About Claddagh Farm ...

Site last updated May 30/19

Claddagh Farm is a small hobby farm in the Hagersville area of Southern Ontario, and home to Besslin Border Collies.  We are no longer breeding border collies but can refer you to good breeders if you are looking for a puppy.   

Take a tour of our blog and meet some of our animals

About Besslin Border Collies

The five foundation dogs of Besslin Border Collies

All currently residing at the Rainbow Bridge

Besslin Border Collies was born of a love of red border collies. My first border collie, Murphy, was a red dog and in those days red border collies were hard to come by. I decided that if I wanted anymore red border collies, I would have to develop my own line. I was fortunate to come upon a red/white female puppy from very good working bloodlines, and so it was that Besslin Border Collies came to be. The kennel name Besslin comes from the names of my first two border collies, Bess & Murphy. Murphy's nickname was Smurfslin so we took Bess and the slin from Smurfslin to create Besslin.
 

The first puppy born in the Besslin line was Besslin Kep, a beautiful red/white male. We kept Kep and he entered the breeding program when he turned 3yrs of age. Next I purchased a three year old black/white border collie from Ted Bell. Bells Bonnie Blue. And she carried the red gene. And then came another female dog from Ted Bell. A beautiful black tri-colour puppy that I named Bells Tri Dathuil Aisling (Bell's Tri Colour Dream). Aisling also carried the red gene. And those five dogs formed the foundation of Besslin Border Collies.
 

All five of those dogs have passed now, all having lived to ripe old ages. But I have their progeny. The two matriarchs of Besslin Border Collies, Bonnie and Bess, along with Aisling, have left behind a lineage of beautiful dogs.
 

From Bess's side of the family we had Bess's daughter Ceilidgh, and Ceilidgh's daughter Aoife.  At one time we also had Shep, Casey, and Scout who are the sons of Ceilidgh's brother, Pip, who sadly and suddenly passed away in 2005.    Scout passed away in 2017,  and Shep passed away in 2019.   Casey is still with us at the ripe old age of 14 and a half years.    
 

From Bonnie's side of the family we had her sons Dermot and Buddy. Buddy's daughters Maeve and; Caora. And Dermots kids, Fleet, Hope, and Biddy. Maeve and Caora were Aisling's daughters. And Ceilidgh and Pip were sired by Aisling's brother Kyle. Aisling formed the third branch in the Besslin line.  Of this bunch we only have Biddy still living.   She is now 14yrs old.
 

In addition to the progeny from the Besslin line we also brought in outside blood from time to time. Most often from Ted Bells lines.     Ted Bell is now retired and no longer breeding border collies.  The last two of Ted Bells dogs in our breeding program were  Bell's Hannah , who was  a beautiful black/white rough coated female. And Bell's Clancy who was a handsome red-tri rough coated male. Ceilidgh's daughter, Aoife,   was sired by Margaret Lambkins dog Java (who is from Jeanne Weavers lines).   Hannah,  Clancy,  and Aoife all have their angel wings now.

I still have 3 of Hannah's kids.   Niamh,  Synergy, and Devor.   They are littermates and are now 8yrs of age.
 

Many of our border collie pups went to dog sport homes where they exceled in whatever sports they participated in.  And those puppies that went to pet homes were reported to be wonderful companion dogs. Our own dogs competed mostly in flyball and disc sports;  and did agility recreationally. I used to do sheep herding with them years ago.
 

At Besslin Border Collies we strived to produce a dog that was of stable temperament and good health. Our puppies were raised in an enriched environment with novel stimuli to help them develop positive associations with new things and sounds in their environment. Puppies were handled daily and by the time they went to their new homes they had been introduced to a variety of toys, floor surfaces, vet visit, grooming, and nail trims. They had also been dewormed and received their first set of vaccines.
 

To see photo's and profiles of our border collies, please go the blog topic .... Meet Our Border Collies

Life On The Farm ...

