For the love of Shelties

Tara's story:

My first year: 1990
My mom picked me from my brothers and sisters when I was 8 weeks old. My full name is Hallmarc Finesse of Oakleaf. Tara is my every day name, I've been called Tara-riffic, Tara Dog, T dog and Grandma Dog. Mom and I started training in conformation classes and going to puppy fun matches when I was 9 weeks old. My first show was in Arlington Texas at the Scottish Festival. I was the youngest pup there, it was hot, I went home with my first ribbon and I had tons of fun. We trained in class and at home for several more months. We got many more ribbons from matches and class. I trained Mom pretty well, enough that I wasn't embarrassed at shows, when she made mistakes I acted like I didn't notice, I love her too much to hurt her feelings. At home I played with my big brother Max, he was 2 years older than me. I got used to all the grooming Mom did, even learned to hold my feet up for nail trimming with a grinder.
When I was 6 months old my baby sister Cher joined our family. She had the beauty, I had the brains. We were inseparable and best friends. Mom, Cher and I traveled all over Texas to dog shows. Cher wasn't old enough to enter shows so she became my best cheerleader. She was Mom's shadow, a little soft touch, and a gentle soul.

1991
Things changed a lot when I turned one year old. My little sister Cher started getting more attention and I guess I was jealous. I started picking fights with her when Mom was around. I still loved her just didn't want to share Mom with her. I was still training, now it was fun, we were doing obedience. I loved it because I was more a tomboy and liked the athletic shows more than the beauty contest. Cher got to show in conformation since she was a beauty. I wasn't a good cheerleader for her but still got to tag along.

1992
I got my CD title in 3 straight shows. Mom was so proud of me. I still picked fights with Cher. We still traveled all over Texas. We had an unexpected surprise this year. Mom had a 7-month sheltie, Tex she was trying to place in a home. She knew I was coming in season and wanted to breed me. Well Tex and I took care of that. I was in such good shape it wasn't obvious I was pregnant until 2 weeks before the babies were born. This was the only litter I ever had. Tex was busy; Cher had a litter from him also. Mom had 16 weeks of puppies in the bedroom. She didn't realize a 7 moth old could father a litter & Tex was neutered before Cher's pups were born.

1993
I started visiting a Nursing Home every Sunday. Mom's grandmother lived there, she wasn't fond of dogs but all her friends loved my visits. We started slowing down on the dog shows. Mom had to switch jobs and just didn't have the free time to travel. It was a fun year playing with Max, Tex and Cher (if Mom wasn't around). We still trained a lot, went to parks to play, fetched tennis balls, and just played a lot.

1994
Mom had to change jobs again. She worked nights but her sister lived with us so someone was still with us all the time. We had our doggy door, lived in the country, could bark all we wanted and had a perfect life. Mom had to go to New York for 3 months to work. After that she met a really nice man from Minnesota so Mom, Cher and I moved to the coldest place I've ever known. It was a big change to live in the city after being a country girl for so long. I got in trouble with the Police from my barking. It was cold with all this freezing white powder. Cher and I got used to everything and loved the new man in our life. He even let us sleep on the bed and tried to protect Cher from my attacks. It was an adventurous year.

1995
My new dad played with me a lot, took me to the bank, and just loved Cher and me. This year I spend a week in the hospital when my uterus ruptured. Mom was so worried I wouldn't come back home. I recovered quickly after getting home. Cher was spayed while I was in the hospital to save her from the problems I suffered.

1996
Life was good. This summer Mom went back to Texas to bring our big brother Max to live with us. Our dad had to get used to 3 dogs but in short time he grew to love Max the way he did us girls. I loved having Max back in our pack. I still picked fights with Cher.

1997
Mom and our dad (Dan) got married. I got to see my Texas family again. Mom bought me these silly dog boots because the snow was so cold on my feet. I didn't go for the boots at all. Still picking fights with Cher. (Her picture is here, isn't she a beauty!)

1998
We have a new baby in the family. He cries loud and takes a lot of Mom's time. He has his own room and Mom and Dad have to get up a lot during the night to feed him. He doesn't bother me and I love having Mom home all the time.

1999
The baby is crawling all over us. Max is his favorite dog. Cher isn't too crazy about him pulling her hair. I just go with the flow and try not to knock him over. Mom is back at work and the baby is away all day. We catch up on our beauty sleep until the family comes home. Mom, Dad and the baby go to Texas for a visit. Three of us go to a kennel. Mom is very worried because we've never slept outside or been to a kennel. We had a great time at the kennel. It had indoor-outdoor dog runs so we could go outside and bark all we wanted. It was great!

2000
Mom quit working for good to stay home with the baby. It was great having her with us all the time again. The baby was big enough to play with now and I loved it when he threw my tennis balls. He was a pretty good playmate. Cher had a thing for baby's socks, she would eat them. Luckily they always came back up and Mom had to really watch out for stray socks. Max was so good with the baby. I still picked fights with Cher.

2001
The next few years were busy with family stuff. Everyone still played with us dogs, took us for walks and we spent more time at our favorite kennel. Mom started working some at the kennel, she had to do that to pay for boarding for us 3 dogs. I finally stopped picking on Cher when she got tired of it all and bit me hard on my front leg. Mom thought I was going to bleed to death. Luckily it was a small bite and I was fine. I still gave Cher dirty looks but never picked on her again.

