The Generations Begin

Jeannette Zoss married Paul Zoss over 32 years ago. They met at the University of Indiana, where Paul was a law student and Jeannette was studying biology in the honors program. They moved from Indiana to Texas to follow Paul's law school aspirations at the University of Texas at Austin. Jeannette gave birth to what would be the first of four children, Nathan.

Eventually, Paul accepted a position with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The young family moved from Texas to Virginia in 1972, just in time to be in the heat of the scandals surrounding the campaign tactics and funding routes for President Richard Millhouse Nixon. Jeannette was pregnant at the time and stayed at home with Nathan.

As a young girl, Jeannette owned and loved a small dachshund bitch, ,. She had been looking forward to the day when she could once again have a pet of her own to love and train. Jeannette grew up all over the world, the daughter of an army colonel. One of the dogs she met in all those different countries and towns was a tricolor-headed white collie dog. Impressed with the dog's gentle nature and intelligence, Jeannette longed for a Collie.

However, the young Zoss family lived in a small home on the outskirts of D.C. Jeannette knew that it was impractical to own a Collie in the tiny home with the even tinier yard. Research at the local library led her to the Shetland Sheepdog, described as "resembling a Collie in miniature" and as intelligent, easily trained companion good with children.

She called around to the local kennel club, having read that it was considered unwise to buy a puppy from the pet stores. After talking to a few different Sheltie breeders recommended by the local kennel club, she found out that a litter was due to be born at a local breeder's. The sire would be Ch. Kidwelly Two for the Show, and there was a place for my mom on the waiting list.

At eight weeks, she chose a medium sized, attractive sable bitch. "Slipper" was bright orange in color, with a large white face blaze and prick ears. She was, overall, an attractive Sheltie for that day, but all my mom was looking for was an intelligent, trainable companion.

After a brief hiatus to give birth to her second child, Amy, Jeannette discovered that not only was Slipper an easily trained and intelligent companion, Jeannette herself rather enjoyed training her dog. She began to train for obedience competition, eventually earning a C.D.X with Slipper. Although Slipper was trained through her U.D., an early negative experience with the forced-retrieve spoiled her for scent articles.

The day President Nixon was resigning from the presidency to avoid inevitable impeachment, the Zosses were stepping on an airplane headed for Des Moines, Iowa. Paul Zoss would assume the role of assistant U.S. Attorney for the State of Iowa, and Jeannette would give birth to their third and fourth children, Nick and Ben Zoss.

A Midwestern Tale

The Zosses settled in Des Moines and Jeannette began to make connections to local dog trainers and breeders. She met Jerry and Shirlee Jacobsen, of Jakeland's Shelties. She met Vernon and Beverly Peterson of Merri-Lon Shelties, and Jeanne Roland of Ladykirk Shelties. Through these people, and countless others, Jeannette was able to begin to learn, watch, and grow in her understanding of the breed.

Jeannette continued to show in obedience, and began to keep an eye on the conformation ring during her 'down' times as the trials. She was particularly taken with a little tri bitch, owned by Shirley Valo and Karen Burns, being shown at a local fun match. "Rosie" was not for sale, but my mom could not take her mind away from the little tricolor girl.

 

 

By the good graces of Shirley Valo and Karen Burns, "Rosie" came to live with us that Christmas. She would go on to become Ch. Flair The Midnight Rose, C.D. under the talented guidance of Joe Molloy. Rosie, though tricolor and bi-factored, was essentially a Sea Isle bitch by breeding.

My mom had been studying dogs and pedigrees, going over dogs at shows and asking questions. She noticed that the Sea Isle dogs were crossing well with Banchory type and that Banchory dogs were going to be bred to the young dog "POW". She took the plunge and, against all better advice, bred Rosie to Ch. Cherden Sock It To 'Em, "POW".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From this litter came Ch. Kell Midnight Abduction C.D. (pictured with Jeannette, at right) and Kell Midnight Rendezvous, pts.Abby does not carry on for us today, but her equally nice litter brother, Fling, does. Life being what it is, Fling missed his chance in the Breed ring at the height of his maturity, and therefore was never able to complete his breed Championship. However, his influence, and that of his dam Rosie, continues today at Kell Shelties.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amy, meanwhile, was growing up around all of these wonderful dogs, and had the pleasure and opportunity to not only meet some of the breed's canine 'greats' (who, after all, to her at that age were simply 'nice doggies'), but to meet some of the truly greats in the breed; the people.

An Interest Grows... and grows... and

Other than an occasional club meeting or local fun match, Amy was relegated to the realm of kid-dom. The Zoss children were not typically allowed to tag along to shows, even if Kim Watt's orange Volkswagen Beetle or Jeannette's banana-yellow Dodge Omni would have allowed for the room. As it was, Jeannette knew that her active horde of kids would soon get bored at a show, and boredom leads to trouble. Better that the children stay at home.

Amy is persistent, and if you ask some closer friends and acquaintances, somewhat stubborn. She begged to come along, begged for a dog of her own, begged for a chance in the ring. No, no and definitely not at a real show. Amy would have to grow up first.

To use the a propos cliché', persistence pays. Amy was eventually allowed to 'own' one of the Shelties, a puppy she chose by Merri-Lon Mighty Request out of Ch. Merri-Lon Antigua CD, a Peter daughter. She show and house-trained Strawberry and bred her first litter in 1979 when Amy was 6 years old (okay, so she had some help, and she just dated herself...). So a show-kid was born, and another generation began.

As a friend once said, Amy was born with a silver show-lead in her mouth. ...or pooper-scooper, depending on the source. Amy prefers the former, more euphemistic, phraseology.