Bought from a breeder because he was not show quality, Bailey is a very smart and senior member of our pack. He is showing some disgruntlement at the latest addition to the pack, Dink, who was adopted 6/2006. He's had about enough of foster dogs for awhile!

He has some arthritis in his hips and legs, but it is kept under control with Etogesic.  

Rico was the neighborhood barker. We took our other Shelties for a walk one day and came on a yard sale on the next street over. The people there took one look as us and asked us if we wanted another Sheltie. They took us into their backyard where we met a crated Sheltie with fleas and walnut-sized mats behind his ears. We could hardly coax him out of the kennel.

It turned out that the couple had given him to their 4 year old son as a puppy, but he jumped on the boy and scared him. Rather than teach him not to jump, whenever they took people in the yard, thet locked him in his crate. 

He was too afraid to even go into our house, but he soon learned that we had a good Sheltie place. Turns out that he's one of the smartest dogs our trainer has ever seen. 

Beagin (his name means "Little One" in Celtic) was abandoned with eight other dogs in an outdoor pen in the winter and left to starve. He was brought to us as a foster, but immediately became Rico's best buddy. They are now inseperable playmates.

Beagin is our Alpha and LOVES plush squeaky toys. Dink taught him to play with toys and he is rarely seen without one.

He has dry eyes and an undersized trachea due to poor breeding, but he is very intelligent and a bit brash for a Sheltie. He has "Little Big Dog" syndrome and his self image is huge.

DInk was an owner turn in to Northern VA Sheltie Rescue due to "lifestyle change," whatever THAT means. We were his foster parents. He is the rocket scientist of the pack and knows more tricks than all the others combined. He is also a world class counter surfer, though we think we have that under control for now.

DInk quickly figured out that the way to stay was to concentrate on Mom, as Dad is a pushover. He wormed his fuzzy way into her heart, and when we asked him if he wanted to stay with us, he literally sat up and held out a paw for us to shake on it!

He loves all kinds of toys. 

For some reason, he hates all people in uniforms. We don't know why, but suspect that someone in a uniform abused him.  

Brownie was the first of what would be many life-changing dogs.WE had decided that we were not dog people after several bad experiences with adopted strays and shelter dogs. Knowing what we know now, we never would have adopted them, as they were challenging behavior dogs that needed skills far beyond our level back then. Then one day, Nancy met a Sheltie and decided we just had to try one more time.

Brownie was a Mother's day present, adopted from a dairy farmer in Wausau, WI. His parents herded dairy cows for a living, so he came by his herding talents honestly. We didn't discover until later that he was 1/4 Border Collie. He looked like a very dark mahogany Sheltie.

He was by far the best dog ever for us. He fit us like a glove, was crate-trained in a matter of days and snuggled in for the rest of his life. He went with us from WI to MO, and finally to WV. He died of a stroke in Nancy's arms on November 16, 2005. By then, he had lost his vision to PRD and had arthritis in his back. We knew his time was coming, and we miss him to this day.

If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be involved in Sheltie Rescue or be armpit-deep in Shelties to this day. We planted a tree in our backyard in his honor, where our others take shade in the hot summer weather. He rests in peace, awaiting us at the Rainbow Bridge.