Claddagh Farm is located in the Hamlet of Hartford, just outside of the town of Hagersville. We moved to this location in April of 2005 after having lived just north of Elmvale, up on Georgian Bay, for 12 years. After Mum passed away in April of 2003, Dad & I decided to sell the house up north and move to a location closer to Toronto and with milder winter weather than what we had to deal with up north. Four feet of snow was nothing unusual at the old place and all that shovelling was getting to be too much of a grind. Not to mention the fact that virtually all of my friends, and my business were a two and a half hour drive away.

It took a long time to find jus the right place. We knew we wanted to be in the country. We knew we wanted to be in an area with milder winter weather. And we knew that the property had to be eligable for a kennel licence. Our realtor knew up front ....... no kennel licence = no deal! We saw several properties that fit the kennel licence requirement, but none of them were right. They were either too close to neighbouring properties, or too close to the roads, or required too much work to fix up, etc. And then we found this place.

The farm is 9.25 acres of rolling land. Coming from an Irish/English heritage, I chose the name Claddagh because the claddagh is an Irish symbol signifying Love, Loyalty, and Friendship > elements that to me, embody the spirit of our companions animals. Here at the farm we enjoy the companionship of our many dogs and cats; as well as the pygmy goats, a small flock of sheep, rabbits, a young llama, and of course, Chatterbox the cockatiel. I'm also interested in adding a few Alpaca's at some point.

The farm is a work in progress. We have lots of projects on the roster. Fencing, upgrading barn stalls, renovating the garage into an interior room, and more. I have a vision of what I want it all to be like when it's done, but it is a slow process, as we have to do all the work ourselves.

Dad seems really happy here. He spent a portion of his childhood growing up on a farm in England, and I think this place brings back memories. And the rolling countryside is reminicent of the English countryside. He's often said that he thinks Mum would have liked this area (although NOT the farm itself > she was a city girl through and through!), and wished he'd known about it years ago.

Life on the farm is mostly taking care of the animals and maintaining the property. Nine plus acres gives new meaning to mowing the lawn! And yes ..... except for the driveway and the land where the house and barns sit, the entire property is grass that needs to be mowed! Hmmmm ..... gotta get those sheep grazing!!!

Since moving down here and being so close to so many things after being isolated for so long up north, I've been playing catch up with all my young dogs ....... taking them all to basic obedience classes for the socialization. I take them to the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club in Ancaster, McRae Dog Training in Caledonia, and Scholars In Collars in Burlington. The latter two places are run by friends of mine. I also rent the Scholars In Collars training hall on weekends and teach dog training classes of my own ..... Lifestyle Dog Training. http://lifestyledogtraining.blogspot.com/

In addition to caring for our own dogs, we have also taken in foster dogs for the Jack Russell Terrier Rescue of Ontario, and the Sandy Lake Dog Rescue. We also do pet sitting and we host a few dog competitions and training workshops here on the property.

Here are some photo's of what we left behind .........



This was right outside our front door. The snow is about 4ft high and we had to shovel pathways from the house to the cars; and the house to the kennel building; and pathways for the house dogs to go outside.

This is a shot of Dad taken December 2004 after the first big snow fall. He's just finished shovelling the pathway to the driveway. The house up north was in a very pretty area in the summertime > cottage country; but in the winter it was brutal

This is downtown Elmvale in December of 2004 > our LAST winter up north!

Meet Our Border Collies ...

This is Besslin Fleet. He is Hannah's son and sired by Dermot. Fleet is a black/white rough coated dog.  He is a big boy with a very loving disposition. Fleet  attended 2 levels of obedience training at McRae Dog Training in Caledonia.  He loved to play frisbee but was never a competition dog.  Fleet was a farm dog.   He passed away in 2018 at the age of 13yrs


This is Besslin Ibid or Biddy as we call her. She is a littermate to Fleet. Biddy is a black/white smooth coated dog. She is very active, extremely fast, and quite small in stature. Biddy is crazy for the frisbee and competed in the sport of disc dog, as well as performing with Team K9.   Biddy retired from performance in the all of 2018.   She is still with me & is now 14yrs of age..

