Any Man of Mine of Lee Ray PT, HRD I, TC, OFA
12/7/95 - 7/14/2005
“Shania”
Shania came blasting into my life with two mission objectives:
1. To be the foundation bitch for my performance dogs.
2. To knock me off my high horse and get me back on a learning path.
I wanted Shania’s name to be Speed. ’95 was the year the Keanu Reeves/ Sandra
Bullock movie had come out…I got a speeding ticket rushing to get to her birth. Like
Quest, I pretty much knew I had to keep her as soon as I saw her. Ni and I had a
tempestuous relationship, but the love, loyalty and bond, were never in doubt. Her
breeder always had music names for her dogs, and suggested Any Man of Mine, the
Shania Twain song that had come out that year. The songs lyrics so perfectly fit her
personality, I said great.
Although there were some holes in my work with Dru, I thought I had “it” figured
out…I “knew” herding. Shania took her first 3 years, and showed me Oh, how wrong
I was. Shania made me rethink and start searching for a truer path to herding. I didn’
t find that path until after she had retired, but I am afraid that I wouldn’t have even
known to look, if not for her.
Shania came to be a teacher, but she was never a kind one. She was brutally honest
about your lacks and faults if you dared to pick up a stock stick and presume to
direct her. She’d get a glint in her eye and clearly say “bring it on!” Several times
when I handed her off to a student, she would cheerfully run them into the ground….
literally.
The greatest gift she gave me was Reva. Reva was much too much of a lady to pull
her mother’s pranks but I see Shania clearly when I look at several of her grandkids.
Shania loved her babies and grandbabies, a whole lot more than their mother ever
did. Shania took over the cleaning and nurturing chores the day Reva gave birth….and
wanted NO PART of those nasty little things causing her pain. Reva reluctantly took
up motherhood, and Shania gracefully stepped into grandma status. But from that
time on, she was indisputably, Momma Ni. I hope to see a “little bit” of her
magnificent extravagance in future generations.
Thanks, Momma Ni
12/7/95 - 7/14/2005
“Shania”
Shania came blasting into my life with two mission objectives:
1. To be the foundation bitch for my performance dogs.
2. To knock me off my high horse and get me back on a learning path.
I wanted Shania’s name to be Speed. ’95 was the year the Keanu Reeves/ Sandra
Bullock movie had come out…I got a speeding ticket rushing to get to her birth. Like
Quest, I pretty much knew I had to keep her as soon as I saw her. Ni and I had a
tempestuous relationship, but the love, loyalty and bond, were never in doubt. Her
breeder always had music names for her dogs, and suggested Any Man of Mine, the
Shania Twain song that had come out that year. The songs lyrics so perfectly fit her
personality, I said great.
Although there were some holes in my work with Dru, I thought I had “it” figured
out…I “knew” herding. Shania took her first 3 years, and showed me Oh, how wrong
I was. Shania made me rethink and start searching for a truer path to herding. I didn’
t find that path until after she had retired, but I am afraid that I wouldn’t have even
known to look, if not for her.
Shania came to be a teacher, but she was never a kind one. She was brutally honest
about your lacks and faults if you dared to pick up a stock stick and presume to
direct her. She’d get a glint in her eye and clearly say “bring it on!” Several times
when I handed her off to a student, she would cheerfully run them into the ground….
literally.
The greatest gift she gave me was Reva. Reva was much too much of a lady to pull
her mother’s pranks but I see Shania clearly when I look at several of her grandkids.
Shania loved her babies and grandbabies, a whole lot more than their mother ever
did. Shania took over the cleaning and nurturing chores the day Reva gave birth….and
wanted NO PART of those nasty little things causing her pain. Reva reluctantly took
up motherhood, and Shania gracefully stepped into grandma status. But from that
time on, she was indisputably, Momma Ni. I hope to see a “little bit” of her
magnificent extravagance in future generations.
Thanks, Momma Ni
Shania