My golden oldie – half sister to Layla and a daughter of Angela Gillespie's Sh Ch Detania Magnum.

Sasha at almost 14½ was as mad about football as she was when she came home from Suffolk! She was team captain in any footie games – normally started by her ... Sasha was always a very vocal dog and had the selective deafness which made doing agility with her a nightmare! I say selective because she could hear a food bowl at 100 paces!!

Sasha was a lovely old girl and despite my attempts to suggest retirement would be better in the house she insisted on being in her (centrally heated) kennel between her best mates Scott and Mac!

What can I say about my Skye? She is Layla's daughter and for that reason alone is special. But she is special in other ways too – the only dog I now have that can work sheep, my second retired agility dog (Layla was the first), my guardian (just don't ask her to prove it), and constantly at my heels (I have never completely tripped over her – yet!).

Skye was shown as a puppy but soon explained (by firmly sitting down) that she really didn't like this much and could she leave that to Scott and concentrate on the more exciting things? So we did – including 2 litters of lovely pups – producing Mac from her first and Bruce and Kate from her second litter to Sh Ch Sheltysham Swagman.

Mac showed promise as a youngster but basically didn't stop growing in time! He is, however, without doubt, Amy's best friend and very much her dog – a naughty, over grown puppy he is, at 6, still daft as a brush and very much loved – just for being Mac!

(Photo by Amy Kerr)

Freddie is a very special boy. He is Riva's litter brother and came to me just after Christmas 2005 when his first home didn't work out. When he arrived he was a very nervous, unhappy, skinny little chap – scared rigid when he arrived, but quickly responding to Amy and me and gentle cuddles. Then I decided to introduce him to someone he knew – his sister Riva. She came in and just stopped still, looked at her brother then ran up to him and was all over him – they genuinely remembered each other!

From that day on with gentle work from us (and a lot of boisterous work from his sister) Freddie came out of himself and began to put on weight and build much needed muscle. As Riva was really too OTT with him and would knock him flying in the field he spent a lot of time with Layla (his 'Granny Lou') and she helped him to understand that there is nothing scary here, that dogs that come here stay here and that dogs that live here are loved here.

Freddie made his show debut in April 2006 and by August had qualified for his first Crufts at Bournemouth Ch Sh under judge Gary Clark. And he loved Crufts and the great big ring too!

Freddie is a very happy, healthy young man, who loves to run for the sake of running, is the star of the treadmill at the local hydrotherapy pool (where he goes purely to keep him show fit) and has a zest for life that continues to amaze me.

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