| Ch. Tiempo's Mark Four - Mark was our first champion. Owner/handled by a novice - pictured above in our first time in the ring, we went BOB over 3 pro handlers and on to a Group 3 under judge Kitty Drury at the prestigious Dayton Kennel Club. He was the No. 26 Sheltie in the US in 1983 - all owner handled. In very limited breeding - six litters - he produced two champions - one of whom was a Best In Show winner. Mark is behind several of my current dogs. |
| Champion No. 1 - BIS Ch. Kismet's Confederate Raider - shown here on the right going Best of Winners to finish as his daddy takes Best of Breed. This was a very special day for us and Raider's owners - Dick & Lynn Carter. Raider also took a Best in Show on the way to his championship handled by Guy Mauldin. |
| Champion No. 2 - Ch. Confederate Devil's Double - bred and finished by Don & Diana Rockwell. Micheal later lived with Luella Thomsen of Cinder-Glo Shelties in Oklahoma. |
| Kismet's Chasing The Dream, RN, CGC/TDI - Sabrina was our house pet and my beautiful daughter's buddy for twelve years. Veronica insisted that Sabrina had to be in her senior portraits. Veronica showed Sabrina to her titles in August 2007 - the first for both of them. We recently lost Sabrina to cancer. She is greatly missed |
| Sirric's Lace, Satin N' Cinders - pointed. Cinders came to us through the kindness of Rick and Celia Calvin of Sirrics Shelties. They told me they had no choice but to let me have her since she sat in a corner and howled every time I left their house. Cinders was totally devoted to me. She was lost tragically at a young age due to the carelessness of a breeder who allowed her to escape and be killed by a car while she was visiting to be bred. I have been lucky enough to recently add a beautiful dog that is descended from her full sister to my household - Ashley - Sirric's Too Hot To Handle. |
| Cinders at 3 months |
| Cinders at 18 months shown at the National Specialtiy in Virginia Beach. |
| Our very first show dog - Betty's Highland Laird, C.D. with a very intense young handler. |
| Like most people we started off with a pet quality dog purchased from the wrong place that we thought was beautiful. He had some very famous ancestors and some major faults and health problems. He was neutered before he was two and became our obedience dog. We learned a lot from Laird and he was king of the house until his death. |
| Kismet's Torch Song, CDX, TT-14-SS Torchie was Queen of the Reserves since she found the conformation ring to be totally boring. She loved obedience but was a challenge since she had one of the most gifted minds I have ever seen in a sheltie. She was No. 1 house dog, baby-sitter and puppy herder until her death at the age of 13. |
| Other Beautiful Shelties that have graced our lives |
| Ch. Kismet's Status Assured Many years ago I fell in love with a beautiful 3 month old brown teddy bear. He went on to become Ch. Kismet's Status Quo - 2 time National Specialty winner. I knew I could never own him, but later I was lucky enough to own his sister thanks to the generosity of her breeders Guy & Thelma Maudlin of Kismet Kennels. |
| Dante Kennels |
| Mark's Champion Offspring |
| Our Past Dogs |
| Established 1974 |
| When I am old... I will wear soft gray sweatshirts... And a bandana over my silver hair..... And I will spend my social security checks on wine and my dogs. I will sit in my house on my well-worn chair And listen to my dogs' breathing. I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night And take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow... When people come to call, I will smile And nod as I show them my dogs... And talk of them and about them... ...the ones so beloved of the past And the ones so beloved of today.... I will still work hard cleaning after them, Mopping and feeding them and Whispering their names in a soft loving way. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my throat, Like a jewel and I will be an embarrassment to all... Especially my family... Who have not yet found the peace in being free To have dogs as your best friends.... These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your footfall... And eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound sleep, To greet you as if you are a God. With warm eyes full of adoring love and hope That you will always stay, I'll hug their big strong necks... I'll kiss their dear sweet heads... And whisper in their very special company.... I look in the Mirror...and see I am getting old.... This is the kind of person I am...and have always been. Loving dogs is easy, They are part of me. Please accept me for who I am. My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives... They love my presence in their lives...... When I am old this will be important to me... You will understand when you are old.... If you have dogs to love too. ~Author Unknown |
| "Soundness and Intelligence" |