Charlie in memoriam.
In October 2002 our wonderful young boy Charlie left our lives. We are heartbroken over this loss. We do not yet have full details of how and why Charlie died. We will undertake whatever investigation or process is necessary to learn of the facts surrounding the loss of this special little life. We will forever have an emptiness in our hearts for Charlie, and a guilt in our minds for ever agreeing to share this beautiful boy. Charlie’s place was here with us. Allowing him to reside part of the year elsewhere was the biggest mistake we have ever made. We are sorry Charlie. We hope and pray that your last few months were pleasant.
As we move forward and carry on our vision of the versatile sheltie, we will carry Charlie in our hearts and in our minds. He will be with us in all the rings we travel to and compete in but most importantly he will remain in our hearts as a reminder of how very precious and important our dogs are to us. Our already cumbersome screening process has been strengthened. We will leave no stone unturned in investigating potential homes for our furkids.
We love you Charlie. You asked for so little and deserved so much. We will see you at the rainbow bridge and after that, we will never let go of you again….we promise. We wrote this poem for you and when we see you again we will read it aloud, with you in our lap…we can hear you now, groaning and moaning as we rub your side.
To our wonderful Charlie:
Sleep tight my sweet sweet boy.
Sleep tight all through the night.
Revel in thoughts of our past delight,
Revel in the knowledge of all you did right.
Remember when I first met you, you ran out the door,
You ran right to me all bright eyed sure
I saw in an instant my search was complete
It was clear as a bell no one could compete
From title to title
From class to class
You were the one with all of the class
You taught me to win, to lose and to play
You taught me to love the breed to this day
You were my teacher, my friend, my pal,
the one who stood by me some way, some how.
Always so eager to forge out ahead
Always so loving as we cuddled in bed.
Forgive me for leaving your life prematurely
Forgive me for thinking you would be alright without me.
Forgive me for looking for more than just you.
Forgive me for not knowing the right thing to do.
I love you Charlie, I always did.
I miss you Charlie, I always will.
Forgive me Charlie for letting you go
The pain I feel now no one can know
I believe you are gone, but I don’t know for sure
I feel you near me like never before
Sleep tight my sweet sweet boy
Sleep tight all through the night.
If we meet again I will do it right.
If we meet again I will hold on so tight
I Love You Charlie, goodbye
At barely 3, Charlie had accomplished more than we dreamed possible. He finished his breed Championship very quickly, while simultaneously training and competing in herding, agility, and obedience. His breed wins include back to back majors (specialty and all breed) and several Best of Breeds from the classes. Charlie had incredible drive and approached all of his work with high enthusiasm. In late 2000 Charlie was awarded the "VC" from the American Shetland Sheepdog Association. This is an award bestowed upon the breed's most versatile dogs. Charlie earned the ASSA "VCX" in 2001. In addition to being a wonderful show dog, Charlie loved people and was a wonderful house pet. We were very lucky to have him in our lives.
Notable wins:
Conformation
28 Jan 2000 WD Jacksonville SSC (4 pts)
29 Jan 2000 BOW Greater Orange Park DC (4 pts)
7 Apr 2000 BOB Lake Eustis KC
18 Jun 2000 BOB Lakeland Winterhaven KC
Agility
13 Nov 1999 MADTA
Novice A JWW - 1st place
27-28 Nov 1999 USDOC
Novice A Standard - 1st place
Novice A Standard - 2nd place
17 Mar 2001 DTCSP
Novice B JWW - 2nd leg, 1st place,
High Scoring Dog
14 Apr 2001 ODTC
Novice B JWW - 3rd leg, 1st place,
High Scoring Dog
Open Standard - 1st leg, 1st place,
High Scoring Dog
Jun 2001 ODTC
Open JWW - 1st leg, 1st place
Herding
25 Mar 2000 ASSA of Mid Florida
Herding Test title earned
24-25 Mar 2001 Australian Shepherd Association of Mid-Florida
Pre-Trial Test (Course A - Sheep)
title earned
Ch Sunnybrook's Image Maker
Ch Autumn Oak's Someday Soon
Mainstay Magic's In The Wind
Ozark Crest Dream Maker
Ch Sunnybrook's Image Maker
Buehneman's Conceited Dream
Buehneman I Dream Of Jeannie
Ch Plails Charlemagne CD NA NAJ PT VCX CGC
Bertlin's California Starfall
Starfall's Northern Exposure
Starfall's Precious Lassie
Pruginic's Beauty
Lindsey's Sir Oreo Kookie
Misty Sue Geist
Shea's Little Debbie Cookies
Photos
