Our First Aussies

Sweetgum's Sheila Darling & Sweetgum's Ossa Pretty Blue

Sir Handsome Dingo of Southwyc, CGC

Our beginnings were humble:  Sheila and Ossa both came from what I soon learned was a backyard-puppymill situation.

By 9 months of age, Sheila was unable to use her rear leg after taking a long nap.  We had her xrayed and submitted the Xrays to OFA.  Sheila was rated by OFA at slightly over a year of age with moderate hip dysplasia and arthritic bone changes.  Ossa is also dysplastic and has temperament issues which have kept her from competing in the two sports she is obsessed with:  Flyball and Frisbee; although, her hips would never have allowed her to progress far in either sport.

Dingo was my "rescue" boy.  My husband and I found him on a small ranch south of Houston, TX where he had been handed over, papers and all, from the original owner at 5 yrs of age.  He had been purchased as a small pup, dumped in a back yard, and left there.  It was soon apparent that he had not only missed out on appropriate socialization and training, but had been physically abused as well.  The individual that had him when we found him hadn't done much better by him.  He was matted to the skin over most of his body, not leash broken or trained in any way,  a fear biter, and dying of heartworms.  We later found that he was severely dysplastic in one hip also.

In spite of all of his "issues", Dingo was one of the most awesome dogs I have ever known.  He exemplified the remarkable intelligence of the Australian Shepherd.  It took almost 3 weeks of slow, gentle, consistent training multiple times per day to teach him to sit, but once he learned that......there was no stopping him!  In less than 1 year after we found him, 4 months of which he was on strict crate rest while being treated and recovering from heartworms, he earned his CGC at Astrohall--one of the busiest and noisiest shows in the US; had begun flyball and tracking training, and was working toward trialing in Novice Obedience.  Unfortunately, before any of those sports could become a reality for us, he began to have health problems again.  He spent the next 7 years as our friend, companion, guardian, and "PappaDawg" to the rest of our crew.