Three years ago, a special puppy came
into our lives. She arrived in the
dark of a storm, but its been sunshine ever since.
Zee Zee bonded with us almost immediately. She is my "shadow" and follows
me everywhere. She has assigned herself the job of intently watching my
every move, especially when I'm gardening. Then she will sneak up behind
me and grab one of the empty plastic plant pots, flip it up and over her
head like a hat, and run off with it. Of course, she can't SEE where she's
going, but that doesn't slow her down! This is just one example of Zee
Zee's wonderful sense of humor, and her joy of life.
She has worked miracles with our other Border Collie, who is socially
inept. (He was acquired long before I got to know Jan.) Zee Zee
instinctively knew how best to handle him right from the start; they
immediately became best friends.
Zee Zee is a social butterfly and knows exactly "how to work a room,"
enchanting everyone. On walks she sees a stranger in the distance and
seems to say "Look! There's my new best friend who I haven't met yet!"
With a long list of successful agility competitors behind her, agility
seemed like an obvious choice. She exudes a joy and delight in running
agility, and now holds many titles, from three different organizations.
I
have shown her sparingly, and only for the past twelve months. She is so
fast that I have had to develop some "coping mechanisms" of my own, just to
try to keep up. She is extremely confident, and has no problem working
thirty, forty, or more feet away from me. But she won't work for anyone
else.
Sometimes when we run an agility course, I can feel our connection, as if
there is an invisible umbilical cord connecting us. The rest of the world
ceases to exist - it is just "me and Zee" out there, running. We move in
unison, with one mind. Time stands still, and I feel like we are moving
effortlessly, never touching the ground. After we cross the finish line,
we do "the happy dance," with Zee Zee bouncing backwards and sideways, eyes
shining - and smiling ear to ear.
After one run, another competitor complimented us and said that we both
were obviously having a wonderful time out there. Then he said "You know,
she runs for you." "No," I responded, "I run for her," but that's not
quite right. Actually, WE RUN FOR EACH OTHER.
ZeeZee's dam is
Swizzle and her sire is
Scheme
Thank you, Jan, for a breeding program that consistently produces dogs that
are sound in MIND and BODY, are CORRECTLY PROPORTIONED for the job they
were ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO PERFORM, and dogs that are a JOY to LIVE WITH.
Just look at the pages for the other puppies from this litter...
Each person
says they got the BEST puppy Jan ever bred. Of course, WE KNOW who got the
best puppy. Shhhhhh.. but Zee Zee IS the TOPS!!
Thank you Jan, for sending Zee Zee into our lives!
Marilyn Waterston, Bernie LoCascio (Maryland)