2002
Cher and I starting going camping with the family. We loved it.
Max is getting old and Mom has to get up several times a night to let him outside. I'm worried she isn't getting enough rest taking care of Max and our boy. She tells Dad she will do what ever she has to for Max for as long as he needs her. I know this is true, she has always cared for us and taken care of us like we were her kids.

2003
This was a sad year. Max crossed over 10 days after his 15th birthday. We were all lost for several weeks. Then Mom found out Cher had cancer in her nose. I had to step aside for a while and let Mom and Cher have their special time. We weren't even used to Max being gone when Cher left us 6 months later. She was 13 years old. I thought she would be the last to go since she was the baby. Wow I was lost. I had never been the only dog and didn't know what to do. My family felt so bad about my brother and sister being gone. They spent all their free time with me. I went camping with them, went on hikes, and went on car rides. I was getting used to being the only dog but I knew Mom would never stop missing Max and Cher. I sat with Mom many hours while she read books about natural and non-toxic products for pets. I know she felt it was her fault Cher got cancer. I don't think it was anything she did but I couldn't tell her that. After much reading she switched my dog food. I have a sensitive stomach so it took a few months to get me 100% on the new food. She found a senior vitamin for me that I didn't like. She tried tricking me by crushing it in my food. I was too smart for this, remember I was the one who trained her years ago in obedience. She gave up on the vitamin. Mom took a job at the Humane Society. No one thought she would like it or last long. She loved it, loved helping other animals and I think it helped her accept the passing of Max and Cher. She brought a CAT home from the shelter! His name was Bob, what kind of name is that for a cat? I wasn't into playing with him much but we got along fine. I still loved playing with my tennis balls, going on walks and being with my family.

2004
Mom brought a sheltie pup home from the shelter. That's him in the picture. Now I'm thinking she should quit working at the shelter. Scotty turned out okay. I liked him and tried to play but he was so much younger he would knock me down a lot. I helped train him in basic obedience. He watched me heel, sit, stay, down and stand and he caught on really fast. I was never jealous of him the way I was with Cher. He got in trouble a lot because of his barking and destroying things. Scotty and I got our pictures taken with Santa, I didn't ask for anything, I have all I need and want with my family. I'm not sure what Scotty asked for, we both got fresh bones, yum! Scotty and Bob love playing with each other. It was like a cartoon watching them chase each other around the house.

2005
Mom made me a big, soft comfy bed with my name on it for my 15th birthday. The highlight of my days was sitting outside barking at the mail carrier. He took a break in front of my house just to hear me sing for 10 minutes. Mom had to quit her job at the shelter because we moved to the kennel so she could work there all the time. It was a big change for Scotty, Bob cat and me. We didn't have a big fenced yard and Mom was afraid I would wonder into the woods and get lost so she took me out on a leash a lot. There's a nice walking path we use a lot. I love it here. The kitchen is my room, there's too many stairs around for me to explore the rest of the house. I still get around fine but Mom is afraid of me trying to manage steps. My hearing and sight is starting to fade but I can still always find my people so I'm happy. We are back up to 3 Shelties now. Mom adopted a goofy pup named Riley. Dad gave in to her because he didn't think I would be around much longer and thought it would be easier on her if she had 2 dogs to care for. Well I'm still here and going strong. This goofy dog bugs me at times. He knocks me over when he tries to play. He's really okay, he respects me, my bed, my food and my space. He and Scotty are best friends and that's good for Scotty.
I got to go camping and spend special time with Mom, the boys stayed home for this trip, I needed to get away from all the activity for a week end.

2006
I'm getting pretty picky with what I will eat. Mom bakes doggy muffins and cookies for me. She has to top my dog food with yummy stuff, she calls it healthy food, all I know is it's good. I get something different all the time because I get tried of the same stuff like cheese and yogurt. Mom watches what I eat pretty close and finally found a vitamin I like. I haven't been to the Vet since I stumbled down the deck steps and pulled my hip out of socket. Mom was so scared but the vet was able to pop it back in and I was just fine. Dad did build a ramp for me after that. He's really a soft touch when it comes to me. I used to have to go to the vet really often to have my teeth cleaned. Mom stopped doing this, I think she was afraid I wouldn't wake up. Max had some problems after his teeth were cleaned, I think he was about 13 at the time. Anyway she has found something for all of us pets to use. I'm glad because those goofy dogs and Bob had the worse breath! The other animals are still goofy but leave me alone so I guess we're friends.

The picture here is Goofy Riley.

2007
Wow I'm 17 years old and still going strong. My hips are still good, eyesight and hearing is fading but I still have some of both. Mom keeps me strong with good dog food, my vitamins, the stuff in our water for our teeth, short walks and lots and lots of attention. Sometimes I don't hear what she says but I don't let her know that. Sometimes it tickles a lot when I get petted, I can't help but let them know when it tickles because my leg starts trying to scratch the area they are petting me. I love my bed, it used to have my name Tara on it, now it only has A, too many washings I guess. It doesn't matter everyone knows it's my bed. I let Bob sleep on it with me sometimes. Sometimes one of the boys will sneak a nap on it. I look forward to summer so I can go camping again, take more short walks, and finally get rid of this cold snow. I still don't like snow. We didn't have snow in Texas so I never got used to it. I'm a Texas girl, just like my Mom, You can take the girl out of Texas but you can't take Texas out of the girl. That's about all of my story for now. I know Mom and my family will give me and my brothers the best love and care so I'll be around a while longer to add to my life story. I'm still happy, healthy and loving after 17 years. To all my new friends interested in my life I thank you and wish you and your pets a happy, fun and healthy life.

The picture was taken April, 2007