Rainbow Bridge
Jess - Abbydel Te-Anau Lass
Jess was our first pedigree border collie and foundation bitch. The most accurate way to describe her was small and mighty. What she lacked in size she made up for in ability.
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Jess was raised on a Landcorp Station where she was trained on the station rams. She certainly learnt to be tough! She was a bit of a marvel to the Shepherds as she would not leave a paddock if she thought a sheep was left behind and sure enough if you sent her out into the scrub she would deliver. She completed several lambing seasons.
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Jess was a dog who could do anything. She completed 13 duck shooting seasons fetching the ducks, could track anything and was a prime slayer of rabbits and possums. She was an all round lovely dog with a great temperament, a high drive for her work and a cuddly persona.
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Jess passed away at the ripe old age of 16.5 in early 2023.
Griff - Southridge First Try
Griff was a show stopper but hid a lot of secrets. He frequently got mistaken for a show dog because of his long coat but was in fact a very tall and lean dog.
Griff lived for work and refused to be left behind, even at 14 he would jump whatever stood in his way if he thought he was missing out on work.
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The best words to describe Griff would be solid, dependable and unflappable.
Although he only had a medium eye he had the distinct advantage of using it wisely. He would face off an angry ewe without giving an inch even if it won him a crack on the head. He barely required training and picked up most things from working with his mother Jess.
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Griff made friends for life wherever he went, a showstopper to look at, a love of people and animals, he just never feared anything.
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Griff passed away in March 2023 at the age of after sadly injuring his pelvis and back doing what he loved best, jumping stuff.
Meg - Flair o te Atawhenua
Meg was an interesting wee dog very self assured and in control of everything around her.
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She was as plain of an eye as you will ever see however the rest of the instinct was there in buckets. She worked like a NZ Handy Dog, would both head and hunt as well as back.
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I don't think we have ever owned such a sturdy and unbreakable little dog. Meg made a habit of misjudging her ability to jump gates (she was knee high to a grasshopper). The number of times she hung herself off gate gudgeons and just hung there quietly waiting for you to notice and lift her off. She never limped or showed any sign of discomfort for her efforts.
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Meg was not so much of a conventional looking border collie however she had a movement that you rarely see these days, very fluid and correct which spoke her ability to hop off the gudgeon unscathed!
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Meg passed away mid 2022 at 13.5 following a splenic hemorrhage.
Riff - Southridge Rif Raff Gold Feva
Riff was a very promising young dog with a strong eye, stylish and eager. She had a nice upright position and her balance and feel for her stock was lovely.
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She was a bit of a comedian who liked to throw a bit of laughter in most things and not a small degree of head shaking on the handlers part. She had an unrivaled keenness for her work and a speed that would rarely be rivaled which meant you had to be jolly quick off the mark.
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Riff loved nothing more than to unleash the speed and like her grandfather Griff could tackle a hill with immense power.
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She was a lovely cuddly dog around home who just wanted to be with you.
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Unfortunately we lost Riff quite young following two incidents not far apart where she hit a post head first and knocked herself out. After the second incident our cuddly happy dog was gone and replaced with an unpredictable and unhappy dog. After several months of managing this we chose to put to have Riff put to sleep.
Tiki - Southridge Smooth Operator
Tiki was a strong eyed, hair triggered girl who loved her stock work. You had to have your wits about you working her as she moved like lightening and had completed the next move before you even thought about it. She was very much Jason's dog and I always said I was much too dull witted to work her.
She cut her teeth on ducks which was a new experience for us and probably the ducks as well. She was hard running with a bit of bite when needed.
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Tiki was a bit of a clown and probably best known to people for her completely incompetent swimming style that sometimes resembled drowning but a complete passion for launching herself at full speed into the water.
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Tiki passed away in an accident in May 2024.