an exchange student in New Zealand for a year where I was able to spend some time on a few different sheep farms and stations. This was my first introduction to herding dogs in action and to the border collie. I marveled at how those dogs worked! After college, I started my zoo keeping career and got married so it wasn’t until a little over 16 years ago that I had the opportunity to get another dog. Russ and I were newlyweds and at that time were renting a small house with a short fence around the back yard. I really liked herding dogs so we decided to get a Pembroke Welsh corgi to fit the house and yard. One corgi led to two corgis, our own bigger house (with a taller fence), and it was through my corgis that I met my friend Yvonne Anderson and her border collie, the Fabulous Fable. I fell in love with Fable and when Yvonne told me that Fable had sired a litter, my plans changed from adding a third corgi to the household to adding the first border collie. I contacted the breeder, Jan DeMello of Hob Nob Border Collies, and she let me take my Fable (x Chisel) puppy Slider home. And then, one Fable puppy led to another Fable (x Kindle) puppy, Steam.
Slider is a dream come true! Slider, CH HC OTCH MACH Hob Nob Triple Play UDX HIBs MAD RLF III is the first border collie to earn 4 AKC championships. Currently we are competing in agility (AKC and USDAA) and herding (AHBA, USBCHA), while also learning tracking. Slider has 19 UDX legs so I’m hoping to dust off our obedience skills this summer and finish that UDX2. However, while much of my focus was on finishing Slider’s Quad last year, this year is about Steam! I showed Steam in the breed ring as a puppy but now I am getting him ready to compete in agility while doing a bit of obedience, herding and tracking training. I also have an 8 year old Pembroke Welsh corgi, Kirby, who competes in agility and is also learning tracking.
In order to support my dog habit, I work full time as a zookeeper at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle where I have been employed for over 18 years. I really love my job. I feel very lucky that I get to work with animals at the zoo and then come home to my wonderful dogs to play with them.
I look forward to serving the BCSA for another term. We have a great club with many dedicated members from a wide variety of backgrounds who are committed to promoting and improving our breed. I have really enjoyed getting to know my fellow club members and learning more about border collies. I support all venues that a border collie can compete in as their versatility is one of the things I love about the breed.
Page Updated 05.17.2008