"Joshua"
DOB:
24th July 1989 - 12 May 2005
SIRE:
CH Dakiem Vicki's Lad OC AD
DAM:
Macsin Sindily Impish CD AD
BREEDER:
Lynda Graham
ACHIEVEMENTS:
Too many to mention...
* Illawarra &
Southern District top agility dog 1997
* Border Collie club champion
coated
* NSW scent hurdle relay team
member & NSW state champions
Where does one start
with this magnificent animal? At the
beginning I guess. Josh was 1 of 9
puppies in his litter and the 2nd last
left to find a home. I was drawn to
this oversized bundle of fluff from the
start. What a cutie. Josh was purchased
as an obedience dog, not for the show
ring, but somehow we ended up in the
show ring as well. He was the first dog
that I had ever owned and the whole
future was there for the grabbing. We
have learned a lot together and it was a
case of Josh teaching me what to do on
many occasions. Neither of us had ever
ventured into the world of "dog stuff"
before and he opened my eyes to a
wonderful hobby that now takes up all of
my time.
To show my total
inexperience, Josh's first meal was a
junior Burger with fries. Well, that's
what small kids eat isn't it? I could
fill up page by page on how wonderful
this dog is but I will try to keep it
brief so you don't go to sleep.
Josh was purchased
with my ex-defacto who said that if we
got a dog it had to be a Border Collie
and it had to live outside. I had no
idea what a Border Collie was but I'd
have accepted any type of dog - I wanted
one that badly! And live outside, no
problem. Needless to say, it wasn't
long before I was coming home from work
to find Josh in the house, on the lounge
with my ex eating watermelon together.
He had people wrapped around his paw at
an early age.
Whilst we were waiting
for a house to rent Josh lived at Mum's
house. Unfortunately, Josh was curious
about the swimming pool and fell in one
day only to be rescued by a neighbour
who jumped the fence and dragged him
out. Josh then ended up day-boarding at
his breeder's house until we found a
suitable place for him so that he would
have a longer life span than 2 weeks.
Over the years our goal of just CD
changed a bit and we (Josh & Nat)
decided to take on as much as we
possibly could. The end result for us
was Aust CH, CDX and AD titles all in
one year. Needless to say we did not
have a lot of free time that year.
We won events such as
NSW state scent hurdle relay's and
Illawarra and Southern District top
agility dog. Josh always seemed to pull
off the unthinkable when he needed to,
making him the special dog that he is.
To give you an insight into his
character, I'll briefly run through what
happened the day of the scent hurdle
final. Both teams were neck and neck by
the time the last dogs were being sent.
Josh looked at his competitor, trying to
stare him out the whole time, and in his
eyes was saying "I'm gonna beat ya".
Both dogs left the start together and
with every jump Josh eyed the
competition (another fast border
collie). They collected the final
dumbbells together and with each jump
Josh kept checking where the other dog
was. The noise was so loud he was
unable to hear me and my heart was in my
toes: I couldn't speak if I wanted to.
They crossed the last jump at the same
time and when it came to the finish
line, Josh literally stuck his head out
and we won by a nose (snout). This was
the kind of drive that he had. He
somehow knew he had to win.
Another time we were
at demo and Josh was under a table. He
got up and wondered out of our tent. I
was calling him back to no avail and
when I went outside I found him next to
a disabled man in a wheelchair. This
man had no movement in his arms yet Josh
lowered his nose and pushed it under the
man's arm so his arm was over Josh's
neck. My usual boisterous Border Collie
sat ever so still and the man and his
family was so moved they all had tears
running down their faces. They were not
the only ones. Enough about my little
champion in more ways than one.
At the ripe old age of
12, Joshua moved with the family to the
USA and begun the adventure of a
lifetime. From runs on the bay when we
lived in San Diego to romps in the snow
in our house in Connecticut, he was by
our side enjoying his 2 new little
charges (my sons Jack & Charlie). With
great trepidation, Joshua made the
journey back to Australia at the age of
15 1/2 and only just made it through
quarantine as his mind was still alert
but his body was starting to give up.
Sadly on the 12th of
May 2005 we sat with him while he
crossed the bridge and was set free from
all his pain and anguish. By far it was
one of the hardest thing I have ever had
to do but I am so gratefully he made the
passage home and was helped into heaven
by his vet of many years. He is now
burried on our property in the most
beautiful spot under a Tallow wood tree
in memory of our time & friends in the
USA
I am so blessed to
have had the Border Collie that no one
wanted and not a day goes by that I
don't appreciate having him in my life
and his funny ways. He has been there
through the good and bad parts of my
adult life and I owe him more than I can
put into words. In a true tribute to an
amazing dog, my first son Jack was named
after one of his nicknames. Anyone who
was fortunate to have met Josh is truly
touched by an angel. Look after him for
me Lyn.
