South Bay Best in Show: PJpupp, the mellow border collie
Photo by Robert Moray
From owner Deb Davidson-Harpur:
Breed: Border Collie
Name: Harpur's PJpupp -- Harpur is our family name so I used that instead of a kennel name and PJ pupp is a combo of PJ (for Paint Job) and Pupp so she would always be a puppy to us.
Where did you find your best friend? We got her from Drs. Judy Taylor and Rudy Tyler at Laguna Vista Vet Hospital in Harbor City. PJ's mom found her way to their home on The Hill during the El Nino storms of 1998 and had nine puppies in their backyard overnight in the rain. Judy and Rudy brought them to their vet practice and put them in the stable. I took her home at 8 weeks old and immediately put her into puppy kindergarten with Lomita Obedience Training Club (Ethel Mercer's class) where she was a star pupil.
Personality: PJpupp is the most mellow border collie in the world. This makes her easy to live with, but doesn't make her as hard working as other border collies when it comes to agility or sheepherding. Sure she enjoys it, but she doesn't NEED it. She's find just hanging out.
Favorite trick? She is the BEST dog to have if you play Mulical Mats -- she will sit or lie down so fast no one else can beat her. In Musical Mats, you walk around in a circle when the music plays and when the music stops you make your dog either sit or down. The last one to do it gets eliminated ... like musical chairs for people. PJpupp is 12 years old this year and has only been beaten once ... and we play that game A LOT at dog club parties, etc. She's great!
Best/worst habits: Best: She's the best-behaved dog I have. Many people tell me she's better behaved than many children. Worst habit? I can't really think of one, but I guess my husband would say it's that she hogs up his side of the bed at night and makes him sleep all crunched up.
Favorite things to do with your dog? My dogs and I do everything together. PJ loves coming to work with me everyday and likes attending the agility trials. She is retired now, but still comes out now and then to have fun and show them that old champions keep on tryin.'
About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
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