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The start of it all, my darling Wintress

SumerSong Winter Enchantres'

How do you describe the one who taught you almost everything you know about Shelties and was the love of your life? Win was about 8 months old when I first saw her and it was mutual love at first sight.  She decided she was going home with me that day and rarely left my side from that day on.  She didn't like showing in conformation and if I weren't so paranoid about letting my dogs off leash, she would have done very well in obedience.  Yes, she was trained mostly thru CDX but never shown...  But when it came to puppies, she was the best momma ever!  And it didn't matter that the puppies weren't hers.  She loved them all. 

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Zsa Zsa 

Winrose Winter Romance

When the time came to breed Wintress for the first time, I agonized over who I should breed her with.  A friend asked me who was my favorite dog.  Well, no question - Ch SumerSong Winter Shadows was far and away my favorite!  But he was a blue and Win was a blue!  How could I do a blue-to-blue litter?  Well, I did and really  was lucky - 2 blue girls, 2 blue boys and 2 b-black girls!  Who could ask for anything more?  Naming Zsa Zsa was fairly easy - I took her to a match where Zsa Zsa Gabor presented the trophy for Best In Match.  And since both Zsas had such pretty faces and Miss Gabor was wearing a purple fur coat!  How could my pretty puppy be named anything else? 

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Elizabeth 

Ch Winrose Love Letters In Blue

Ahh, Elizabeth....  My dorky bitch.. Such a beautiful girl - showed up a storm - outside the ring!  Once she entered the ring she was 'Chicken Little' in fur - The sky was always ready to fall.  The only one of my dogs I could never put any points on.  But a more beautiful girl would be hard to find...  There are so many stories about Elizabeth in and out of the ring..  One of my favorites was when she was being shown by a friend, Debbie Tesch, and there was a change of judge.  To a judge who NEVER put up blues or blacks.  Debbie decided to show her anyway.   When it came time for Open AOAC (Any Other Allowed Color as opposed to Open Sable & White) all the others were absent.  Elizabeth was in the class by herself.  While Debbie had Elizabeth on the examining table, the judge commented about all the absenses.  Debbie wise cracked, "I'm the only  one with guts".  The judge shot back, "no, you are the only one with class".  Elizabeth went on to win Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite Sex to Best of Breed!!!!  When Elizabeth only needed 3 points to finish her Championship, I had to place her so she went to a Belgian Sheepdog Breeder whose father wanted a sheltie to love.  Seemed like the perfect home - Dara would finish her and she'd be a couch potato.  But the fates stepped and she was dog napped!  After 6 months Dara received a phone call and Elizabeth was found!!!  Full of fox tails and burrs.  But 1 year later, thanks to Dottie Adkins we had a new Champion!  Elizabeth then went to her new retirement home with 'The Little Old Lady From Pasadena' where she lived out her days as a pampered couch potato!  She died at age 14. 

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Ch SumerSong NightHawk (Zane)    
his 'pin-up' picture 
Born July 10, 1983  

Zane is almost 15 years old now and in relatively good health. He plays like a puppy and bounds up and down the stairs (well, maybe 'bounds' isn't quite right, after all he is an old man!) and is the Number One bed dog!! Zane sired 3 American Champions, 1 Canadian Champion and several others with points. Zane has a beautiful black coat that has never owed anything to 'Lady Clairol' and never rusts. He reproduced his marvelous correct temperament as well as his terrific natural ears. As a show dog, no one could ask for anything more - he was born showing! During his career he was awarded numerous match wins, several sweepstakes Bests, Best Of Winners for 5 points at the prestigious SSC of San Diego and a Specialty Best Of Breed. We never tried to campaign him as a special 'cause 'black dogs are soooo hard'! I know that my time with him is quite limited, but I treasure every day we have left. He has been my support in times of need and my best friend. 

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Darby

 Can Ch Shady Lady Of Winrose

Darby was so special.  I had given her dam to some friends but wanted to breed her to Zane.  When the time came Audrey whelped the litter and Wilf fell in love with Darby.  So they kept her while I took the rest of the litter.  When Audrey died, Darby was Wilf's comfort and joy.  When Wilf died, Darby found her sleeping place on his pilow where she slept until she died.   
   

 OUR CODE OF ETHICS

1. We shall at all times act in the best 
    interests of the breed in matters of 
    sportsmanship, breeding, courtesy 
    and all dealings with fellow breeders 
    and the general public. 

2. We shall at all times properly care 
    for our dogs, being especially careful 
    to keep shots up to date, keep dogs 
    free of internal and external pests, 
    and will provide safe, clean and 
    sanitary living quarters for our dogs.

