Left to
Right: Ladnar Red Regina at Fiorcara and Ladnar Red
Renaissance at Fiorcara
| Our
story began in 1981 with a rescue dog – a rough collie called “Bella”.
Sandra found Bella at the Buena Vista rescue centre near Melton Mowbray
in Leicestershire and immediately fell in love with this gentle yet playful
character. Being a rescue dog, Bella’s age was uncertain however
we thought she was at least ten. Bella was with us until late November
1984. Because of the emptiness that Bella left behind we decided we had
to find another rough collie.
After a
lot of phone calls we located a litter of sable and white pups. So off
we set in the direction of Nottingham on a cold January Sunday afternoon
- and there we found Misty. |
Misty
Photo John Newton
| At
that time we were simply pet owners who loved rough collies. We knew very
little about pedigrees, kennel club registration and so on. But, apart
from a pair of pricked ears, Misty was a very flashy young lady with her
full white collar, white front legs and beautiful shading. Her pedigree
certificate indicated she was of Pattingham, Lieiniau and Nellwyns lines.
Misty was with us for 13 years in total before age took it’s toll.
It was devastating to lose her.
With us both out at work we decided it would not be right to bring up another pup at this time, and so it was not until our circumstances changed in 2002 that we could have another pup Through Collienet we discovered Sue and Dave Randall’s Ladnar kennels and arranged a visit. Anyone who has been to Ladnar will know what a warm and welcoming place this is. To cut a long story short, “Stella” (Ladnar Red Rowena) worked her magic and completely captivated us. There were no pups available at that time, so we went on a waiting list. The months passed and we waited. In the spring of 2003 we got a phone call - Stella had a mating with Drenoss Infamous, a litter of pups had resulted, and there was a bitch available! |
Tess at 7 weeks (Ladnar Red Regina at Fiorcara)
| Tess (or to use her Sunday name, Ladnar Red Regina at Fiorcara) came to live with us in June 2003 and we quickly had to re-learn what raising a young pup was all about, but we enjoyed every minute! Showing soon followed, simply because Dave Randall talked us into trying it. Tess delighted us with the placings she earned especially when she qualified for Crufts! Her first silverware came at the Midland Collie Club Open show where she took best bitch and reserve best in show. |
Ladnar Red Regina at Fiorcara
| When we learned that Stella was expecting another litter in the spring of 2004, it just seemed right to have a companion for Tess. So from the mating of Ladnar Red Rowena with Sandiacre Say It With Music came Holly, or to give her full name Ladnar Red Renaissance at Fiorcara., who came to live with us in June 2004. |
Ladnar Red Renaissance at Fiorcara (aka Holly)
| As
well as going into to the show ring, Holly regularly visits a local care
home and Loughborough Hospital as a Pets As Therapy dog, bringing a ray
of sunshine into the hearts of everyone she visits – in a way that
only a rough collie can!
The most recent part of our story has been to get our own affix, as we want to let Tess have a litter. We decided to find an affix that would reflect the Scottish heritage of this pastoral breed and ended up spending hours on-line using a Gaelic to English dictionary. Through trial and error we found a connection - the Gaelic words for “true and loyal” (fior) and “friend” (cara) fitted together to make our affix “Fiorcara”, a perfect description for this loyal and distinctive breed. If you want to know more about our story, see more details about our dogs or would simply like to get in contact, please visit us at www.fiorcara.com We will be delighted to hear from you! John
& Sandra Newton Tel:
01530 814214 |