Shelties are our best friends. Truly, their lives are all too short. Which of us does not long to touch the velvet face of a dear one long gone? Which of us would not give anything to lengthen the life of the only kind of friend that gives everything and asks nothing? This page is dedicated to Shelties of the past. I invite you to remember them with me.

Am/Can. Ch. Banchory High Born was a child prodigy. He was a beautiful puppy that never went through an ugly stage--but was, oddly, never very photogenic. High Born grew up to win many specialties, including Best of Breed at the National Specialty. His show photo from his National win is the best photo I have ever seen of him. I wish I owned the copyright to this one; I would post it here, since I still have my copy. I have a very few of my own photos of High Born, but since these do not begin to do him justice, I have elected to paint him instead--and still, I am afraid, have failed to do him justice.

Bred by Rosemary Shrauger, "Bang-Bang" was obtained by Banchory at a very young age. I first saw him in the puppy pen at Banchory when he was 8 or 9 weeks old. I was visiting Banchory one weekend to learn how to groom my own Banchory pet puppy, Duncan, and had a tour of the dogs and puppies there. Donna took me to a puppy play yard and said, "If you could take one, which one would it be?" I began to scan the little bodies, anxious to make a good impression. There were perhaps 20 puppies in the pen. At least five were destined to become champions. But one puppy seemed to be spotlit on that gloomy, drizzly day. That puppy was a little tri male, standing firmly foursquare, small ears so close on top that they overlapped (this in the days before ear-glueing!), neck naturally arched, and possessing the most beautiful puppy head I had--or have ever--seen. I didn't hesitate. "That one!" I blurted out. Donna laughed. "Everyone says that," she replied. "Is he for sale?" I continued, encouraged. I felt quite suddenly that I had to have him. "Everyone asks that," she said. "No. Bang-Bang is not for sale. He's something very special."

Sired by (later to finish his Ch.) Philidove Heir Presumptive (ROM) while "Tony" was on lease to Banchory, Bang-Bang was one of several good children Tony left in the Pacific Northwest that went on to finish. (Tony soon returned to Philidove in the East [for a list of Heir Presumptive champions, see Sue Bowling's ROM site]). High Born's dam was Tiree Hall Solo's High-Lite, "Halo," a small tricolor of predominantly Sea Isle background. Bang-Bang had a sweet, calm, mischievous temperament of the kind I call "true Sheltie character," coupled with the natural dignity that the best ones sometimes achieve. He liked to jump straight up into the air, and delighted in bouncing his forefeet off of various parts of human anatomy.

High Born grew into a very correct older puppy, and began winning specialty points. He finished quickly. When one looked at Bang-Bang, it was very nearly impossible to look past the head and arched neck to the rest of him. He had a fitting coat of correct straightness and texture, but was not overwhelmed in coat. His body and movement took about three years to mature, but the head was there from the start--and held--and held--and held. I saw him many times as he grew up. I went over him with great care at two, and learned what perfect planes and stop and depth of skull should be. After 32 years, I still have not seen a more correct profile than High Born's. I've had several breeders recently tell me that perfect stop requires a sacrifice of the smooth, clean leanness of the skull, that perfect stop requires bowing out of the zygomatic arches and a slight rounding of the backskull. Ain't so, folks. High Born would have shown you.

But High Born was more than a head and a temperament. He had a very nice body, and movement that would put many (if not most) specials to shame today. Many breeders who were most concerned with soundness and correct movement (Libby Babin, for example), incorporated High Born into their lines.

If I could drag my eyes away from his head, the thing that most impressed me about High Born was his balance. All the measurements were in proportion: muzzle to backskull, depth of skull and width of skull to length of entire skull, skull length to body length, length of skull to length of neck to length of back to body depth, and so on.

High Born had his detractors. He wasn't perfect. He, like Pow (who came a bit later), was different from anything being shown at the time. And the refrain, "He'll never produce," became a litany--but only for a short while!

I was lucky enough to have my first show puppy be five-month-old Banchory Blue Ballad. Ballad was High Born's first point-winner and first American champion, finishing in a flash with three 5-point majors. I mention Ballad here because I loved her for 15 years (and it's MY page!), and because it might be of interest for some to see Banger's very first champion. She was the first of many, many to come, including a litter sister who finished later, Ch. Banchory Silver Sonnet. Ballad and Sonnet were some of the very first of the "double Tonys," since their dam was a Heir Presumptive daughter. (High Born's first obedience title-holder was our Banchory High Spirits, CDX, HIT.)

Before Bang-Bang reached maturity, somewhere along the line Guy and Thelma Mauldin saw him, and I like to imagine that it was love at first sight. I think the feeling must have been mutual, for Bang-Bang, by now nicknamed "Banger," showed better for Guy than for anyone else. The first time I saw Banger and Guy Mauldin in the ring as a team, it seemed to me that an invisible electric current was humming in the air between the tall Texan and the striking, elegant tricolor. And so it was that Banger went to Texas to live out his days at Kismet, where he founded a dynasty that continues today, and became the sire of dozens of champions and champion-producers, including several ROMs. Banger became one of the greatest Sheltie sires of all time--and thanks to the Mauldins' foresight, his story isn't over!

For another page of Sheltie history, click on the button just below.