Current Flying Carpet
Residents
last updated 06/26/09
The first Aussies
HOF WTCH Hardrock's Mudlucious Daffodil
WTCH Flying Carpet's
Equinox WTCH Flying Carpet's Caravan Bells
WTCH Flying Carpet's Sahara Sarah
WTCH Flying Carpet's Jedediah
Flying Carpet's Tavli Isabella OTDd, STDcs
What a Good Girl
Sheila, aka Sheila (RMF) 08/93 – 11/05/2008
Wild as a Brumby, aka Brumby (BMF) 08/93 – 07/12/2009
Backpackers Extraordinaire
Sheila
and Brumby (spayed) came into our lives in October 1993 from a backyard
breeder. We weren't interested in papers and simply didn't know enough to
find a really good breeder. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade those
old girls for all the tea in China. But, they sure have given me a first
hand lesson in what can be wrong with a dog; epilepsy, allergies, dysplasia,
etc., etc., etc. They were spayed young and never bred.
Nevertheless, they
were admirable ambassadors of the breeds loyalty, drive, and joy of life.
Their first encounter with a concrete cow (they saw, they circled, they 'hit'
the heels of a 5' concrete cow) at 6 months of age got me hooked into
working stock with my dogs. They were trained early to carry backpacks
and accompany us on our many back woods hikes through the southern Appalachian
and have at least 150 trail miles to each girl's credit. And in training
them to hike, we inadvertently trained them to track. I finally got
around to getting Sheila's Tracking Certification test done (Brumby's hips had just
gotten too bad) at the 2005 ASCA National Specialty. With absolutely no
formal training, Sheila breezed through a very good test track laid and judged
by ASCA judge Debra St. Jacques. We never got that actual TD title, but
she's every bit the tracking champion to me!
Sheila passed away
peacefully in my arms on 11/05/2008. Brumby had a stroke in July 2009 and
drifted away while I wept. They
rest atop the ridge overlooking us and their beloved sheep.
HOF WTCH Hardrock's
Mudlucious Daffodil, RTDs, CD, RS-O, JS-O, GS-N, DOB 04/26/98, Black-Tri (rf),
aka Daffy
Daffy
came to me from Hardrock Aussies in October of 1998. I'd been training
Brumby and Sheila with Tony Padgett's help and decided I wanted a registered
Aussie with correct conformation and strong herding drive and instinct. I
couldn't have done better than this little girl. Weighing all of 40 lbs
soaking wet, Daffy has been by my side from day one. We all should have
known that it was fate, as I was at the Padgett's when she was born! She
and I became a strongly bonded team right from the start. In her first
show/trial outing she placed in her conformation class, qualified in out first
obedience trial, and qualified in our first herding run, earning her first Most
Versatile Aussie award in honor of her grandsire, Jackson's Hills Hardrock
Candy.
Daffy
and I went on to finish her ASCA CD, her open ASCA agility titles in standard
and jumpers, and her Working Trial Championship. Along the way we picked
up a Ranch Trial title on sheep and Post Advanced legs on cattle and
sheep. In 2003 she was bred to HOF WTCH Rosebriar Roby's Kahn-Man and
produced a remarkable litter, whose titles earned her a place in ASCA history
as Hall of Fame dam #224. She's aging now and the grand dame of the
place, but still helps with the chores on a frequent basis. She is still
my right hand and the #1 girl.
WTCH
Flying Carpet's Equinox, RTDs, DOB 03/21/03, Black-Tri (rf), aka Spot
(HOF
WTCH Rosebrier Roby's Khan Man, RTDsc, x HOF WTCH Hardrock's Mudlucious
Daffodil, RTDs, CD, RS-O, JS-O, GS-N)
Spot is a goober.
That's the simplest way to describe his personality...just a goober. He
loves me and he loves to work livestock. He's smart, attentive, fearless,
and eager...basically, everything an Aussie should be. I hadn't planned
on keeping him, but the 'perfect' home didn't appear right away, and by the
time it did I couldn't let him go. He's a fast learner and easy to train,
and just a delight to be with. I've also started his training in
tracking and obedience.