These handsome boys are Besslin Casey and Besslin Shep. They are Hannah's sons, sired by Pip. Full brothers to Scout. Casey and Shep both attended basic obedience training at the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club when we first moved down here.  They both lived life as happy farm dogs enjoying playing and romping daily.  We don't get hung up on having our dogs out competing as young as possible.  We allow them to have their childhood and when they are ready,  pursue the sports they show us they have an aptitude for.  Shep was a good toss/fetch frisbee dog,  and Casey never quite took to dog sports.   Shep died in 2018.   Casey is still going strong as of this entry … July 2019

(I didn't intend to keep 2 more boys, but they were left over puppies. For whatever reason, no one was interested in them. If you have a dog that you are thinking about breeding, take note of this ..... if you have puppies that don't sell ....... they're YOURS! And if you are not prepared to take on that responsibility, don't breed your dog)

This is Besslin Maeve. She is the daughter of Aisling and Buddy. She was a  black/white smooth coated dog. She attended puppy school at Campaign Dog Training. Maeve was not part of the breeding program. She was spayed. Maeve was a superior sports dog that exceled in flyball and disc dog sports. She is a two time World Finalist in the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz World Championship Disc Dog competitions, and she was an active running member of the Northern Borders flyball team.  Maeve passed away at 14yrs of age.



This is Besslin Caora. She is was a black/white smooth coated dog. She is the daugher of Aisling and Buddy. Caora  was a dog that probably shouldn't have lived. Due to a slight deformaty in the structure of her nose, she was unable to suckle and fell behind in the litter. At 3wks of age little Caora only weighed one pound, while her brothers weighed in at almost 4 lbs each. I had to take Caora away from the litter and bottle raise her to save her life. Due to her rough start in life Caora was not suitable to be a breeding dog. She was spayed and enjoyed  life as our pet. Frisbee was her favourite game. Caora's name is pronounced "Kora" and is the Gaelic word for 'sheep'.   Caora become quite ill at 11yrs of age and sadly,  passed away

This is Besslin Dermot. He is a littermate to Buddy. He was a black/white smooth coated dog. He was late to enter the breeding program but in the past couple of years Dermot has sired several wonderful puppies. Although not fully trained on sheep, Dermot possesses a beautiful style and presence with stock, and a natural wide outrun & talent for the work. In his younger days Dermot was a star high jumper in our dog sport shows.  Dermot lived to be 16yrs of age.

This is Bell's Hannah.  She is out of Ted Bell's dog Skye and sired by Ted's dog Mirk. 100% working sheep dog lines. Hannah is a lovely dog, friendly and outgoing and loves everyone. She competed in flyball and disc (frisbee). Hannah  produced several wonderful and successful puppies before being spayed and retired from breeding.   Hannah lived to be 16yrs of age.

This is Besslin Scout. He  was son to Hannah and Pip. He was a black tri-coloured rough coated dog. A big boy. Scout competed casually in canine disc.  He completed basic obedience training at the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club.  Scout was a friendly and confident boy.    Scout lost his life to an aggressive cancer at the age of 13yrs.

 

This is Bell's Clancy. He was a red tri-coloured rough coated male. . He was out of Ted Bell's Lacy and sired by Ted's dog Mirk. Clancy completed basic obedience training at McRae Dog Training in Caledonia,  and enjoyed a game of frisbee here at home.  Very tragically,  Clancy lost his life at only 5yrs of age.   We believe due to errors in treatment made at the local emergency clinic.

This is Besslin Aoife. Aoife is pronounced ee-fa and is the Gaelic form of the name Eve or Eva. Aoife was out of Ceilidgh and sired by Margaret Lambkins Java. Aoife was a very outgoing and friendly dog and was natural jumper. Keeping her inside the 6ft fence was a challenge at times!!     She was an active high energy dog who despite our best efforts to keep her from over heating …. still managed to do so one day.  We lost her to heatstroke at 8yrs of age.

