Dog of the Month

Submitted by Anne Hartranft, Owner of Misty
	In September 2002 I ended the search for my fourth lifetime rough collie. I had just retired and was looking forward to my new “retirement project.” It was a given that this pup would be trained in obedience since I’m an obedience instructor with 25+ years experience. But now with more available time, I thought it would be fun to try the exciting sport of agility. Misty was bred in Pittsburgh and is a sable merle. Her sire Peter (Ch. The Meadow’s Classique White) is a handsome white collie, and her dam is a blue merle named Freesia (Ch. Heatherri’s The Skies the Limit). Being an avid golfer, I decided to name my pup Fairways of Mist. It wasn’t long before I knew that my retirement project would provide far more challenges than any game of golf I had ever played!
If you’ve seen my collie perform agility in class or at a trial, you know the challenges I’m referring to—her barking and craziness from lack of focus and confidence. But hopefully you’ve also seen our rewards when she’s relaxed, focused, and we’re enjoying the fun of a successful run together. Right now the dogwalk is a huge problem and is limiting our progression. If Misty can overcome her fear, then I think we’ll have many years ahead filled with—yes, still some craziness--but offset by many days filled with fun and rewards. As for golf, I still spend a lot of time explaining to my playing friends why I can’t join them sometimes when there is a conflict with agility. They think I’m the one who is crazy. Well, I guess Misty and I were meant for each other and we’ll just have fun being crazy together!!

DOG OF THE MONTH