Highcroft N Bannerstone’s Gem, CGN, TT, RN/RA/RE
“Arwen”

January 27, 2007

Arwen came to us as a promising young performance prospect – so once we spayed her, we set to work to see what she could do.  She certainly has not disappointed, having tackled every obstacle we have thrown at her with limited showing (once to twice a year) with grace and intuition!  At one point, over the course of a three day set of trials in rally and obedience, she hit #2 in the country for rough Collies in performance (2008) – she was just over a year old at the time.

Arwen graces everyone with her outgoing disposition, wagging tail, and kind eyes.  She has a wicked sense of fun, and loves to make people laugh by hamming it up in unexpected ways (sometimes while in the ring, much to her handler’s momentary dismay).  She lives to please others and is always the first at the door to say hello to guests.  Her favourite activities are flying through agility tunnels, playing hide and seek with a treat under a blanket, long runs in the park, “talking” to mom, wagging her tail, meeting children, and jumping over spreads and poles – or sometimes the garden flowers will do instead!

Arwen has a particular affinity to finding others to snuggle in with, no matter what species they might be…..

(Arwen and Fletcher the cat, hard at work – 2009)

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After an eventful spring/summer when she came home to us, which also saw Arwen with a completed CGN and RN, we looked to Obedience in August, and Arwen took to the challenge with her typical eager to please disposition.  She went into obedience with Jerrica at the August 2008 HKC show, and saw us awarded a High in Class in her first leg of her CD during the Maritime Group 7 specialty, which also brought home a special prize and our delight with her hard work.

After Arwen recuperated from surgery, we began rally classes as our new girl adapted to being home with us.  We took Arwen out for Rally Novice trials at the Island Dog Club, after one lesson, not sure how she would do.  It appears she was a natural – within the 4 trials she achieved 4 qualifying scores, and finished her RN that very weekend in an outdoor show in PEI.  She was delighted to show her abilities despite many distractions, and performed exceptionally well considering her minimal exposure to the expectations prior to beginning the trials.  It was an exciting way to begin her performance career!  Many thanks to judges Sheryl Deacon and Norma Hamilton for privilege of finishing her first title so quickly under them.

Arwen continues to work with Therapeutic Paws of Canada as a therapy dog with Jerrica, having qualified in 2010 as a therapy team, and continuing to work in this field visiting several nursing homes on a weekly or twice monthly basis.  After 8 months in this field we took her to be evaluated for the Paws to Read program, a specific section of TPOC which works out of libraries with children that have reading challenges.  She finished her nearly day long assessment with great results, and has begun her work as the “Paws to Read” dog for Alderney Gate Public Library, much to the delight of many children there.  She has even been featured in the local newspaper for her work with Jerrica in the field.

Arwen retired from performance life and “working” as a therapy dog when she turned 9 – but is still a beautiful, happy go lucky girl who is now living in her retirement home with our good friend Kim and LOVING life.  Here she is below at a stately 9 years of age last year.  Though ageing a bit in appearance and dealing with a few older lady issues, she’s the queen of all the house just like she was from the day she stepped into our lives and loves to tell us all about what she’s thinking.