ccnnc

Thanks to ALL of you for your positive thoughts! Bitsey is not liking here "confined" situation, but she's doing well after the surgery. We have not gotten word from the Vet about the status of the diagnosis, hope to hear something today. Your comments and thoughts about this situation was a great boost for Marti all week. Again, thanks to all! Colin

.... in the morning. Bitsey is an amazing dog, has carried Marti through an incredible number of blue ribbon runs in all the agility venues. She's a Sheltie in a house full of Border Collies and that might ramp up her competitive nature when she sees all the Border Collies at the trials. And, aside from the fact that she hates me, she's a REALLY neat dog. Surgery is at 7:30 in the morning, so any and all good thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks, Colin

Who helped you get into really working your dogs? Robin said "I'll keep the name of the first person i went to for lessons to myself - it wasn't the greatest start. The person who actually helped me the most when i was first starting out was another novice - Lauren Seabolt. She set up group lessons with Kent Kuykendall and kept me in the loop of what was going on here and there. Kent ended up being my first real mentor and i still give him great credit for my beginning education. Later on i took lessons with Alasdair MacRae on a regular basis and he surely helped me with trialing." Me, too... How did you meet them? Robin said "I met Lauren through the original bad trainer (I shouldn't say bad, she just wasn't qualified to be giving lessons really, too inexperienced herself). I can't remember if Lauren was taking lessons with the bad trainer or just around because there was a little all breed herding club as well. Lauren and I did end up with littermate puppies - along with Joan Stout. Bad trainer or not, i made some lifelong, wonderful friends there!" Me, too... is there a pattern developing here????? Did The relationship continue-trainer/newbie? Robin said "With Kent - yes though i almost never see him since he's not trialing any more. It of course evolved into being more of friendship and he hasn't done lessons in a long while now." Me, too... Did you ever pay? Robin said... "Yep, of course." Me, too... ARE you currently working sheep? Robin said "Yep. And talk about full circle - now, 15 years later, I give lessons myself and try to help beginners when i can." Me, too... while I do welcome beginners, I don't really give lessons much, but do like to see beginners come out and work their dogs. And, I want to tell my favorite Mick -- our first Border Collie -- story. I "stole" Mick from my wife, was doing agility and some stock work with him, I have some videos of our early work on sheep and it was REALLY rockin' and rollin'. We were kicking whatever in agility, but crashing and burning in novice/novice runs. One day I was at another friend's place working sheep and afterwards he and I were talking, still out on the field, and Mick was kinda floating around, keeping the sheep bunched up close to us. I told my friend that I was thinking about stopping the sheep work and concentrating on agility. He asked "How old is your dog and how many times has he seen sheep?" I said he was about 2 1/2 years old and we'd worked sheep 30, maybe 40 times. His IMMEDIATE response was "Heck, you've only got two months of training on a three year old dog, y'all are doing great! When I got home I called my agility instructor and told her we were never going back. And the rest is, well, I'm not sure about "history", but it sure has been fun!

Permission to cross post. North Carolina continues to be under attack at the local level with anti-breeder proposals. Henderson County has proposed an addition to their animal ordinance making it mandatory to spay/neuter at 4 months or purchase an Unaltered Animal Permit for *$100 per animal per year*. The County has secured a small grant from PetSmart Charities to spay/neuter about 200 animals for low-income residents once this law passes. Animal Control does NOT record the reasons that animals are surrendered; they record only the numbers of strays picked up vs owner turn-ins. Public meeting to be held August 14th at 5:30. If you cannot attend, CALL or email the county commissioners with your objections. Your county may be next. PROPOSED ORDINANCE: § 66A-25 Spaying and neutering requirements. Unaltered animals permit required. No person shall own or harbor any dog or cat over the age of 4 months that has not been spayed or neutered unless such person holds an unaltered animal permit issued for such animal by the Animal Services Center, or any successor agency authorized by law to issue such a permit, except: (a) persons who own or harbor service dogs or police work dogs; ( individuals who are non-residents of Henderson County and reside temporarily therein for a period not to exceed thirty days; © animal shelters and veterinary hospitals; and (d) Exemptions. Upon a written report from a licensed veterinarian stating that the life or health of the animal may be jeopardized by surgery, the Animal Services Center shall grant a written 30-day extension of the period within the altering would otherwise be required. Further extensions may be granted upon additional veterinary reports establishing the necessity for such extensions. A. Adopted Animals. No dog or cat may be released for adoption from the Animal Services Center unless such animal has been surgically spayed or neutered. People who choose to adopt animals that are under 2 months or under 2 pounds must pay a $100 refundable deposit insuring they will spay or neuter the animal when it is old enough or weighs more than 2 pounds. B. Obtaining an Unaltered animal permit. Owners of unaltered animals must register their animal with Animal Services and pay the fee. The form may be mailed or dropped off at the Animal Services Center along with the fee. Each year after the initial registration, Animal Services will send out registration renewals which owners must send back with the accompanying fee. Owners must provide proof if they no longer need to pay the fee because 1) their animal has been altered; 2) the animal is deceased; 3) the owner no longer owns the animal. C. Fee. The fee for an unaltered animal permit shall be $100.00 per year per animal. TALKING POINTS: · Costs for animal control have greatly increased in areas that pass this type of legislation · MSN and breeder permitting punishes responsible pet owners and breeders while ignoring irresponsible animal owners · MSN and breeder permitting are tactics of the animal rights movement to end breeding of animals and pet ownership · MSN and breeder permitting negatively impacts feral or stray cat caretakers · MSN will have little or no impact on claims of public health and safety problems caused by unwanted animals which can be better dealt with by enforcing existing laws · MSN and breeder permitting fail to address the problem of pet retention. It is undisputable that the number one reason for owner surrender is related to pet behavior and health problems, or the owner’s lack of time or ability to care for the pet. · The emphasis must be placed on pet retention if animal control and shelter intake is to be lowered. Those pets relinquished had an owner who chose not to keep them. COMMISSIONER CONTACT INFO: Henderson County Board of Commissioners 100 N. King Street Hendersonville, NC 28792 Phone: (828)697-4808 Fax: (828)692-9855 William Moyer, Chairman wmoyer@hendersoncountync.org Charlie Messer, Vice Chairman cmesser@hendersoncountync.org Larry Young young@hendersoncountync.org Mark Williams mwilliams@hendersoncountync.org Chuck McGrady cmcgrady@hendersoncountync.org Enforcement Officer: Toby Linville Tlinville@hendersoncountync.org Susan Wolf North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance (NCRAOA) www.ncraoa.com

