Having grown up with Shelties and having a Greyhound in my College years, while searching for my next breed I wanted something in between both temperament and coat wise. I discovered the Smooth Collie and voraciously studied anything and everything I could on them. I was unable to find any smooths in my area at the time and figured a show breeder wouldn't give a newbie like me a promising show prospect if I just wanted to "try" showing to check it off my bucket list. (Well, that escalated quickly) I ended up finding Kirby from a pet breeder in Washington state. And by some luck, Kirby ended up being a fantastic All-Breed dog and a wonderful Collie to learn on. Looking back I realize this wasn't the ideal path, and I did get very lucky. This unique situation allowed me to collect mentors from all over the Collie world, since the breeder he was from didn't show. This allowed me to gain a wider scope of knowledge than many feel comfortable searching for when their breeder takes them under their wing and mentors them. Kirby was top 5 in the Owner Handled rankings for 2019 after earning an Owner Handled Reserve Best In Show earlier that year. He dabbled in agility, obedience, and nose work casually. I will never take for granted all the things this dog taught me and all the wonderful people he introduced me to. Kirby got to spend some time in the Juniors ring with his buddy Easton and helped the next generation advance their handling skills. Now Kirby is the resident puppy wrangler and alert system here at Verterra Collies.
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