My Auto~Biography 

Pictured above is my love, my foundation bitch

Spechts Little Angel Baby

Autobiography By Lynda Specht

Residing in Fort Myers, Florida

My love for animals started right about the time I was knee high to a grasshopper I suppose! My mother, being raised with parents that thought animals spread disease, vowed that when she got married and had a family they could have any animal imaginable. My father is a native of Mackinac Island and used dogs to pull a sleigh across the straights of Mackinac just to get food to eat. His father was also a native of Mackinac Island and owned the livery stable, which supplied the whole Island with horse transportation. Animals were a way of life on the Island for there were no motorized vehicles allowed. So, as the story continues, they were married and built a home in the country in Farmington, Michigan. My brother and I naturally grew up with a strong addiction and love for all animals especially dogs and horses. Growing up in the country with no one to play with, except one girl who lived down the road from us, and sleep until noon on weekends, I spent most of my waking hours with dogs and horses. They were my best friends then and the love for them 50 years later hasn't changed, it's probably even stronger now. To be quite frank, I would rather be with my horses or dogs than people for their unconditional love.

I obtained my first sheltie in 1991 in which I purchased from an ad in the newspaper, she was a cute little girl and just under a year old. She had a full white collar and loved to herd the horses on the farm. I really though she was cute so as soon as she came in heat I bred her to a dog of show quality and it all began.

Road Trip!

A lot of my great photo's were taken by my good friend and neighbor, Norma Engel.

 

My very first litter of six sheltie pups! Amber had such a strong herding instinct that after delivering 5 pups she decided she best herd the horses again and out popped another one. I ended up falling madly in love with this one little girl that for some reason didn't have the strength to nurse on her mother. Not knowing how to stomach tube I quickly learned after several trips to different vets to figure out how to safely stomach tube without it going into the lungs. At 2 weeks of age I bottle-fed her and at 4 weeks of age she was back with her litter mates eating and drinking all on her own. But because of lack of immunities she soon came down with parvo after her first vaccination given by a vet that reused his needles and syringes. So the battle for life began once more. I then met a wonderful veterinarian by the name of Dr. Milton J. McKelvie, DVM, that became her life string; he took such personal love for this little girl that he even took her home with him at night. In short, he saved her life. I was determined that if she lived she would be "Spechts Little Angel Baby" and with such a strength in her to survive I would breed her to the very best dog I could find who, without a doubt, was:

Am/Can Ch Ryan O'Neil "Sonny"

Angel was the last sheltie to be bred to Ryan before he sadly was sold to Japan. Out of that breeding I kept a daughter from Angel and bred her to:

Am/Can Ch Haven House Gotta Have It "Pepsi" with his sire Am/Can CH Alfenloch Whirlwind ROM, ROMC "Tate"

The puppy out of that breeding that I co-owned with the intention of a puppy back to be bred to the dog of my dreams which was without a doubt was Am/Can Ch Goldenhylites The Phantom ROM/ROMC

Am/Can/Jap/Int'l Ch Goldenhylites

The Phantom, ROM/ROMC

Well, I finally had bred my first champion, Ch Silverscreens Bridgit Bardo. I also bred my foundation bitch Angel to The Phantom and got my second bred by Champion, Ch Silverscreens Marilyn Monroe. I also purchased a 10-week-old puppy from Goldenhylites Shelties that I named Ginger Rogers and she became my 3rd American/ Canadian Champion. So I then had 3 beautiful girls but I felt they needed improvement for they seem to have round eyes so I called Ozark Crest Kennels and told them I wanted to purchase a dog with beautiful eyes and of champion quality and dear Susie Hannah told me I have a dog in my kennel that has the most beautiful eyes you will ever see and he already has a 5 point major over Specials, and is almost a year old, so I said well send him to me. Around 2 hours later I received a call from Susie and she told me that I gave him a bath and I do believe if I brush anymore he will be bald, so if you can see through the lack of hair you will see a beautiful head with beautiful eyes. Parker (call name) came to me and it was like seeing a possum with a beautiful head and eyes. He was going through his yearling shed. By the time he was 2 years old he became Ch Ozark Crest Perfect Alibi and went on the cover of the Pacesetter just in time for the Nationals Issue - May/June of 1999!

The person I would like to thank most for my success is my dear husband Victor who loves our shelties as much as I do and for putting up with all my long distance phone calls. All four of my dogs finished their championship within a 12-month period.

Also, dear friends Paul and Susie Hannah for guiding me through it all. Susie, I will meet you at the Rainbow Bridge and we shall talk shelties once again.

Above and below is a picture of my new stallion ~ my love ~ Silverscreens Black Tie's Masterpiece "The Snowman"

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