Jan 31st, 2000 marked the birth of a litter of 6 pups, out of our Shelamo's Party Pack ROMC. The litter was the 1st sired by Am/Cdn/Jap Ch Laureate Explorer ROMC.
Rocky in the middle @ 6wks of age This litter would be the start of something very special for us here at Shelamo. Rocky was the 'show' dog of the litter, and thus started in the show ring when he was just over 6 mths @ the Belleville show in Aug, garnering points there, more points @ the SD&G show, along with Best Puppy in groups; on to the (old) CanSave show in Carp where his picture & a bit about our kennel was featured in the local newspaper, and then ... it was at the Ottawa Kennel Club show that the roof came crashing down. The OKC show in November, also hosts the prestigious Show of Shows (any dog winning a Best In Show the previous yr) on the Saturday nite and in order to compete they must be entered in the regular show. Well, during the regular show .. I'll make it short & sweet ... Rocky took Winners Dog from the Senior Puppy Class, then beat out 3 BIS Specials (1 Am/Ch) for Best of Breed, took a Group 4th and then a Best Puppy In Show! This win finished his Canadian Championship, with a bang. And yes, we thought with all his ring side supporters the roof of the Aberdean Pavilion would come down.
Mike and I flew out to Winnipeg in December for the Northwinds Dog show, and Rocky was a hot contender one of the days against a Pom for BPIS. We did garnered Group 4th & a couple of BPIG while there.
As we moved into 2001, we had entered Rocky in the Purina Champions Campaign, and didn't he win out of some 500 entries one of the 20 selected to represent them. We went to Toronto for a big photo shoot weekend which was a blast; was the April boy for their 2002 calendar and was featured for many years on the walls of Purina's main show booth that travels across the country to major dog shows.
In 2002 our good friend Dr Sherry Lee offered to take him to Florida with her and work at obtaining his American Championship. At his 1st show in Aug he garnered his 1st major. Sherry finished him in only 13 shows in the competitive East & Florida shows.
Am/Cdn Ch "Rocky" in his primeRocky has had his fair share of Group placements, with his most recent one being last Feb @ the CC&SSA Specialty where he was Best of Opposite.
He's always been my best bud - lying near me, on me or around me, never letting me out of his sight. I can remember when he was a puppy and I'd be kneeling while lighting the fire, he'd lie over the backs of my legs. He loves to travel, be it by car or air, and stay in hotel rooms where he quickly learns which is HIS hotel door. You can dress him up at Xmas with his fuzzy collar with bells and call him "Jingle Bell Rock" and he'll just prance around even more. He's always been a confident dog, a great ambassador for the breed.
His 2 sisters have also done us proud.
His 1st sister to finish her Championship was Shelamo's Sure Fire, and at the age of 9 with her new owner Judy Flanigan, they obtained their Companion Dog obedience title. She's since added her Rally Novice.
The 2nd in the litter was to be known as Ch Shelamo's Show Case. She's retired and lives with a family near Oshawa.
Thanks Rocky, Amber, Copper for such a great ride, to date.
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