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In 1974 at my tender year of 21, I
purchased my first Australian Shepherd from Betty Verhalen of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. At that time she was a registered National Stock Dog and her name was quite fitting
"Red Dog"! She was a solid red dog that had all the working ability in the world.
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This is me pictured with my two shelties in
1966! The awards were from my Quarter, Paint and Appaloosa horses.
I was showing Appaloosa Horses as well as Quarter
and Paint Horses at the time and lived out of my horse trailer as I was traveling, at that time 48 states, to show these horses! Most of my travels were by myself, and I saw one of these Aussies in Oklahoma.
I needed a companion on the long miles I was traveling and I thought an Aussie
would be perfect. I had grown up with Toy Collies (Shelties) that my
parents had raised for as long as I could remember, but they shed so
much and I had allergies. |
I truly loved them but could not be around them too much as all I did was sneeze with the dog hair floating around non- stop. The Aussies seemed to shed around once a year around their birthday, and in clumps I might add. I thought. "Gee",
these Aussies are a herding dog - this might work! So I purchased Red Dog and shortly after that, from another breeder in Oklahoma, I purchased 3 dogs out of Taylor's Whiskey, two males and one female! I should have known how great they were at the time - but to me at that time, they were just good fuzzy dogs that herded and were good family pets. I had to chase the guy for a long time to get the papers (he was not too reliable), and finally got litter registration forms for the National Stock Dog Registry.
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I gave one female to a friend of mine in West Allis, Wicsonsin that spayed her. She lived in the city and lived out her life as a
great family pet! The other male I gave to a friend of mine that moved from Waukesha, Wisconsin to who knows wherever (unfortunately I lost track
over the years). I kept the third and named him Teddy. I then purchased a Blue Lad dog from Roy and Karen Anny from way up north in Wisconsin. Roy
& Karen "Hi" if you are reading this! I had also, as
mentioned above, my red tri female "Red". These two, Red & Teddy, were super dogs, not only herding dogs, but great family companions.
My son is pictured with Red Dog and one of our Poodles. (1986)
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Finally I started focusing on Agility, Obedience, and formal
Conformation dog shows. The only thing I knew about dog shows at the time was AKC, and they did not recognize Aussies until
long after these days! I really wasn't into showing dogs (I'm still not, as I'm a little burned out from all the miles I racked up traveling the 48 states showing
the horses). Both Wayne & I have a love for good horses...these are two
of our Tennessee Walkers
peeking out to see what's going on!
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I had " Teddy " a Taylor's Whiskey son
(Blue Merle) until he was 19 - my vet put him to sleep at my house and
he is buried in my backyard but that's another story. Teddy raised some of the best dogs
that you could want to meet or see out of my Blue Lad and Betty Verhalen dogs. Not only did they work with little or no training (this was very important to all
of us involved with horses and cattle at this time), but they were truly great family
companions! They would seem to know what you wanted when you looked at them! After the sad death of Ted, I withdrew from the "raising Aussie" thing for a couple of years and moved to Illinois to get married to my
husband Wayne. I went to a horse sale one day (horse people just have a
need to get to these things), and low and behold I saw this lady with a very pretty female Aussie.
Of course I just had to ask about her Aussie and it turned out that she raised them.
Her name was Linda Mikeworth and she has "Texas Aussies" in Illinois. We started talking and it turned out she had Aussies for sale. Enter Scooter, Shasta and Smiley (Fairoaks Aldar daughters), then along came Scarlett.
Linda has turned out to be one of my best friends.
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Eventually Linda introduced me to Sandy Cornwell of Fairoaks Kennels, and I have since purchased from Sandy, Intl'
Ch. Beairds Beauty of Fairoaks (Atreyu & Alita), a black bi female, and Fairoaks O-Ja
Beaird (Fairoaks Jagular
& Imagineer Odette of Fairoaks), a blue merle male. We also have
our resident "love bug ", Las Rocosa Red Letter "Scotty", a red merle male from Joseph Hartnagle of Las
Rocosa.
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Another of my great loves, is gardening and I love spending
time outdoors with the dogs helping me garden. These are a couple of the
very few photos of our garden without at least one of the dogs in them!
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The photos below are of our "refurbished" dog yard...33 loads
of fill to level it out for the "kids" playground!
The dogs love it and they now have lots of shade and room to
run and play so it was worth all the time and effort.
After their evening with us, each of the dogs have their own
"bedroom" with a Kuranda dog bed for each. Water is available at all times
for each of them and the building is climate controlled, heating and air
conditioned depending on the time of year!
I hope you enjoy your visit to our little corner of the world
and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us and we'll do our
best to answer them!
Makin' hay....oops Raking Hay
Joyce Beaird
Beairds Bonanza Australian Shepherds
Update late 2008...
We are thrilled to have had our little piece of this
wonderful earth recognized as a
Certified Wildlife Habitat
Click on the certificate above for photos of our "world"
The following poem sums up our
lives...
When I am Old...
I shall wear Turquoise and soft gray sweatshirts...
and a bandana over my silver hair.....
and I shall spend my Social Security Checks on
Sweet Wine and My Dogs......
and sit in my house on my well-worn chair
and listen to my dog's breathing.
I will sneak out in the middle of a warm Summer night
and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow...
and when people come to call,
I will smile and nod as I show them my dogs...
and talk of them and about them...
The Ones so Beloved of the Past
and the Ones so Beloved of Today....
I still will work hard cleaning after them
and mopping and feeding them
and whispering their names in a soft, loving way.
I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, like a jewel
and I will be an embarrassment to all...
and my family...
who have not yet found the peace
in being free to have dogs as your Best Friends....
These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall...
and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep,
to greet you as if you are a God.
With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope that you will stay
and their big, strong necks...
and kiss their dear sweet heads...
and whisper to their very special company....
I look in the Mirror...
and see I am getting old....
this is the kind of woman I am...
and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy,
they are part of me,
accept me for who I am,
my dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...
when I am old this will be important to me...
you will understand when you are old....
and if you have dogs to love too.
~Author Unknown
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