ABOUT US Trucolorz Border Collies One of the first questions I am often asked is how I became involved with Border Collies. The truth is that I met my first BC in a book! In a past life, I was an English teacher and freelance columnist/book reviewer, and in the early 1980s, I received an assignment to review the galley proofs for Donald McCaig's novel about a working Border Collie called "Nop's Trials." I loved the book, and was forever after intrigued by the breed depicted therein. Today we are a small kennel located in Harwich, near the elbow of Cape Cod, Mass. This info is a bit misleading, since we do not actually have kennels - all of our dogs live in the house and are not merely show/performance dogs, but beloved pets and companions first and foremost. Since land is at a premium here on the Cape, we feel very fortunate to have a fenced in acre lot where we can exercise, train, and play with our dogs. Our day typically starts with a 4-6 mile run on the local bike path with several of the dogs (both my husband and I used to run marathons, but that was also in a past life!). We then take the balance of the dogs out for a one and a half hour hike in the woods at a nearby conservation area. With basic exercise needs out of the way, we spend the remainder of the day grooming, training, and engaging in the house and yard cleaning commensurate with living with a number of dogs. Here at Trucolorz we strive to produce dogs that are healthy, sound, lovely to look at, and willing to perform whatever task it is that is expected of them. We believe that living with a Border Collie is both a challenge and an honor, and we expect that prospective homes for any of our dogs will believe similarly. We place dogs only in homes that can provide extensive daily exercise, training, mental stimulation and individual attention. We breed only occasionally, with great care and consideration given to health, biddability, and temperament. Our health checks are extensive - all our dogs, esp. our breeding stock - receive clearances from OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) for hips, elbows, patella, and thyroid. We also have all litters eye checked at 6 weeks by CERF (Canine Eye Registry Foundation), and moreover provide data and DNA results regarding diseases that afflict Border Collies, including CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly); CL (Ceroid Lipofuscinosis); and TNS (Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome). All our Border Collies here at home are breed champions and have distinguished themselves in other venues as well, whether that be in obedience, agility, therapy work, tracking, or herding - or a combination thereof!!! We love our dogs and are very proud of them. |
