Buddy
Here is a picture of our best companion, walker, friend, hiker, and camper. He was wonderful, loyal and understood all our feelings and moods.  One day, my son and Buddy were hiking with a group of friends, they were not sure which turn to take and Buddy took them down the right path - He was a very very smart dog.
We lost him on June 17th of this year - He was our almost 15 and was our Third Weimarainer and  "One of the Best."

Thor
Thor's lifelong job was to protect Mom & guard the house.  In February 2005 at 3AM, when Thor was 10 years old, he frantically & persistently worked to wake Marilyn's son, Russ.  Marilyn, who was in early stages of Alzheimer's disease, had gone out for a walk.  At first Russ couldn't figure out what Thor was being so insistent about, until Thor took him to the door & Russ discovered the keys weren't in the lock.  Russ eventually found Mom unconscious on the sidewalk, having fallen & hit her head. If Thor had not woken Russ, Marilyn would have, quite literally, frozen to death.

Thor continued to watch out for, & “herd” Marilyn, never leaving her side.  She found great fun & joy in Thor's company & love.  When she became mostly bedridden he would carefully & delicately climb up to kiss her, check on her, or get a pet, but he took it to a new extreme one night when we had a relative stay with Mom while we went to a concert.   We came home to find Thor on top of Mom's blankets, in her bed, positioned between Mom & her niece (who Thor knew).  He never hindered her caretaking, but he was there to be ever-vigilant and at the ready.  According to mom's niece, after we'd closed the door & driven off, Thor calmly went to Mom's bed, climbed up, and stayed there the entire time until we came home. He was never a threat to Michele but he made sure no one was a threat to Mom.

Thank you, Bill, for all your tireless work you have done, and continue to do.  There are no words to tell you how much we appreciate you! 

Thanks & many Blessings,
Russ Winters & Kim Winters Kristiansson, and Thor

Paulie
Pauli ended up #9 in Breed in 2008 at 10 months old and received an opportunity to go to Westminster, but I decided that she was too young for that since I had been there in 2005 with her Grandpa Dude who was #2 in the Nation. Currently she is #1 in the AKC Breed Standings and showing very well with Handler Andy Linton.

-Dean

Prairie Dawg
My schipperke dog, Prairie Dawg is now 20 months old.  He is a wonderful traveler, and a welcome companion.  He talks to me and he absolutely loves singing.  His voice is quite shrill at times, but we think he sounds marvelous.  Prairie Dawg is also very smart, he is quick to solve problems, such as opening garbage cans that have lids, opening Tupperware containers and of course for the more typical dog behaviors such as tearing up every single stuffy toy in the house.  Prairie is very well behaved in his obedience class and is learning to compete in agility now that he is older.  He is a much quicker study than I!

Prairie Dawg is named for his spectacular ability to stand on his hind legs and wave with both front paws simultaneously.  In schipperke land, we call this endearing behavior a pattycake as it so looks like young girls playing pattycake.  Well when Mr. Dawg was very young, he was unable to get his bottom up off the ground, so he pattycaked while sitting and hence the wonderfully unique name that he now carries … Prairie Dawg.

Here’s a photo of my best buddy.  For National Dog Day, I salute Prairie Dawg.

Thanks for a special holiday for our best friends.

-Diana

Shelby & Deitz
Shelby Emerald a tri-Border Collie, nicknamed right away as Snuggle bug/Angel Girl...brought her home in a Santa hat 12/18/98.  Shelby brought love, kindness and unconditional happiness into the lives of my Mom and I.  Shelby opened up a world of Agility and Obedience for me and we are to this day encircled with a multitude of human and K9 friends.Dietz came into the picture  4 yrs later in March 2003, full of antics and "an energizer bunny in a Border collie suit"  She always made my mom laugh.  Now that Mom has been gone 1-1/2 yrs.  my girls are tighter to me than ever.  Shelby ever-faithful ALWAYS at my side and Dietz always drying away my tears.  "I asked God for a Best Friend, and HE honored my request by uniting me with Shelby Emerald and Dietz"  No dog-mom could ever be prouder.The titles below speak for themselves. The two girls are the BEST companions I could have ever asked for.  God Bless all the dog owners everywhere!!  Love your doggies they are only here a short time.

