Rimrock English Shepherds

I’d like to take you back… the year was 2006, even before I started writing this blog!  This handsome little guy came into my life… and many, many things changed.

First of all, I fell deeply in love with my English Shepherd.  I jumped into all things “dog”.  Not that I hadn’t been a dog person forever, but I went to that next level… reading books on training, breeding, more training, listening to new friends and experts, following this guy around and taking picture upon picture.

I wanted to be more, do more, know more, because I had my “heart dog”… and I thought he deserved it.

Seven months in… we ran over him and things changed.  I was very grateful for modern veterinary science.  I learned more about breeding and therapy dogs (thinking his cowdog career wouldn’t be possible).  Luckily, I had a great mentor in the English Shepherd community, and she put me in touch with a classic breeder in Oklahoma, who was willing to sell me her female.  Before I really knew what was happening, or where it would lead me, I owned two wonderful English Shepherds, and my kennel name, Rimrock English Shepherds was registered.

(Oh, my goodness, these 3rd graders in the top photo are seniors this year!  The kindergarten class in the bottom photo are sophomores…)

So what do you do when you raise a rare breed of dog and live in one of the least populated states?  Well, you build a website.  Basically, from scratch.  OK, it wasn’t coding, but it wasn’t “drag and drop” back then either!  Frustration, tears (ugh, with me there’s ALWAYS tears), and a few colorful metaphors later… my website was done.  One of the bonuses of the website was a free blog platform, which I nicknamed “Overlook”.

Rimrock English Shepherds has continued through the years, quietly sitting in the background, occasionally shipping people over to this blog.  People still find me, looking for dogs, but, honestly… not that many.  Red Dirt In My Soul has taken over like a Frankenstein full of pieces from here and there… I decided Rimrock’s website was getting old.

Last Friday, I received a call from GoDaddy, telling me Rimrock’s platform is going away, and would I like to update to their new “drag and drop” style?  I use it with the library, and it is extremely easy to use, but, well, I decided to stop the website.  Don’t worry, I’m hanging onto the domain name, so if I change my mind, Rimrock English Shepherds will still be there waiting for me…

Tonight, as I took screen shots of my pretty little website that started me on this journey of blogging, it was like shaking hands with an old friend, one that has to be left behind.  (PS., the black and white photo is the one that earned me a new pair of boots, courtesy of Working Ranch Magazine and Stetson boots.)