aboutus

I was introduced to the Australian Shepherd for the first time while at College. Initially, I thought they were just farm type dogs, but soon their incredible intelligence and personality won me over and I was hooked. I started to do research on the breed and talk to breeders in the area.

I believe I was destined to have Aussies and here's one of the reasons why. A friend of mine wanted to find a puppy for his kids and so I went with him to look at a litter that just happened to be aussies. We picked out a little red merle bitch and he took her home. I went out of town for a few weeks and when I got back I called to check on how she was doing. They had decided to return the puppy because the timing wasn't right. I was disappointed in a way I couldn't explain. That puppy had fownd her way into my heart. Then a couple weeks later a good friend wanted to go to the Humane Society to look for a kitten. When we arrived there, there were 2 Aussie puppies in the front foyer. The red merle puppy looked very familiar...Sure enough, it was the same puppy! What are the chances of that happening? Well, I couldn't stand it. I brought them both home. I put an ad in the paper for them, but that little red puppy was meant to be mine, so she stayed. I tracked down the breeder and got her papers. So began my adventure with the Australian Shepherd. That was 1980.

My desire was to show in conformation and obedience and maybe breed occasionally. So I set out on a mission to learn everything I could and find a show puppy. Kim Patterson invited me to go with her to see a litter of puppies sired by her Dillon (Ch. Free Spirit of Calgary CD). I wasn't ready to get another dog yet, but one of those puppies chose me. There were 10 of them, but this one blue merle male never left my side even at 7 weeks old. I kept trying to ignore him....But to no avail...That was my "Ace" dog, totally devoted to me lke nothing I'd ever seen. He was an amazing dog...He got his CD after only 10 weeks of obedience. In three consecutive shows he got a 194, 195, and a 196. Viola...a CD....I was so new to the whole prcess, that I didn't realize how unusual that was.

I am fascinated by structure and movement and became an avid student. The I got my first show puppy from Marie Murphy, Ch. Diamond Aire's Blue Marquise. She was a pretty blue bitch out of her Ch. Diamond Aire's Silver Sequins X Ch. Wee Willie of Windermere. I showed her to her championship and she was my foundation bitch. Out of her first litter sired by Ch. Starstruck of Bainbridge there were 4 champions. That was the beginning of Cornerstone Australian Shepherds.

We are truly blessed to share our lives with such wonderful companions. There is nothing like them. My hope is that we always remember to enjoy our dogs and appreciate our fellow Aussie enthusiasts. Each is unique, 2 or 4 legged.

~Connie