-Millie

Liam
Liam, Sunshine’s Gift Of Galway, CD, RAE2, is an Irish Setter, and a complete ham who loves nothing better than an audience.  Several animal communicators have begun a session by informing me that “Liam thinks he’s very handsome and loves to show off.”  Well, duh, that’s hard to miss, clairvoyant or not. I always knew he was born to dance, but since there were no freestyle classes in my area, we did Rally instead.  It was the closest to dancing we could get.  He now has two RAE titles and is halfway to his third – a trip not without its surprises, considering Liam’s need to entertain the crowd.  Imagine being dismissed after your dog pounces on the stuffie used for a distraction on the figure eight exercise, then prances across the ring, tossing it in the air.  Been there, done that and more.  And this is Rally Excellent! Finally, and not a moment too soon, freestyle arrived in southern California and Liam jumped in with all four feet.  He now has his own music and his own solo routine, and performs at various events in the area, both individually and as a member of a dog dancing team.  In between appearances, he finds time for an occasional magazine shoot or TV commercial, and of course he’s been to Sacramento to join in the fight against the anti-pet legislation, which, needless to say, he takes very personally.

All in all, Liam is one happy boy.  Life is good.

-Carole

Hannah
Her name is Hannah -- she was Chablais Wood Duck's Y Hannah, CGC. She was my foundation bitch that went to the bridge 6/01/09-- 2 months short of turning 15. Hannah never gave me a Championship but from her first litter I got my first "home grown CH" in the name of Mariah and later the same year, her great grandson Morgan also became a CH. Two other daughters have the highest obedience and agility titles along with hunting titles. So in my heart she was a champion. She died peacefully in my arms-- rest well Hannah until we meet again.

-Jeanne

Tucker
My husband, Dan, is a disabled veteran who until 10 years ago struggled every day with the life issues caused by PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).  With help from VA and counseling, he began to learn how to live with this disease.  But, the best medicine he ever received was his Border Collie, Tucker.  Dan cowboyed for many years and learned the benefits of having a good working dog.  Only the Border Collie was different...highly intelligent and very sensitive.  Training and living with Tucker has given Dan the ability to calmly control his emotions and thought process, as well as having a physical outlet for his energy level.  This team went on to win stock dog championships throughout the western United States until Tucker's retirement in 2008.  We both owe this wonderful dog a debt of gratitude for the quality of life he has given us

-Patricia

Blue
A long story short. I purchased my home from a real estate flipster, buying distressed homes and renovating for market. I had no idea the prior owner was a drug dealer. I was in the home for about 2 months when one Saturday evening it sounded like the house was collapsing, there were two very big men, one at each door trying to kick them down. My dog Blue was out the door as it crashed down and took the one man down, mind you this little guy of mine had never been trained to be anything but nice. He then ran around the other side of the house and attacked the other man. They both took off running and he kept pursuing them until he knocked down the one man and held this guy's throat with his mouth, I never imagined he was so smart or could be so nasty, but thank God he was.

These two men were fresh out of prison and were looking to get some money owed them by the prior owner, they saw the house all fixed up and thought the drug dealer still lived there and was making a ton of money. The guy my Blue was holding pleaded with me but I let Blue hold him until the police arrived and they caught the other man a few blocks away. I have no reason to believe that they would have not killed me so not to be a witness, if not for Blue. Sadly Blue passed away at the tender age of only 4 from kidney failure, the high priced food I was feeding him was loaded with tainted gluten from China, this was in 2007. I can start to cry just looking at pictures of him still today, my little hero will never be forgotten.

-Rush

Bonnie
Bonnie has been my service dog for nearly three years. She helps me maintain my balance, picks up items that I drop, pulls a shopping cart, brings me the phone and other items that I need, pulls me on the days I need to use my manual chair, and alerts me to a pending medical condition that causes me to fall.

Her main fault is her typical pit bull temperament. A stranger is only a friend that she hasn't met yet. She wears her own casino players club on her working harness, and  enjoys favorite customer status at every place we patronize regularly.

-Kathryn

Star and Zip
The picture I have enclosed is of my two dogs, border collie, Star and pomeranian, Zip.  Both are therapy dogs at a local psychiatric hospital.  Their work with the children, adolescents and adults have brought smiles and some happiness into dreary days in the hospital.

-Pat