Breaking News "After Dark"!

June 2010

So far, we've been having fun and it isn't even officially summer! Chase got his second leg in Open JWW with a fourth placement, and two days later we were off to Beardie Camp. There is always so much to do and the people at Purina Farms are the best. Jack and Karma went into the sheep pen, and came out with an HIC (Herding Instinct Certificate). She and Jack made quite a team, looking like they've done it a million times although it was the first time Karma even saw sheep! Sparkle qualified for her CGC (Canine Good Citizen). The weather was hot, so I was really looking forward to dock diving. I got to hop in the pool with Chase and Karma. Cowboy, age fourteen, was a very happy camper and participated in the "running of the Beards". They next day I treated him to a canine massage. We paid tribute to Checkers by launching two purple (his favorite color) balloons at the memorial service. Sunny enjoyed the couch and the air conditioning in the motor home. This year, I was the instructor for Beardie Puppy 101 at camp. Take a peek at the PowerPoint presentation.

May 2010

Girls, girls, girls! Packed up the RV and headed off to a weekend show, and a good time was had by all. Sparkle, Britannia Sparkles After Dark, went WB and BOS both days. Not far behind was Karma, After Dark Instant Karma, who went RWB both days, and took a Group 3 at the B Match on Friday night. Everyone is looking forward to the next road trip in June - Beardie Camp!!!!!!

April 2010

Happy birthday to Cowboy, who turned 14 earlier this month. He still acts like and thinks he is 5, and we enjoy every minute of it. Congratulations to Sparkle, Britannia Sparkles After Dark, who was BOW and BOS at the Saginaw Valley Kennel Club show on the 10th. Aside from the dog show news, we're all very happy spring is finally here!

January 2010

Sadly, we said our final good byes to Checkers this month. He was our first conformation dog and an awesome agility partner. I'd like to say that I taught him a lot, but to tell the truth; Checkers taught me a lot more. He will be missed.

THE BEST PLACE TO BURY A DOG

"There is one best place to bury a dog.
"If you bury him in this spot, he will
come to you when you call — come to you
over the grim, dim frontier of death,
and down the well-remembered path,
and to your side again.
"And though you call a dozen living
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.
"People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know
something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth the knowing.
"The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."


--- Ben Hur Lampman ---

December 2009

Happy Birthday to Sparkle, who turned two years old this month! Check out this year's Christmas photo. Hint: It helps if your dogs are taught to "sit" and "wait", and a pocketful of treats also comes in handy. Karma, just three months old, behaved like an angel. Happy Holidays to all!

November 2009

The puppies have all gone to their new homes and have settled in nicely. All but one share their home with other Beardies, but that's just a matter of time. Riley, After Dark Living The Life Of Riley, was featured in a wonderful story that appeared on the front page of the Herald & Review (Illinois). You can read the story online by clicking here.

October 2009

We all had a great time at the Bearded Collie Club of America's National Specialty! Chase and Sparkle showed their versatility by participating in herding, agility, rally and conformation. We came home with some lovely ribbons and a few brags.

• Sparkle earned her HIC title in herding.
• Chase took first place in Open JWW and first place in Novice STD, and finished his NA title and came home with two beautiful trophies.
• I got to buy a new coat and new shoes since my agility gear was soaked from the Splashfest in Minnesota.
• Sparkle and Chase both qualified in the Rally Novice class with respectable scores in the 90's.
• After a bath and grooming session, Sparkle and Chase did their best in the conformation ring.

Congratulations to all the winners!

September 2009

Happy Sixth Birthday to Chase and Zoe (9/21/03)!

Great news: Zoe's puppies have arrived! We have 7 puppies — 2 black females, 1 black male, 1 brown female and 3 brown males; all were born 9/7/09.

Sire is MACH CH Colquhoun's No Time To Relax MXF NAC HIC, aka Miller, and for the record Zoe is CH After Dark Seventh Star OA AXJ CL2 RF HIC CGC. Miller's CHIC # is 57021 and Zoe's CHIC # is 42937. This is a co-breeding with Zoe's owner, Jennifer Scheytt. Inquiries welcome!

Look here for more puppy pictures!

Be sure to check out the Articles page to read "Play It Safe"!

June 2009

I always look forward to the Up 'N Over Agility trial held the first weekend of June, because to me that means summer is finally here. To add to my delight, Chase brought home two rosettes - first place in Novice Standard, and fourth place in Open Jumpers.

The following weekend we traveled to Chicago for the Chicagoland Regional Specialty, where Sparkle was awarded first place in the 12-18 month bitch class in Sweeps. Thank you breeder/judge, Leslie Papa!

Is there anything better than the smell of puppy breath? If all goes as planned, that wonderful scent will be here in early September. Zoe is the mom-to-be; check out her web page for photos and pedigree. More information as it becomes available. Please contact me for the details.

May 2009

Sparkle took Reserve Winners Bitch in her first MB-F Virtual Dog Show!

More good news.......

We call her Sparklelicious, but on May 16th at the Genesee County Kennel Club Show, the judge called her Best of Winners. Our little girl is growing up to be a lovely bitch!

April 2009

My personal life demanded a brief hiatus from the dog show world, but our first month back out was terrific. My Sparklelicious girl earned her first points at the Saginaw Valley Kennel Club show, putting her officially "in the game". We traveled to Maryland for one of our favorite shows, the National Capitol Bearded Collie Club Regional Specialty. The club hosts a wonderful event and it's always great to see old friends.  Chase and Zoe were shown in the BOB competition, and Sparkle showed in the 12-18 month class. I have to say one thing about Sparkle, she is consistent! She earned 2nd place in Sweeps in a large 12-18 month bitch class, and was awarded the same honor in the regular classes. The next day, Sparkle earned the 2nd place ribbon again  in the 12-18 month bitch class at the Old Dominion show on Saturday. In addition to winning some "pie" money, Sparkle enjoyed spending time with her extended family. Check back later for photos (thanks, Chet) and the judge's critique.

