Sheba was my first dog. She came to me at 10 1/2 years of age - unwanted by her owners. She settled in so well (German Shepherds are noted for being one man dogs), when she saw her old owners two weeks later, she wouldn't even say hello!!!

She died two years later from pyometra - the vet tried his best, but to no avail. It was Sheba who got me interested in dog training; after all, owning a GSD I had to be able to control her properly.

Thus began my love affair with dogs.

Thank you Sheebs, I owe you so much.

Bobby and Amy, son and daughter of Purdy. Born on Valentines Day 1982, they were my special "loves".
Bobby was my shadow. He "adopted" my daughter as his special person. When out for walks, anyone coming too close to the pram would get "the look" and they would go away. He would never hurt anyone, but who would argue with a big GSD???? Not me!!!
Bobby died at 10 years old.

Amy was my mothers special friend. When I left home, Amy stayed with her. They were very close. Amy died at 14 1/2 years old.

Shep entered my life about 10 months after Sheba. Another rescue, he had been fed on potato peelings, left outside in all weathers, and not brushed for months. He was less than half the weight a Rough Collie should be but still had a wonderful temperament.
We had to nurse him through pneumonia, he made a full recovery and lived to be 14 years old.
To Shep I owe so much - he taught me so much about training dogs, and introduced me to dog psychology.

Purdy was the first dog I bought. She came into my life when she was 7 months old. She introduced me to agility, breed showing and obedience competitions. Purdy was the mother to Bobby and Amy, the first litter I bred. Her temperament was superb and she passed it on to her children. Sadly, Purdy was given sleep when only 8 years old, she developed CDRM, a condition that GSD's are prone to.

The Cats

The first cat that I remember was black and called Sooty. He followed my elder sister home from school one day - and stayed!!!
In the 1970's Judy was the family cat. A pretty tortie-tabby, she spent much of her time commuting between neighbour houses, especially those who were none to fond of cats!!!!!! She survived a very bad bout of cat flu and lived to a ripe old age.

KittyKat was my first cat. He came to me at about 5 years old when his owner was returning home abroad and couldn't take him. Another black, half siamese with no mieow!!! He may not have had the siamese yowl, but he certainly had the character!! He had a collar with a bell - so we knew where he was. He used this to excellent effect - teasing the dogs by sitting on the window cill and "scratching" to make it ring. He tormented the dogs terribly. But they always curled up together at night!!!!!

He survived a nasty car accidentlosing the sight of one eye and only having minimal sight in the other, but that didn't stop him living life to the full. He still managed to visit the next door neighbour. Sadly he died at around 7 years old from complications of improper feeding as a youngster - too much liver which caused his bones to calcify.