History of Dynestar Shelties I got my first sheltie as a child. My dad bought me one to replace my Siberian Husky that was lost or stolen from our farm. When it turned out she had a heart condition and died at a very young age, we got replacement bitch for me and a dog for my sister. Unfortunately, the person he bought them from was not truthful and both dogs had their share of health problems, yet both lived long lives on the farm, showing in 4-H and fun matches. When I moved to my own place, I got another sheltie puppy. This girl came from quality lines, but had incorrigible ears, so I never showed her. I did breed her trying to get that elusive show puppy, but did not get what I was looking for, so I had her spayed and she lived the comfortable life of a house pet. During this same phase I bought another bitch, hoping she would get me what I was looking for, but she had hip problems and she too became my pet. Both of these girls lived good lives and when they passed on, we had small children and decided to wait for another dog. When my youngest of two boys was four we decided to get another dog. After briefly considering a different breed, we started our search for a sheltie. While I wanted to get a show quality dog, I could not find a breeder that would sell me a show prospect. But we were eager to get our dog, so I made the common mistake of taking the boys along to look at puppies at a back-yard breeder. Needless to say, we brough home Major, an 18” tall sable ball-hog. He was our pet, our basketball, baseball and soccer opponent, and my bedtime foot-warmer. Deciding to continue my search for a show dog, I started contacting breeders again, and still met with resistance to getting that first show dog. I found many breeders that claimed show quality dogs, but did not show their dogs. I found many breeders that would not part with their show quality dogs to someone with essentially no formal show experience. I was lucky, when a breeder relatively new to the breed found she was not able to handle a litter at a particular time. This particular bitch was from exceptional bloodlines but didn’t have the ring attitude. She was not exactly what I was looking for, but she had many good qualities and we worked out a lease deal. The bitch I leased was Apple Acres Fine Silver, a bi-blue daughter of Am/Can/Int Ch Apple Acres Chain Lightning and Ch Apple Acres Fairest Of All. After much searching and researching, I decided to breed her to Ch Kell Renaissance. Sylvia produced a singleton puppy from that breeding, a blue-merle male. I was very happy to see that he had many qualities that I was looking for even as a young puppy. He was registered Dynestar Ruby Heart Revival. Ruby Heart Shelties owned Sylvia, and I included their name as a tribute. Revival was my choice for a name, as this was a new start for me. My family decided to call him Phoenix. When Phoenix was six months old, I took him to a two-day IABCA show. For those not familiar with this type of show, it is the International All Breed Canine Association. The great thing about these shows is that the judges are AKC judges, and they give you a written critique of how your dog compares to the breed standard. Each day is two shows, so you can get four critiques from four different judges from at least two different countries. Phoenix obtained the highest marks a six month old puppy can achieve. He received a National and International Puppy Champion Title. Two weeks later, we hit the AKC shows. His first show in my hometown won him two Reserve Winners Dog. One month later he won his first two points at the Sioux Valley show in Vermillion, South Dakota. During the next two months, Phoenix continued to win one point shows, until he went to Des Moines, Iowa in September. At Des Moines, handled by Amy Massey, Phoenix won a 4 point Specialty Major and followed that up the next day with another 3 point major win. He was not even 10 months old. After these wins brought his total points to 12, Phoenix decided it was time to act like the puppy he was and he started goofing off in the ring. Phoenix really enjoys the show ring and showed his excitement by playing, dancing and leaping his way around the ring. At St Cloud in December, 2007, he decided to show what he could really do, and took Best of Breed over two specials. Coincidently, the judge that day was one of the judges from the IABCA show. Phoenix finished his championship on June 1, 2008 at 18 months of age, and completely out of coat. A special Thank You to Deb Nordby of Cullivoe Shelties for making a naked dog look so stunning. Phoenix went on to obtain his Grand Championship and Canadian Championship. As a stud dog, he was unknown and only used a few times. In his limited use, he produced wonderful pets, performance and show dogs and passed on his wonderful temperament. Sadly, Phoenix was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma on his 10th birthday and went to the Rainbow Bridge a few weeks later. He was my heart and soul and will be forever remembered! To be continued…….. Return to Home Page