In other news, Zoe (and her mom, Jenny) decided to join some friends for agility after the show on Friday in Maryland. Zoe earned her AXJ and NF title with a first place run in Exc A JWW. Although she appears very demure in the conformation ring, Zoe goes full throttle when she runs agility! I'm pretty sure that's the only time I've ever heard her bark.

Be sure to check out Sparkle on the MBF virtual dog show this May!

December 2008

I received my Christmas gift a bit early this year. The photo that graces the home page of this web site won second place in a photo contest sponsored by Drs. Foster and Smith, an online pet supply retailer. To view the winning photos click this link.The Beardies will have fun spending the prize, a $200 gift certificate for dog merchandise. MORE TOYS! In addition, we are now eligible for a trip to Disney World (without the dogs). Sending you warm wishes for the season and sharing Sparkle's Christmas wish......

Our Christmas card from After Dark:

 

 

November 2008

You have to check out the special interest page of the web site. We're going green After Dark, and you will be surprised to learn what we did with all that "dog hair". Of course, the real work was done by Martha Emery in Green Valley, Arizona, I just supplied the material. Rather, I should say -- Cowboy, Checkers, Sunny, Chase and Sparkle supplied the material. I am now the proud owner of a lovely hat and scarf made from a blend of Beardie hair mixed with hair from Shetland and Corrledale sheep. Unfortunately, we were only able to capture two of the "donors" for the photo shoot.

October 2008

Sparkle and I finished our third agility class, and she is coming along nicely for such a youngster. At the end of the month, Jack/Sparkle and myself/Chase attended a "Meet the Sheep" event. It's delightful watching the Beardies turn on to the sheep. Trust me, herding is a lot harder than it looks. We signed up for some lessons in November. Check out the photo of group herding -- Chase, me, Zoe and Zoe's Mom, Jenny Scheytt. You gotta feel sorry for that brown sheep!

September 2008

We entered a local show that had an entry for Best Puppy and I'm glad we did. The Sparklelicious puppy was awarded a Group 2 on 9/6/08.

August 2008

The After Dark crew acquiited itself well at the BCCC National Specialty. You can read Zoe's critique on her page.

Here is Sparkle's Sweeps critique:

6-9 Month Female, 4th place: Britannia Sparkles After Dark. Lovely dark bitch, expressive dark eyes, balanced on the move when she chose to cooperate. Slithgly lacking in terms of forechest and depth of chest when compared to the other three. (Sparkle's litter sister finished 2nd in this class.)

Sparkle's Regular Class critique:

Junior Puppy Bitch, 2nd place: Britannia Sparkles After Dark. Litter sister to #1 (the first place finisher) and similar body lines, plainer type with lovely head and nice dark eye, moved well but carrying her tail a little too high.

July 2008

Proud to announce that Chase is now a Canadian Champion! Am/Can CH After Dark Follow That Star NAJ HIC CGC earned his last two points in Sarnia over the holiday weekend.

Sparkle, Britannia Sparkles After Dark, made her show debut at the BCCA Great Lakes Regional Specialty show in Michigan on July 4th. Handled by Jack, Sparkle took 4th place in a very competitive 6-9 month bitch class.

June 2008

We all had a great time at Beardie Camp, especially Sparkle since "everyone loves puppies at Beardie Camp"!  Thanks to Grandpa Chet, Sparkle experienced cherry pie! It doesn't get any better than that. Chase worked the sheep in the big pen and earned his HIC from Ann Witte. It was heart warming to see all the rehome/rescue Beardies at Beardie Camp. A special thanks to all the other instructors who donated their time at Beardie Camp, I'm sure all the participants are grateful so many Beardie folk are willing to share their knowledge and expertise.  Thanks to Dan Landiss, you can enjoy some photos from Beardie Camp,visit his web page at.
landiss.info/misa/beardiecamp/index2008.html

On a personal note, I'd like to thank the day care crew who did an awesome job watching over the Beardies left in day care.

May 2008

After a brief hiatus from the agility ring, Checkers and I went to the Bearded Collie Club of America agility trial hosted by the Wild Weavers in Grove City, Ohio. We made the trip with our friend Jenny, and her two Beardies, Maggie and Zoe. Checkers hasn't competed since October of 2007, when we attended the BCCA National Specialty, but he managed to Q in five out of six runs! He earned his Open JWW Preferred title, as well as his Novice Fast Preferred title. Zoe, came home with the biggest ribbon, earning the HIT award (highest scoring Beardie at the trial) thanks to her Open Standard run. We were tired, wet, dirty and very happy!

April 2008

Well, it was a long ride to the Carolinas Regional Specialty Show, but it was worth it! CH After Dark Seventh Star NA OAJ, aka Zoe, received the #1 Award of Merit from breeder/judge Chantal Andrew. The photo is now available on Zoe's page.

Happy Birthday to Cowboy! He turned 12 years young on April 5th.

Maryann's latest article, Smoking is Bad for You (and Your Beardie), has been added to the Articles area.

Sunny earns a ROMA title since two of her offspring have earned agility titles. Thanks, Chase and Zoe!

CH After Dark Follow That Star, NAJ (Chase)
CH AFter Dark Seventh Star, OA, OAJ (Zoe)

Maryann has successfully completed the ABCs of Breeding home study program and received the Breeder's Education Certificate (suitable for framing) from the American Kennel Club.

March 2008
It's a girl!

We have a new baby, and she is Sparklelicious! Such a big name for a little girl, so we just call her Sparkle. To learn more about our newest "star," visit her web page.