The passing of Aoife and Clancy took the wind out of my sails, and ultimately brought the end of the Besslin breeding program.  

This is Besslin Ace. Ace was a smooth coat white with black coloured dog.   He was active in flyball, disc (frisbee), and dock diving competitions.  He also had a very nice style on  sheep and showed a lot of natural talent.   Ace was out of Ceilidgh and sired by Buddy.    Ace passed away suddenly at 11yrs of age.   He was head pressing (a sign of neurological problems) and staggering one night & died in the car on the way to the emergency clinic.   It was presumed that he might have had a brain aneurism

Gone But Not Fortgotten .......

These dogs are Murphy and Bonnie Wee Bess. My first 2 border collies. Both red/white and rough coated. Murphy came from a breeder in Terra Cotta, Ontario and was son to Tom and Shelly Wolf's dogs Rawleigh  and Meg; both dogs from working bloodlines. Bess came from a breeder in Kitchener, Ontario. Her mother was Triscuit who was a pet dog from working lines; and her father was Ted Bell's old Shep dog ...... my favourite border collie of all time.

Both Bess and Murphy competed in flyball and did sheep herding. They also did steeplechase and high jumping & Murphy also participated in the Superdogs shows for awhile. Murphy also loved to play frisbee and swim. He was a great swimmer and diver. Murphy lived to be 15yrs of age and Bess lived to be 16.5yrs of age

This is Bell's Tri Dathuil Aisling. (Bell's Tri Colour Dream) "Aisling" is pronounced Ashling and is the Gaelic word for dream. Aisling was the progeny of Ted Bell's dogs Imp. Jake and Imp. Gwen (call name Nicky), both imported from Scotland. Aisling competed in flyball racing and also did sheep herding. She loved the water and loved to swim and dive. She was also a great frisbee catching dog. Aisling passed away in June of 2006 at the age of 15.5 years.

This is Bell's Bonnie Blue. Bonnie was the daughter of Ted Bell's old dogs Kate and Shep, both of whom were working sheep dogs. Bonnie played flyball, frisbee, did high jumping, and sheep herding. Bonnie was a water baby > she LOVED the water and loved to swim. Bonnie lived to be 16yrs of age.

This is Besslin Pip. Pip was the son of Bess and Diane McWhinnie's Kyle. A littermate to Ceilidgh. Due to an injury sustained when he was just a year of age, Pip did not persue competitive dog sports. He did however, enjoy a good game of frisbee now and then. He dabbled a little in sheep herding and showed nice natural talent, but due to his broken scapula, he was only able to do physical work & play for very short periods of time. Pip died in his sleep, suddenly and inexplicably in 2005 at just 10yrs of age. He was fine when we went to bed and gone when we woke up the next morning. "Peepers" was a very special dog.

This is Besslin Kep. Kep was the son of Bess & Murphy. He was the first born puppy in the Besslin line. He was a large handsome boy with a heart of gold. Kep did a little bit of sheep herding when he was young, but he was mostly a flyball dog. He also loved to play frisbee and was known for his spectacular back flips. "Keppy Man" passed away in April of 2005 at teh age of 14.5

This is Imported Molly. I bought Molly when she was 3yrs of age. She was the daughter of the two time International Sheep Herding Champion, Bobby Daziels Wisp. Molly was a wonderful and loving dog who died tragically from an aggressive cancer, at just 5.5 years of age

This is Besslin Tippy. Molly's son. Tippy was a beautiful soul with a heart so loving and devoted to me, that words cannot describe his loyalty. Tippy was never a breeding dog > he was neutered. Tippy suffered from idiopathic epilepsy and succumbed to the affliction at just 4.5 years of age. It's been several years since Tippy passed but we still miss him dearly.

