Rosmoor History

Currently, the active show dogs reside with Jennie, her husband Kevin, and her three young daughters Sarah, Courtney, and Kate in Connecticut while Rose provides a southern home for some of the retirees. Because Rosmoor houses a small number of dogs, the puppies and adults rotate into the home for individual attention. As a result, our Shelties are well socialized.

Rose established the Rosmoor breeding program in 1966 (the year Jennie was born). From the beginning, the mission was to establish a breeding program that produced sound, showy, correct dogs in all three colors with a distinct look, identifiable as Rosmoor.

The line of dogs that signify Rosmoor are founded on two bitches. The first foundation bitch was Ch. Faharaby Blue Larkspur C.D. Not only was she a champion and an obedience titlist, she was also a group winner. Lark was purchased as a 4-month-old puppy from Beth Chappell of Faharaby Shelties. She was the dam of Rose’s first homebred litter, and every Rosmoor Sheltie descends from this bitch.

The second foundation bitch was Ch. Rosmoor Brae Carel Bonnie, a sable daughter of Ch. Diamond Robert Bruce out of a Lingard bitch. She was purchased from Mrs. Austin Elliott of Greensboro, NC at six weeks of age. Bonnie finished 2 years later with four majors. Originally these two bitches were the basis for a distinct AOAC and a sable breeding program. However, in 1978, the two lines were crossed to give us one bloodline from which we currently work. We were fortunate that both of these bitches were sound, showy, and correct.

From the beginning, our kennel enjoyed successes, but in the late 70’s our breeding program really began to come together with intense line-breeding on Ch. Sundowner Mr. Bojangles and the advent of our own double Bo grandson, Ch. Rosmoor Robert of Migadala, ROM. Through Bobby, we were able to tighten pedigrees and begin to consistently produce the look we wanted. He sired champions for us in all 3 colors, and in doing so, gave us greater flexibility in our breeding program.Ch. Rosmoor Robert of Migadala, ROM

In 1978, Ch. Rosmoor Katy-Did, a beautiful, though very plain mahogany sable bitch and a granddaughter of Ch. Bonnie, was bred to Bobby. Katy was the winner of three prestigious East Coast specialties in 1978. She is remembered, even today, by breeders for her beautiful, clean, smooth head and correct dark eye and melting expression. She had a beautiful outline and was extremely sound. Katy is featured in both AKC sheltie videos.

This breeding crossed the two lines we had been working with previously. This litter produced four tri-colors, of which we kept and finished 2 bitches. One of those bitches, Ch. Rosmoor Night Sprite, figures prominently in our pedigrees today. Becky was a plain bitch with a pretty head and beautiful eyes and expression. Her movement was close to perfect. This bitch was bred to Ch. Macdega Proof Positive, ROM and produced Ch. Rosmoor Once Again, a very necky blue bitch with a clean, smooth head and melting expression. Taylor is the dam of Ch. Rosmoor BraeCarel Whimsical.

Tally is by Ch. Ashwood Slight of Hand, C.D., ROM and traces through both parents to Ch. Rosmoor Robert of Migadala, ROM. She finished quickly due in part to her showy outgoing temperement and correct head and stunning outline. She figures prominently in our current breeding program. Bred to Ch. Country Lane The Energizer, ROM she produced Ch. Rosmoor The Apocalypse, who is the eighth generation descended from our original sheltie and the result of five generations of champion Rosmoor bred bitches. Anson has done some exciting winning and we expect great things from him as a sire.

In the early '80s we purchased a young sable daughter of Ch. Robert with just a few points. She was out of a Ch. September’s Rainmaker daughter and possessed many qualities we admired. Her name was Ch. Greenview’s Jasmine; she died recently in the summer of 2000 at 17 years old. She had a beautiful head, eye and outline and is the granddam of Ch. Rosmoor Renaissance. Ch. Renaissance or Whitney (to her friends) was bred to Anson to produce Ch. Rosmoor The Epiphany and Rosmoor Simple Abundance. A repeat of this breeding produced Ch. Rosmoor Radiance and Ch. Rosmoor Nocturne.

Our need to remain very small (4-6 adults) has necessitated vigilance to quality that has served us well. Since our inception, we have averaged one champion per year, and have produced and finished champions in all three colors. Our dogs are almost always owner-handled, and the majority of our wins come at specialty shows. We only keep those dogs we believe will finish, and who prove that they can consistently produce quality offspring.