Montara Collies

Spikie's Fan Club Home Page

Some dogs enter your life, and find a very special place in your heart.  They also leave a huge hole when they are gone.  Sadly, shortly after posting this page, my Spikie left me.  I miss her every single day, she truly was my best friend.  Her illness was a short one, thank God, and she left the world as she came in, in my hands and heart.

Spikie, you were loved and you are missed, rest in peace.

Ch Montara's If The Devil Danced, CDX, HXAd, OA, OAJ, VX

Spikie was always her own little person, and what a fun little person she was!  She has made friends who will throw the ball for her all around the country. Spike would go anywhere, do anything, for anyone who has a tennis ball or cookie - but she had a special place in her heart for her true friends!  She usually showed this by jumping on you and punching you in the gut.  Special greetings for special friends.  She never forgot anyone she had made friends with.  There is a nice article about Spikie in the March 2001 Collie Expressions magazine.  

"Spike" was a joke name, for the biggest puppy in the litter, it just stuck!  She was a standout by the time she was 5 weeks old, and ball obsessed by 8 weeks of age.  She was my first homebred Champion, and the first dog I had ever bred myself.

Spike was a fun dog to show in obedience, despite occasional occurrences of "beaten Collie" when she didn't understand something I expected of her.  She finished her CD with very little training (I hate training Novice!) and her CDX quite easily.  We were working on her UD at the time of her death, but she didn't have a leg yet.  She knew all the exercises though, just maked up her own rules much of the time, like taking jumps on the way out, etc.  I much prefered the innovative sessions, even when I got bit in the butt!

Spike was a therapy dog, she wass best at taking the ball to every person in the room, and she didn't care if you were a crummy thrower! 

Spike was my first experiment in agility training, performing at the Ohio CCA trial with...oh, about 2 training sessions under her belt.  She had never seen jumps with two bars before, she seemed to think you were supposed to aim for the middle!  She was also an instant expert in fast, LOUD teeter totter - great fun!  Spikie had one leg on her AX.

Spikie was a slow bloomer in herding, preferring to watch her sister Harley do all the work, while she lay in the shade watching.  After two years of that, she deigned to try it herself, and went from her PT to HXAd in a little over 2 years.  Her favorite part was biting the part of the sheep mommy was pointing to.   She also thought it great fun to stand on the tip of a ducks wing so it couldn't get away, and pretend she didn't know why it was flapping and carrying on that way.  Spikie had earned 4 all breed High in Trials, all on ducks, and many Reserve HITs.

Spikie says she wants to try tracking now, so we are working on that this winter!     Well, we never got that TD, but she did have a good time learning tracking!

Spike is one of those "once in a lifetime dogs" that just so happens to have a sister who is one also, for different reasons.  Spikie is my soul-mate, best buddy and lifelong friend.  It saddens me to see her muzzle turning gray, but she has not slowed down one bit, and I hope she doesn't for quite some time!!  (She is 8 as I write this)  We have many more goals to chase at this time, and MANY more balls to fetch!