Jennifer
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Female
26 years old
METHUEN, Massachusetts
United States
Last Login: 10/12/2009
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Mood:
nervous
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Jennifer's Interests
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| General | Travel, Camping, Agility (NADAC and AKC), Natural care (medicine, diet), physical therapy/rehab, orthopedics (shoulder studies and therapies), reading and attending seminars on all above topics, movies (yes, Lassie, duh...) | | Music | Most kinds, except for really heavy scream-o metal, and rap/hip hop | | Movies | Holy crap, way too many to mention...but some of the main ones are LOTR, Harry Potter, Star Wars... | | Television | The Deadliest Catch, Robin Hood, Avatar, SVU, Law and Order, "It's me or the Dog", Friends, ER, The Office | | Books | The Culture Clash, The Other End of the Leash, The Healing Power of Pets, Dog is My Co-Pilot, Travels with Macy, Ella in Europe, Eminent Dogs Dangerous Men, Woman’s Best Friend, Tricks of the Trade (Pat Hastings), and of course Harry Potter | | Heroes | First, foremost and ALWAYS: my MOM. She has ALWAYS supported my dreams and my love for dogs...no matter how crazy I sometimes sound. Shes always there for me, and my girls. Shes more than my mom. Shes my best friend. In the dog world, I really admire a lot of the dog/handler teams here in the north east, I think Pat Hastings is a genius, and Debbie Gross-Saunders is a savior. And of course, we love all of the vets at InTown! |
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Jennifer's Details
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| Status: | Single | | Zodiac Sign: | Aries |
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Jennifer is seeing the surgeon tomorrow...keep your fingers crossed! Posted at 11:04 PM Feb 1
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Jennifer's Latest Blog Entry
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Dog Love
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Black Sheep
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Adversity comes to remind you of whats important
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A ray of light through skies of gray
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Halloween: a dogs perspective
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Jennifer's Blurbs |
About me:
Hi! Welcome to the site for the Rohan Shelties: Himarks Lady of Rohan NAP, NAJP, CGC, TDI (Therapy Dogs Inc.)"Heidi", and A Shield Maiden of Rohan NA, NAJ, OA, CGC, TDI (Therapy Dogs Inc.) "Shelby". We are located in Massachusetts, but travel frequently north of the border for shows and seminars (and of course camping and other fun in the great out doors!) A little bit about the girls and I:
My first sheltie, Missy, started me on my current path in life. I got her when I was 10, and she quickly became a major part of my life. She went on great adventures with me and my active imagination, and helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life including medical issues, and the loss of my dad. I started attending shows with her, and learned about different aspects of the dog world, including agility and obedience. Poor Missy was unfortunately (being from a pet store, and ergo a puppy-mill) plagued with DM and hip dysplasia, and so was unable to participate. But even so, she was no less influential on who I am now. I look back and wonder, knowing all that I do (which admittedly, isn’t THAT much) of holistic and natural care, if I could have helped her be more pain-free, and happy during her short years, including her short battle with cancer. We very tragically lost her at 8, but even in losing her, she had a profound impact on me.
Losing Missy and then having to come home to an empty house was extremely hard. I quickly started looking for a puppy. Although I had thought about many other, different breeds, I always kept coming back to my beloved Shetland Sheepdog. Little did I know that in my search, I would find my heart-dog. Through many dead-end searches of local breeders, trying to find someone with a litter on the ground (and rarer still a puppy still available!) I got the contact for Himark Shelties in Florida. I called them, and they had ONE puppy left. She was older; much older than I had been looking for. I was in my 1st year of college for animal care, and completely absorbed in my "behavior and training" class where we were learning the optimum time to get a puppy was 49 days (7 weeks). This puppy was already 15 weeks. Everything that I had been learning about (the age factor, don’t take the last puppy in the litter, don’t buy a puppy sight unseen, don’t buy a puppy when you haven’t met the breeder, the dam or the sire etc., etc.) was thrown out the window. I needed this puppy. So the arrangements were made, and Heidi was flown up to us in October. She was an AMAZING puppy. Never getting into (too much) trouble, extremely biddable and smart, and of course looks to die for. She coated up very early (by about 1 yr!) and has remained breathtakingly beautiful. People often ask if she is a male due to her profuse coat, but then when they see her sweet face and feminine demeanor, they know she is all girl. She is almost 6 now, and although a shoulder injury has taken her out of competition (well, almost! see the NADAC blog!) she is still extremely playful and full of life. We have an amazing bond, and she has truly become my heart dog. Through her injury, she has opened my eyes to many new paths and ideas including physical therapy, herbs, and alternative treatments. Everyone who meets her loves her, and I know she will touch many more lives through her therapy dog work.