This is Besslin Tommy Tucker. Tucker was the progeny of Bess and Ted Bell's Jake (Aislings father). Tucker was sold at 8wks of age and was returned 2wks later. He stayed with me until he was 5mths of age and then I placed him with a single middle aged man who was looking for a companion dog. Then when Tucker was four and a half years of age, a girlfriend with a dog came into the picture and the 2 dogs did not get along. An ultimatum was given to Tuckers owner …. woman or the dog. Silly man chose the woman! (and now she's gone too!). Tucker was returned for the second time in his life and stayed with me for the rest of his life. He played competitive flyball and was a wonderful companion to us. Tucker died in February of 2006 at the age of 14.5 years.


This is Besslin Buddy. He was a black/white smooth coated dog. Buddy was the son of Bonnie Blue and Mark Bustards Burl. Buddy completed basic obedience training at Campaign Dog Academy. Buddy and also did a little bit of work on sheep in his younger days, but his sport of choice was flyball. He also enjoyed a good game of toss/fetch with the frisbee. Buddy sired many wonderful dogs and continued to be an enthusiastic sports dog up until he retired at 12yrs of age.

This is Besslin Ceilidgh. We lost our beautiful girl to old age New Years Eve 2010. She was almost 16yrs of age. Ceilidgh was an outstanding dog who produced many amazing sport dogs & family pets. She was fully trained as a sheep herding dog & went to a few trials in her younger years. The highlight of Ceilidgh's day was accompanying me to the barn to feed the critters.

Other Critters Down On The Farm ...

In addition to our dogs we also have some other critters here on the farm. Here are some photo's of some of the other residents ...........



Santa Zen > Christmas 2007

Dory & Chett at 5mths of age.

They are 3/4 Shetland - 1/4 Dorset lambs

The sheep. They don't all have names yet. But the ewe in the front is named "Barbie" and the big white sheep behind her is called "Sam"



Zen with Jacob and Lucy




Ellie-Mae and Jethro with the bunnies in the background
The bunnies are Cinnamon, Velvet, and Tawny




Lucy and Jacob > the Pygmy Goats
We purchased Lucy in November of 2005 and she gave birth to Jacob on February 19/06



This is Baby Jacob at just one hour old!




Here is Lucy with Jacob at just 3wks of age.
Gosh ... he is sooooo cute!!




This is Nigel. Several years ago Nigel was attacked by a dog (not one of ours!) and his face was crushed. He needed major reconstructive surgery to repair the damage to his jaw. Dave Campbell DVM of the Heritage Animal Hospital in Midland, Ontario, did an amazing job saving Nigel. To look at Nigel now you would never know what incredible damage had been done to him.




This is Isaac

This is Fly

This is Drifter our 'barn cat', although he doesn't really live in the barn. We installed a cat door for him so that he can come and go as he pleases into and out of the kennel area. Drifter was a stray cat that just showed up on the farm one day and has never left. We responded to the local "lost black cat" posters in the area, but he did not belong to any of those homes. He's lived here for two years now. I guess you could say he adopted us :-)

These cats are Daisy and Rupert

This is Chatterbox the cockatiel. He is 15yrs old. I've had him since he was an egg! I had the parent birds which we thought were both boys (Patrick & Gaelen) and one of them started pulling out all of his feathers. After spending a small fortune at an avian vet, it was determined that Patrick was "sexually frustrated" and that Gaelen was mostly likely a female (the vet didn't see Gaelen so was just surmising based on Patricks behaviour). The cure? Get a breeding box and let them have a clutch. And so it was that Chatterbox came to be. Patrick and Gaelen both passed away several years ago, but little Chatterbox is healthy and strong and talks a blue streak!!

Gone To The Dogs ...

In addition to our border collies, we also have other canine companions and athletes. Some have come to us second hand (meaning that we are not their first homes) and some have come as puppies. Most are from shelters or rescue groups. All of our dogs have basic obedience training and most compete in at least one canine sport. Providing a healthy and happy quality of life to our dogs is the most important thing on our agenda. Each dog persues the sport or sports that they show us they have an aptitude for. No one is forced into an activity that they do not enjoy. And no one is judged or loved based on their performance in any sport. We love them as companions first, and the sports and competitions are just extra's.

