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Kaylie ~ BorderCollie! ~ Puppykins ~ Kaylie-girl ~ Littledog ~ My special girl
Kaylie ABCA 68853 b. 06/21/93 tri-color, rough coat
(Imp. Celt ISDS 167036/AIBC 95005/ABC 17440 x Imp. Jill(Jen) ISDS 177852)
OFA Good: BCO-2058G42F
CERF clear: BCO-1041N/2003--115
Kaylie was my first Border Collie, and also the first
dog of my own. I purchased Kaylie in 1993 with competitive obedience
in mind. At the time, I was not planning to do herding, and I only had
a vague idea that a sport like agility existed.
I started basic obedience with Kaylie, and continued through
the levels offered at the training school, but moved across the country
within four months. I didn’t know any “dog people”
out in southern California so was half-heartedly training on my own,
but not really getting much pleasure out of it. Things turned around
when I noticed Kaylie watching TV. This of itself isn’t too unusual,
but she was watching a cutting horse competition. In the living room,
she “worked” the cow on TV as well as the cutting horse!
I didn’t know much about herding, but I knew about horses and
I could see that this dog had some stock sense; that her interest went
beyond the attraction to movement on the TV screen. Not knowing how
to find a herding instructor, I called someone with Border Collie pups
for sale in the newspaper to see if they had any idea where I could
take my dog to test her on sheep. Lucky for me, they did know someone,
who it turned out was a reasonably good trainer. 
The trainer lived nearly two hours south of me, but I drove it regularly for many months, and left her with him on occasions when I went out of town. I actually didn’t learn very much at the time as herding doesn’t come naturally to me, but Kaylie showed him what she was made of, and he tried to buy her from me using every technique in the book. I felt proud that she had so much talent, even though I’d had nothing to do with it.
About a year and half later, I ended up back in New Jersey, where I took up obedience again. Kaylie had “good stuff” there as well; it was remarked by instructors who also owned Border Collies (directly out of herding dogs as well) that she was extremely high-drive “even for a Border Collie.” Intelligent, and quick to learn? Absolutely! But, neither us really LOVED the rigid discipline required to be successful in obedience competition.
I
found a good herding instructor surprisingly close to us and had some
lessons, although our progress was severely limited by lack of time
and especially money. Agility was now offered at the obedience school
at a price I could afford, and we took to that like fish to water. We
had just started attending practice matches, when I found myself divorced,
moving to a condo, and now unable to afford training often enough to
see us prove our mettle in either herding or agility trials.
I didn’t know when I might be more active in dog
sports again, plus I learned that a littermate of Kaylie’s had
been born with a condition (abnormal sex characteristics) that I was
concerned that Kaylie may carry 
recessively,
with no way to test for certain. Armed with the knowledge that there
was a possibility of unwanted recessive genes, and not knowing how much
time or money I could dedicate to training a pup in the next year or
two, I decided to spay her. Once I knew the genetics carried by her
littermate, it was the only decision to make, really, but it wasn’t
easy. Kaylie is SUCH a special dog to me, and has so much talent. I
had even decided on an outstanding stud dog, but I HAD to make the right
long-term decision about what pups I’d be responsible for bringing
into this world, not the emotional decision.
Kaylie was diagnosed with Lyme disease several years ago, even though she’d been vaccinated. As a result, she has early stage kidney failure, which is currently controlled by a low-protein diet. She is doing great at 11 years old, and still almost as fast as she was. The grey in her face is fading her tan points, but her attitude is awesome, and she gives me a snarling, bared-tooth “dog-smile” nearly every day. I chose her name as a phonetic spelling of the Gaelic word “ceileidgh” or “ceilidh,” a festival, gathering, or party. Party, indeed!
Thank you Kaylie, for being SO MUCH dog and giving me a crash course in living with a Border Collie! I am glad I passed your test, and you set my “standards” for future dogs incredibly high! A dog with less drive would simply be a lesser dog to me.
