Happy Birthday Vinny!

Today is our boy’s birthday and he is such a joy and so kind-hearted and loving. When my husband and Gio and I first laid eyes on him we knew he was ours.

Israel, our collie whom we had for thirteen years, went to be with the Lord in April 2007. That was the hardest time for us. It took some time to heal, but we had to have another doggie and a little brother for Gio in the family. I had found a local collie breeder; but we were put on a waiting list because their dogs were not in a breeding season yet. My hubby went on the hunt for a another tri-collie breeder. He searched in the local newspapers but found nothing. He looked for collie websites, but he could find nothing close to home. He happened to look at the classified section of the Chicago newspaper and found a breeder with collie pups available in Sherrard, Illinois; a small town south of the Quad Cities. He called the breeder and she had one tri-collie male left. She sent us the photo of him below; and we knew he was the one for us. The breeder called him Tiny Tuxedo, but we call him Vinny. He looks shy in this photo, however is personality is lively and full of fun.

I remember my husband and I set out on the road trip to pick him up after a Welcome Ministry meeting at Church. We drove more than four hours and ended up in farmland that really did not give a lot of direction. We called the breeder to find our exact destination. When we got out of the Jeep, it was like collie land. Rough collies, short-haired collies, tri-collies, blue merle collies, and Lassie collies were all around us. We got to meet Vinny’s mama, Cleopatra. She was so kind and loving. I see where Vinny gets those qualities from. His daddy is very handsome; but at the time he was in heat so he couldn’t be let out, because, well you know.

This farm was out of a book. The collies had free reign and slept underneath the stars. It was a special place to visit. When we picked up our little guy, he jumped in the back of the Jeep like he knew we were coming for him and was ready to go home with us. At first, I was wondering if his mamma would miss him; but after sometime they don’t feel like that, so it was okay. This little guy was already potty trained, but could gnaw paper with the best of them.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the little fella because he has so much fun in the snow with his big brother Gio.

You may have realized that Vinny is in a chunk of my blog pictures. It seems like when my hubby turns on the camera, Vinny comes running to me so he can get into the shot with me. I don’t have to ask him to be in the picture. He just comes on his own. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.