WTCH Flying Carpet's
Caravan Bells, Blue Merle (rf), aka Belle, dob 03/21/2003
(HOF WTCH
Rosebrier Roby's Khan Man, RTDsc, x HOF WTCH Hardrock's Mudlucious Daffodil,
RTDs, CD, RS-O, JS-O, GS-N)
Belle is everything I
hoped for from this, my first, breeding. She has intense working instinct
and drive, but takes training very well. She meets the ASCA breed
standard (perfectly in my mind), is ASCA pointed, and was one her way to a
conformation championship until an ACL tear gave her a permanent hitch in her
giddy up. She's a tough little bitch who loves to work cattle and is
absolutely fearless. She was bred to Spot (WTCH Flying Carpet's Equinox,
RTDs) and produced a very nice performance litter. From this litter
I kept Jed. In 2007 she was bred to VCH, WTCH, CH Poinsett Sunfire
Chipotle (Chip) which produced a fabulous litter, from which I kept
Tavli. Between titles planned for Jed and Tavli, Belle should follow her
mother (and grandmother) to HOF status.
WTCH Flying Carpet's
Sahara Sarah, DOB 03/21/03, Blue Merle (rf), aka Sarah
(HOF
WTCH Rosebrier Roby's Khan Man, RTDsc, x HOF WTCH Hardrock's Mudlucious
Daffodil, RTDs, CD, RS-O, JS-O, GS-N)
Sarah had been with
David and James Fish for the past couple of years, but came back to me in
2005. Thank you, David, for all of your hard work in getting this girl
trained and her Open & Started titles! I finished up her WTCH and now
she is my husband's chore dog. She is an absolute snuggle bunny and
prefers the quiet life.
WTCH Flying Carpet's
Jedediah, DOB 07/14/04, Red-Tri, aka Jed
(WTCH
Flying Carpet's Equinox x WTCH Flying Carpet's Caravan Bells)
When Jed was born I
first thought he was black. Then, as he started to dry I thought "Oh
no! He's dilute", then was delighted to realize he was drying to a dark,
rich, mahogany red (I didn't realize until then that both Spot and Belle are
red factored). He has been a special source of joy to me ever since.
Jed was co-owned with
Judy Blount in Kentucky, and received excellent foundation training on livestock
from Bob Blount. Jed came back to me in 2006 and started showing in the
conformation ring (taking RWD in his first 'grown up' show under Senior ASCA
Breeder Judge Marie Murphy) and is now ASCA pointed. He earned his WTCH spring
of 2009 and has an Open Farm Trial sheep title and a leg toward a cattle
title. He is the reigning 'go-to' dog here on the farm and handles all
types of livestock with authority and respect. He is an absolute little
prince-ling (the other dogs here spoiled him rotten!) and a pure-D-delight!
Flying Carpet's Tavli
Isabella OTDd, STDsc, dob 01/21/2007, Red Merle, aka Tav
(VCH,
WTCH, CH Poinsett Sunfire Chipotle x WTCH Flying Carpet's Caravan Bells)
When Tav's litter was born I thought we were
done with five pups, and I hadn't gotten the red merle I was hoping for.
So, as they settled down with Belle in the whelping box I went to finish
watching my beloved Chicago Bears in their Super Bowl attempt. I poke my
head into the box during a commercial break, and low and behold, there she
was! A beautiful little red merle bitch! Then, 10 days later she
opened her eyes. From that moment on I was entranced, bedazzled, and in
deep trouble. Right from the get-go this little girl had no trouble
asserting herself as top pup. Even if I hadn't planned on keeping her I
knew I'd have trouble finding the right home for her. She is NOT a 'first
Aussie' type, nor is she suited for a 'pet' home. She is one tough cookie
and more than a little reactive to any stimulus. Thankfully, she is very
eager to please, always wants to be right, and, mostly, takes excellent
direction.
I started showing her in conformation early
on, mainly for the ring experience, knowing she was going to be slow to
mature. At her first 'grown up' show in March 2009 I was thrilled to take
a 5 point major under ASCA Sr Breeder judge Gail Karamalegos, followed by a 4
point major under ASCA Breeder Judge Janet Kelly! Since then we have
mainly been working on livestock. We've also added Tracking to her
repertoire, and I look forward to showing/trialing Tav in upcoming events.