When Heidi was about 9 months old, I was still in school and planning her long and hopefully successful career in agility, obedience, rally...the sky was the limit! But one day when I was shopping in a local mall, I saw a small, sickly and slightly pathetic looking sheltie puppy in one of the cages. Feeling bolstered by all that I was learning in school, I wanted to go in and see her; hold her. I took her out and was shocked at what bad shape she was really in. She looked bad from afar, but even worse up front. She was MISSING the top half of her left ear and the bottom half of her tail looked broken; bent upwards at an odd angle. She felt like a bag of bones, with a dull coat to match. I actually thought that she would turn into a tri-factored sable, because her coat was SO gray! She had kennel cough, and was lethargic. She was almost unresponsive to most of the temperament testing exercises that I tried. I was so upset, I went home and called sheltie rescue (who of course, couldn’t do anything) and then told my mom. She offered to go see the puppy. We went back that night, and my mom was so affected by her, she bought her. Completely unplanned, and completely unexpected. I was distraught (as was Heidi!) for the first two weeks of having "Shelby" home. She walked right up to Heidi one day, and took the bone right out of her mouth. I knew that I had a dominant little wanker on my hands, and immediately took action. We enrolled right into a PK class where I worked, and she EXCELLED. She proved to also be extremely intelligent, and loves to learn. She is unafraid of trying new things, and also did well in agility. She has remained very healthy, and has settled down from an excitable puppy to a snuggly couch potato. Although at first I thought she would be a mistake, she has turned into a beautiful blessing. (And please, dont mistake our serendipitous find in Shelby an endorsement for petstores. I firmly and WILL ALWAYS believe that everyone should be SHUT DOWN!)Although I compete with her and take her every where, she is still very much in love with my mom. If my mom is sitting down, Shelby is on her lap.
The girls get along wonderfully, wrestling and herding each other outside in the yard and on our long hikes. They have never had so much as an argument, but they are shelties, and therefore do like their space, and so they try not to get into each others faces.
I do not breed, as they are both spayed, and I believe that breeding should be left to the "professionals": those who have the time and ability to improve the breed through pedigree research, genetic testing, and temperament testing.
As for me, my goals are to rise my girls to be as healthy and happy as possible. I have them on a raw natural diet (Natures Variety and Primal) and also make about 1/3 of their food myself. I graduated college with my Associates degree in Animal care, and after working in grooming, training, and daycare, I’m currently working at a general practice/emergency veterinary clinic, and continue to read about and attend seminars on physical therapy/rehab, alternative medicine, and holistic care.
In our free time, we love to compete in agility and travel. I've taken them camping, kayaking, on trains and a ski gondola. Lets face it, I love taking them out and about getting comments like "You're dogs are better behaved than the kids here!" And yet my dogs have to be on leash...oh well. In the future, we look forward to getting into some more classes for Rally, and making Therapy Dog visits to the VA hospital. We're always looking to meet new dog people, and ESPECIALLY other shelties! Feel free to drop us a message anytime! If you're in New England and are looking for dog related activities, places to take your furkids, or dog related services, send us a message, as we'd be glad to help with information! Enjoy your stay!
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Who I'd like to meet:
Sheltie people! Dog people who are interested in natural care (holistic medicine, raw diets, etc.), POSITIVE training (think Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson...) Agility enthusiasts (especially NADAC and AKC), dog people who travel and pet-care professionals.
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