UPDATE: In September, 2017 our Monte died peacefully at his ripe age of 16 1/2 years. He was active and healthy to almost the very end. Monte gave us 11 years of undiluted love and we were blessed to make our home his. Monte’s ashes are scattered in a forest where he can chase squirrels evermore. We loved you Monte and we will always cherish your time with us.
UPDATE: Zoey passed away in January, 2022 just shy of achieving 17 years of age. Our home now seems strangely empty. Every time we return home, we still expect to see a wagging tail, but as of now we have none. Zoey's ashes will soon rejoin Monte forever more. God gives us dogs for just a short time, but we would never want to live without them. If dogs can't go to heaven, we want to go where they go.
Our dogs, Zoey and Monte, keep us jumping and active. Zoey was our pup, we raised her since May 2005 at the urging of Lisa, who wanted a dog. She is a purebred Shetland Sheepdog, sable merle. We adopted Monte from Minnesota Sheltie Rescue a year later. He is also a purebred, sable - but see the difference in coloration! Both are beautiful dogs, well behaved, and a joy to have. We find that two dogs are more than twice the fun, with less than twice the work. We go on walks, do agility (Zoey), hike and camp, run errands, and in general hang out together. Here are a few photos:
Monte on our back deck
Zoey - the Princess
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| Zoey & Rick at agility trial, Rochester |
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| Monte at Canal Park, Duluth |
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| Monte in the big snow December, 2010 |
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| The two amigos, December 2010 |
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Zoey in pursuit of ?
We have been keeping foster dogs through Minnesota Sheltie Rescue for several years now. Often, we have a third dog. Three are certainly fun, but can be a real handful. All have been adopted after varying periods of time with us. Monte and Zoey have proven themselves to be a great foster brother-and-sister team. Here are pictures showing some of our foster dogs over the years:
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| Stormy Blue |
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| Riley (now Robbie), foreground, with Zoey |
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| Baru |
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| Molly (now Murphee) |
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| Lady Jane |
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