My Dogs and Partners
The Pups and Natasha on the trail - fall 2020
My passion in life is my dogs. They are fun, brilliant, smart, loving, busy and a joy to spend time with. Agility, hiking and all the games we play, has helped deepen our bond together and we work as a team. The level of communication we build together serves to enhance every aspect of our day to day lives and makes my dogs not only my partners but also my beloved family as well.
KESTREL - Photo By Alanna Leach
KESTREL
Kestrel is a 16 year old Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. She was rescued from the Bitterroot Humane Association and came to live with me in 2006. She began agility in 2008 and retired in 2017. During her career she earned 4 Championship awards, entered the NADAC Hall of Fame, and attended NADAC Championships twice, pacing in the top 20 in her division. She was ranked tenth in one division among 400+ other border collies in 2012. She is a sweet, quiet, shy dog and comes to life as a barking whirlwind when she is doing what she loves! Kestrel is a fabulous trail dog and still loves to hike anywhere we go.
ELF - Photo By Alanna Leach
ELF
Elf is a 13 year old Border Collie who was rescued from a horrific hoarding case in Texas. He came to live with me in 2010 and has always seemed grateful to have moved to Montana. Elf has numerous health issues due to his rough start but he is able to hike and is very talented at nosework. His absolute favorite thing to do is to herd the rest of the pack while we hike, with a pine cone in his mouth.
BOUNDER - Photo By Alanna Leach
BOUNDER - aka THE PRAIRIE DOG
Bounder is an 13 year old mixed breed who came from a HeRd of Wyoming. He came to live with me in 2011 and began competing in agility in late in 2012. Bounder has been an amazing teacher to me and is one of the most brilliant, loyal dogs I have ever owned. He doesn’t love agility so we have stopped competing and play agility at home. He is happiest on the trail with me and is the best trail dog I have ever had. He has been insrumental in teaching the ropes to my younger dogs. His favorite things are hiking, mountain biking or horseback riding.
SPRING - Photo By Alanna Leach
SPRING
Spring is an 10 year old Border Collie mix and came from RezQ Dogs of Montana. She came to live with me in 2014. She loves agility and began to compete in the summer of 2015. Unfortunately she has many fear issues that often affects her desire to compete. She is largely retired from agility but still enjoys playing at home. Spring loves her pack and revels in our hikes and mountain bike rides. She's all about fun and has found an endless source of it with us.
Sweep
Sweep is a 4 year old Border Collie and came from a breeder in upstate New York. He came to live with me in 2020. He is a very happy, driven dog who loves to work, run and have a great time. He excels at hiking and loves to go fast with the mountain bike and for long distances with the horses. Sweep adores agility and is loving the game! We began to compete a little bit in the last few years and he loves it! He has fit in seamlessly with my pack and has been a wonderful addition for all of us.
Zest
Zest joined our pack in late October 2023 and comes from the same breeder as Sweep, but is not related. She has been a perfect puppy so far! She is learning the ropes and becoming an integral part of our crew. She is loving hiking and playing with Sweep. I am hoping she learns to love agility and continues her journey as an amazing trail dog.
In Memory
FROG - Photo By Alanna Leach
FROG - 3/15/2005 - 1/1/2021
Frog was a Border Collie/Australian Cattle Dog mix, who was rescued from the Humane Society Of Western Montana and came to live with me in 2005. He began competing in 2007 and retired in 2017. His career earned him 9 different Championship awards, entry in to the NADAC Hall of Fame and placement in 2012 and 2013 in numerous top fifteen classes. He went to NADAC Championships three separate years, placing 7th in 2010, 13th in 2011 and 4th in 2013. Frog was an extrovert, he loved people and his joy of agility was obvious when he ran. His legacy, however will always be in the thousands of miles of trails that he traveled with me. He was a wonderful trail partner and taught his pack mates all of the ropes.
Kestrel - 8/15/06-5/14/23
Kestrel was a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. She was rescued from the Bitterroot Humane Association and came to live with me in 2006. She began agility in 2008 and retired in 2017. During her career she earned 4 Championship awards, entered the NADAC Hall of Fame, and attended NADAC Championships twice, pacing in the top 20 in her division. She was ranked tenth in one division among 400+ other border collies in 2012. She was a sweet, quiet, shy dog who was devoted to me. When on the trail and doing what she loved, she would come to life as a barking whirlwind She was an amazing trail dog and loved to hike and mountain bike. She was also the Matriarch of our pack and very missed!