Here are the 'non-borders' in our canine family:


This is Rowdy. He is a 9yr old border collie/jack russell terrier mix. Rowdy has appeared in television commercials and he competes in flyball and canine disc. He is a two time World Finalist in the sport of canine disc. Rowdy is the top athlete in our canine family



This is Josie. She is a chihuahua/jack russell terrier mix. Josie was given to me in October of 2005. She was a year and a half of age at the time, and I am her FIFTH home!! This is also her LAST home ........... she's not going anywhere! She is a terrific little dog. Eleven inches tall and eleven pounds of pure spunk. Josie competes in flyball and canine disc (frisbee). In 2006 she was a World Finalist in the MicroDog division of the Hyperflite/Skyhoundz Canine Disc World Championships. Josie is 7yrs old now.



This is Takoda. He is a Siberian Husky. Takoda is a Sioux word meaning "friend to everyone", which aptly describes his personality. Takoda is a very friendly and loving dog. He has attended obedience training at the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club. He appeared on the Disney television show, "Naturally Sadie" (along with Rodeo), when he was 7wks old.



These dogs are Scooter and Kelsey. Jack Russell Terriers. Scooter is Kelsey's son. Kelsey is 13yrs old & Scooter is 4 years of age. We adopted them from the Jack Russell Rescue of Ontario. Scooter attended puppy training classes at McRae Dog Training in Caledonia, and basic obedience classes at the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club; and now he is my training companion when I teach dog obedience classes. He's a great little obedience dog. Scooter has recently been doing demos with the Woof Troop at Pawsway in Toronto. When I adopted Scooter I took his mother, Kelsey, in for fostering. When it became apparent that she would be difficult to place due to her age, and as she became more and more bonded to Scooter and to us, we decided to adopt her as well.



This is Rodeo. She is a red Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Red Heeler. Rodeo is from Christian County, Kentucky. I have always loved cattle dogs and over the years have tried several times to purchase or adopt one. But something always went wrong > the breeding wouldn't take, or there would be no females, or not enough puppies born, etc. It seemed like it wasn't meant to be .......... and then along came Rodeo. Rodeo attended basic obedience training at the Hamilton Dog Obedience Club & she is currently training in the sport of canine disc (frisbee). She appeared on the Disney television show "Naturally Sadie" (along with Takoda) when she was 16 weeks old.

This is Harley-Dawg. And sleeping is his favourite activity! Harley is an American Bulldog. I adopted him through a friend who was fostering him for the Toronto Humane Society. I had only met Harley once and was not looking to acquire another dog, but something about him tugged at my heart strings. I tried to be sensible and tell myself all the logical reasons NOT to adopt him. But then one night I had a dream about Harley and in my dream he was a very old dog. It seemed like a sign that we were meant to be together, and I couldn't get him off my mind. I finally gave in & adopted him. Harley is most definitely "mama's boy". Harley has done some photo advertising and has also competed in canine disc. He LOVES to swim and has great fun diving into the water. Harley is 11 years of age.

Gone But Not Forgotten .............

This is Mickey-Finn, the dog that started it all. Although I had a couple of dogs growing up, in many ways I think of Mickey-Finn as my first dog. He was the first dog I had as an adult and the first dog that I trained. I took him to the North York Obedience Club for his obedience training, and after that he went on to compete in flyball and also performed with the Superdogs shows. Mickey-Finn was an amazing dog > there will never be another dog like him. He was a collie/labrador mix. He fell victim to parvo virus in his first few months of life, at a time when parvo just hit and no one knew what it was and there were no vaccines. It was a full fledged epidemic in Toronto and made headlines in the newspapers. But Mickey was one of the lucky ones > he survived. And he went on to become a popular animal actor featured in countless photo ads, television commercials, and movie spots. Mickey passed away in 1992 at the age of twelve and a half years. He succumbed to a rare heart condition ....his heart having been damaged by the parvo virus when he was a puppy. It's been almost 15yrs since Mickey-Finn died, and I still miss him as if it were only yesterday that I lost him.