Last time I checked it wasn't on the schedule... your question prompted me to check again and there it was, August 25-26! Love being wrong! CC

Gee, Laura.... don't know where you got the idea I am 6-0!!!!!! Fact is, I've been 6-3 since my teens, not really tall enough to be a NBA candidate, but was and am still the tallest guy in my family! uhhhhhhhhhh.... what was I going to talk about???????? is the the place I go to find out what my assignments are for next week???? had a wild time last night, fell asleep during one of the 547 clones of America's Got Talent, woke up to let the dawgs out and then remembered that Marti had brought some gourmet cupcakes home from FoodLion, but didn't want to eat anything that late... so, maybe I'll have my Happy B-day cupcake for lunch... what a parrrrrty!!!! Thanks for all the good wishes... do want one special gift --- would SOMBODY PUHLEEEEEZE have a trial somehwere nearby -- there's nothing on the calendar 'til Edgeworth in October!!!! Colin

Just IMHO, it's a shame the board used the term "sanctioning", which seems to imply that USBCHA will specify the manner of the junior classes as they do the open and nursery. Bet we'll see a lot more claims of USBCHA Titles or whatever from ack folks running in N/N. But, I guess if that's our biggest problem, we're doing OK. And, as one who spent many years in the junior classes, I'm glad that the HA is offering support to folks willing to put on novice trials. I learned a lot in those trials, though you rarely see the positive results in my open runs of late. Colin

And..... you are WICKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Colin

Hey Christine... Just in from working the dogs... had one of my Khatadins almost do the same thing to my knee while sorting a few sets for the morning... luckily -- or maybe inspired by your story -- I dodged at the last second and got a leg rub rather than a knee crash. Hope you're doing better -- will we see you hobblin' to the post at Dr. Ben's next week??? Colin

Just talked to a gentleman at Wake SPCA about the upcoming event. He said he had done extensive research on Katz and was aware of his comments about rescues and his decision to put a dog down to avoid the cost of behavioral modification. He also said that this is in no way an endorsement of Katz, but simply a fund raising opportunity for the SPCA. I said that this event can only be seen as an endorsement and that it might create more problems - and lack of donations - than it will solve. He also told me that Katz will be on the Dianne Rehm show again... Colin

I am not OK with that.... There were several options that the Wake SPCA could have taken.... one that immediately comes to mind is Don McCaig, also a widely published author, a contributor to this board and REAL shepherd and champion of the Working Border Collie. And, yes, Katz is "helping" shelter animals, but he is also getting paid for the "help". Colin

I REALLY don't believe that the Wake County, NC SPCA has invited Jon Katz to be their featured celebrity at an event on June 28. I encourage EVERYONE in this part of North Carolina to call the SPCA -- 919-772-2326 -- and let them know the truth about Katz. Colin

Hey Becca, FWIW, I dropped out of the trial this weekend, primarily based on gas prices. Called Dr. Ben to let 'em know, next day headed to town and saw the $3.29 prices had dropped to $3.09 or so... didn't dare call him and beg to get back in. Ya know, it may be quicker and easier for you to hop up to the Danvile bypass and take US 29 south to I85 in Greensboro. That would save you a lot of back road driving. Well, at least I can head out the door and work all the dogs, not just Scout at the trial. See ya! Colin

Me, too... Colin

Finally figured out the way to upload photos.... the sheep at the hay rack.... a cattle panel and a hog panel bolted together and one of the u-bolts that holds the rack together.... I found these small bolts in the electrical department at Lowes... if you move the panels from time to time, it might be easier to use wing nuts... let me know if you need any more info... Colin