3. Dogs shall have sufficient exercise 
    to maintain good health.  

4. We shall provide a loving and non-
    abusive home for our dogs and will 
    provide sufficient human contact to 
    properly socialize our dogs.  We will 
    not keep more dogs than we can 
    properly and consistently socialize.

5. We shall abide by all rules and 
    regulations of the AKC and the UKC 
    and will encourage all other owners 
    to do the same.  These rules include 
    the keeping of records of ownership 
    on dogs owned and bred and abiding 
    by the dog show and registration rules.  

6. We shall at all times attempt to 
    present the breed to the public in a 
    positive manner. Dogs taken to 
    public gatherings will be clean and 
    healthy and temperamentally good 
    examples of the breed.  We will 
    make every attempt to be good 
    neighbors, being careful to see that 
    our dogs do not annoy our neighbors 
    due to noise, poor care, unsightly 
    living conditions, or running loose.

7. We shall represent ourselves and 
    our dogs honestly, and shall make 
    ourselves reasonably available to 
    owners of dogs we have sold, to 
    answer questions and provide 
    guidance when requested.

8. All dogs used for breeding shall be 
    free from communicable disease, 
    in good health, and free of known 
    genetic defects which would affect 
    the health, lifespan, or suitability of 
    the dog or its progeny.  In 
    conjunction with the awareness of 
    such problems, we will seek to 
    determine if breeding stock is free 
    from defects by at least having stock 
    x-rayed for hip dysplasia using the 
    OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for 
    Animals), PennHip (University of 
    Pennsylvania) or OVC (Ontario 
    Veterinary College) as a clearing 
    agency and having stock  tested for 
    eye anomalies with a diplomat of 
    the American College of Veterinary 
    Ophthalmology.  Dogs will be 
    screened for vWD.  A copy of all 
    test results shall be furnished for all 
    dogs sold as show or breeding stock, 
    or if requested by the buyer of pet 
    stock. If it is later discovered that a 
    dog is producing such defects, it 
    will be removed from the  breeding 
    program.  We shall seek to identify 
    inherited thyroid disorders by having 
    the thyroid levels on our breeding 
    stock checked on a regular basis by 
    using a lab with specific facilities for 
    testing canines and/or by a vet who 
    is knowledgeable about thyroid 
    disorders and normal values for canines.  
    Dogs with severe temperament problems 
    such as extreme fear or aggression, or 
    dogs in noticeably poor health will not 
    be bred.  Immunizations shall be kept 
    current on all dogs, as advised by our 
    veterinarian.

9. We shall not breed litters for profit, or 
    without the expressed intention of 
    bettering the breed.  We shall limit the 
    number of puppies we breed to those 
    that can be sold into good and loving 
    homes if we do not wish to keep them.  

10. We shall make every effort to see 
    that dogs we sell go to good and 
    loving homes and that pet quality 
    dogs are spayed and neutered.  
    Pet buyers will not be asked to 
    breed their dogs or be sold dogs 
    with contracts that require breeding. 
    Pet buyers are to be expressly 
    advised that their dogs are not of 
    breeding quality and are not to be 
    bred.  If we sell a dog for show or 
    breeding and the dog proves 
    unsuitable for the purpose, we will 
    urge the owner to have the dog spayed 
    or neutered and will not insist that the 
    dog be bred to fulfill a contract.

11. If we sell a dog which the buyer 
    subsequently does not want, we will 
    either offer to take the dog back or 
    assist in finding it a new home.

12. We shall not knowingly sell puppies 
    or breeding stock to pet dealers, 
    catalog houses, or other commercial 
    sources; nor will dogs be given as 
    prizes in contests or exploited to the 
    detriment of the breed, nor shall we 
    make our stud dogs available to 
    those known to be dealers in dogs, 
    nor shall we allow bitches purchased 
    at pet shops to be bred to our studs.

13. Dogs sold with AKC or UKC papers 
    shall be free from disease and health 
    guaranteed for reasonable length of 
    time.  Any known defects shall be 
    fully disclosed to the buyer.

14. We shall make no claims in 
    advertising which are untrue or can 
    be misconstrued by a reader.  Wins 
    listed will be for American shows and 
    wins in foreign countries will be listed 
    separately.  The same holds true for 
    listing of winning offspring.    Dogs 
    which have been tested clear of hip 
    dysplasia will have their names 
    followed by the name of the facility 
    that did the evaluation.  Dogs which 
    have been tested clear of eye 
    anomalies will be listed as eye normal.
    Dogs that have been tested clear of 
    vWD shall be listed as vWD normal.  
    Dogs that have been tested clear of 
    thyroid disorders shall be listed as 
    thyroid normal.  Dogs that are used 
    for breeding stock that are advertised 
    as thyroid normal or eye normal shall 
    be tested on an annual basis.