This is Shannon. She was the second dog that I ever trained. I got Shannon when Mickey was performing in the stage show "Annie" at the Limelight Dinner Theatre in Toronto. One of the "Annie's" loved Mickey so much that her parents asked us to find a dog for them. We found a 10mth old pup named Spunky. But unfortunately Spunky was a little too much for the family to handle and they gave her back to us. We changed her name to Shannon and she was a loyal companion to our family for the next 16yrs. Shannon went to obedience school, competed in flyball racing & agility, and she performed with the Superdogs shows. She also followed in Mickey's footsteps and appeared in countless photo ads, television and movie spots.

This is Bobby. He was a feral dog that we rescued. A Siberian Husky it turned out. He was very wolfish in apearance and did several photo ads and television spots playing the role of a wolf. He was the 3rd dog that I trained. Bobby was approximately a year of age when we rescued him. Skin and bones and half way starved. Bobby went to obedience school and did agility and flyball and also performed with the Superdogs shows. In fact, Bobby was the first of my dogs to perform in Superdogs. Bobby's claim to fame though is that he was the first Flyball Dog Champion of his breed.

Daikin > Daikin was a mixed breed labrador that I adopted when he was 5yrs old. He was a very special dog and a wonderful companion to our family. He did agility and performed in a few Superdog shows, but mostly he was a companion dog. Daikin lived to be 15yrs of age.

This is Ruffian. He is a Jack Russell Terrier. Ruffian passed away at almost 17yrs of age. Ruffian competed in flyball racing for 12yrs running as the height dog for the Northern Borders flyball team. He also competed regularly at the Jack Russell Terrier trials in his youth. He earned both his JRTCC Trial Working Certificate and his American Working Terrier Association Earth Dog Certificate by the age of 2yrs. In his youth he was unbeatable in the jack russell races and has many many first place ribbons to his credit. He enjoyed being a true terrier, competing in russell racing, go-to-ground, and trailing & locating. He was also a star high jumper in the Superdogs shows and travelled to California twice to appear on the TV show Superdogs/SuperJocks, in which he showcased his high jumping talents. To date there has never been another small dog (14" or under at the withers) who can match his record jump of 9 bars in the Superdog show. Ruffian had an extensive career as an animal actor appearing in six movies, countless photo ads, and a host of television shows and commercials.

This is Ranger. He is a Siberian Husky from Toriloka Kennels. Ranger passed away at 12yrs of age from a tumour of the spleen that was bleeding out. The vets could not save him. In his youth, he took basic obedience training at Campaign Dog Academy, and level one and level two agility training at Tamsu Learning Centre, and he did canine musical freestyle. Ranger has also worked in photo ads. He was a wonderful dog with a gentle disposition.

This is Daphne. She was a Portuguese Podengo. We adopted her when she was 3yrs old. She was put up for adoption when her previous owner was transferred to South Africa for his work, and for whatever reason, couldn't take her with him. I had originally intended to do dog sports with Daphne but a month after she arrived, our lives got turned upside down. My mother passed away, and on the heels of that event the township where we lived decided to renage on our kennel agreement & some "shady" characters threatened the safety/lives of the dogs. For their safety, we fostered most of them, including Daphne, out to friends while we looked for a new place to live. And then just 3mths after that, I broke my knee and underwent 2 surgeries & almost 2yrs of recovery. By the time we found this place and moved and got all the dogs back home again, all plans for Daphne's sports career went out the window. Too much time had passed and she was not interested in training ...... she was a true prima dona! Daphne (also known as 'Daffy Duck') passed away from a massive coronary at only 9yrs of age. She had a grade 4 hear murmur all her life & it finally caught up with her. Daphne appeared in a CFC short film and also worked on a television commercial for flooring. She enjoyed just being a dog, playing outside with her buddies, going for rides in the car, and being a wonderful companion.