The end of an era

Today our 8 yr old border collie bitch Brigan was spayed.

Not a big event for most dogs, pretty routine surgery, done every day around the country. For this girl though, it is a big event, the end of an era so to speak.

Brigan has whelped 3 outstanding litters of border collie puppies for us over the years. Brigan has been bred to my male Pete three times. Each litter producing outstanding puppies. Pete has his share of genetics to claim fame to for the pups, but Brigan was the perfect compliment for him. What he lacked in build, (straight front legs) she made up for with her stocky perfectly square build. Pete comes from a hard working line, Brigan tempered that hardness. Pete has great drive, Brigan has greater. Had I known back when I got her what I know now, I would have stopped training my GSD Allie immediately and focused on the wee border collie bitch I got off an email list.

Thats right folks. She was a cast off. Someone had gotten her as a gift that did not want her, put her in a kennel run for the first 7 mos of her life, and when she got out and started chasing their horses, was going to plug her with a .22. A neighbor who worked at the Vet School I then worked at, stopped them, rescued her, papers and all, and then sought someone at the Vet school to finish the rescue. I was the first to respond and went to look at her. When I walked into her office, there she was in the back of the room cowed under a desk. I sat down on the floor and she immediately came and got into my lap. Somehow dogs know dog people. I said I would take her and find a home for her.

Brigan did not even know a name when I got her, she was used to her food being thrown over a chain link fence onto the ground. She was so sweet, so agile, and so afraid of people. She came out of her shell with time and kindness and the touch of my fiance' Tiffanies hand. She went on to be a wildlife scat detection dog and a therapy dog. She plays with the "redball" (a story for another day) as if it were a rowdy and unruly sheep that needs to be kept in it's place. Her agility is astounding. She is the Houdini of dogs, escaping anything and every enclosure she has ever been placed in. Her agility on any object is uncanny and beautiful.....The kind that takes your breath away and at the same time makes you want to yell at the top of your lungs after you watch her scale a 6 ft chain link kennel flat footed, or wiggle her way through a cattle panel on the roof of a kennel, pressing her back in the corner so she does not fall, as she slides one shoulder at a time through a square in the panel you SWEAR is too little for her to squeeze through. Then stands on top of the run, balancing on the slim bars and jumps onto the ground like floating from a cloud....Watching her sail over the back of your couch as if it were inches off the ground.....never missing a step and going on to retrieve a toy thrown for the other dogs..........NO, ..Placing her never became an option, and as time wore on, having been raised with a family that bred GSD's, my eyes would run over her short stocky lines, her drive, her temperament, her pedigree and ponder...........I wonder what she and Pete would produce?

I did my research. I found out that she was descended from one of the greatest cattle herding border collies of all time. Her sire was a son of Keith Gileon's Rockin G Spurs. Spurs is one of the winningest cattle herding border collies of all times. His pictures revealed a dog with immense drive and courage and yet gentleness, pictured with Keith's young son. I researched and called and found that many of the other dogs in her pedigree were actually working ranch dogs, assisting cutting horses and ranch horses in their daily duties, eventually tracing back to imports from Scotland by some of the founding herding people of Texas. Not bad for a free throw away dog.

Physically she is one of the most sound dogs I have ever seen. Good hips, good elbows, good eyes, nice square body, good proportions, not too big, not too small.........just right she was. When Pete and she hit around four years of age we decided to give it a try. I wanted a pup from Pete and really felt like this cross would produce something great. I think maybe that was one of the best decisions of my life.

The first litter of six everyone thought was a fluke. You cannot have all six pups in a litter make it as successful working dogs. Doesn't happen...........well folks, I'm here to tell ya, it can! All six have gone on to become outstanding search dogs in their respective disciplines. All are certified in HRD land with a national agency, once is also certified in area search and one in trailing with national agencies as well. Four of the six have had finds. Two are also therapy dogs. This litter just turned 4 years old and I continue to marvel at them, they are amazing. I have been lucky, getting to watch them all grow up as myself and my teammates kept all the pups and trained them together.  It has been an incredible journey and a topic for another day.

Litter two is a work in progress, all six just having passed a year of age. One is a working herding dog, One is in training to be a disaster dog live, one a disaster dog HR, one an HR dog, and the last a wilderness area dog. I expect their first certifications to be coming this fall.

Litter three was not of my making. I always give people a hard time when they say they have had a "whoops" litter, so it is no surprise that it would happen to me. I'm grateful however, to Brigan and Pete on making the decision without us. Pete himself was from a Whoops litter, so it is fitting that I keep a son from this litter. With this litter though, brought the beginning of the end of the era. Three litters is enough good work for any bitch in my book and the decision was already made to spay her after this litter. I got the enjoyment of raising these guys over the winter through the holidays and have never enjoyed a litter so much! I ended up keeping two for myself as I knew this was the last lot, no more, end of publication. There would never be another chance to own one of these great dogs. How this litter turns out remains to be seen. One is in KS being trained to be a disaster dog, three are in TX being trained for various disciplines, and two went to MT, sadly one of them met a tragic ending. I have no less optimism for this litter than the previous ones. They are full of promise, they have drive, focus, nerve strength, sociability............all the things a good SAR dog needs to become a success.

To which we owe Brigan a lot. Yes, Pete is their daddy, and no one is prouder of that dog than me. He has been my buddy, my partner and my teacher over the years, but Brigan shares equally, maybe a little more in the success of the pups. She reared them with a gentle benevolence that has given them all a manner of ease I cannot quite describe. All I know is that there is not a task shown them that they have not been able to accomplish thus far. Their limitations lie within the handlers own, and the handlers likewise, realizing what little jewels they have been gifted with have rose up to meet the challenges of such a dog. I am ever grateful to my teammates for the way they have brought L1 and L2 pups along.

Am I bragging on my own dogs? Yes. and if you were unlucky enough to miss out on one of these pups.......well all I can say is I'm truly sorry...............it is really too bad there will be no more.

So thank you Brigan for what you have given us and the world. Your children have already brought closure to families and peace with their search work. They have brought smiles to the elderly, children, and patients of hospitals and nursing homes. You will never receive a ribbon, an award, a certificate but you have given more to the world in your short life than many dogs give in a lifetime. Enjoy your new status as the retired matriarch of Rothcala Kennel & Farm! Good girl Brigan, good girl.