Shadowbar Shepherds K9 Coaching Open for Business

It is with some trepidation that I begin adding my words of wisdom to the training blog again.  The last two years have been a blur of hope and sadness and in my defence it is because I have had my life turned upside down.  We lost Shaggy, Hunter, RoZe and Swayze, and Jodi's Mo all within a year and it was a horrible reality that there were no more GSD's at Shadowbar. 

My husband, Darryl, the wind beneath my wings when it came to supporting my canine ventures here at Shadowbar Shepherds and on the road, passed away June 11th, 2020,  just a month short of what would have been our 49th wedding anniversary after a short but brave fight against angiosarcoma. 

And of course, with coronavirus running rampid throughout Canada, I couldn't even hold a proper celebration of life. 

And my desire to move bravely ahead came to an abrupt stop.  And it has taken 8 months of  support from friends and neighbours to bring to where I am today.  Losing Darryl really changed my personal view of the future.  It made me determined to remain here in our home
 despite the work that would lie ahead of me having to manage Shadowbar on my own.

Enter my wonderful circle of friends .... who took over so much of what had to be done. Darryl, being the man he was, had left me with a list of exactly which "blue" jobs had to be done all year if I were to step into his shoes and keep the place in shape.  And so it began.  The mowing of all the pastures every two weeks was done, just like that.  The mowers and tractors and other personal vehicles were serviced. The plow was put on the truck and I got a lesson in how to use it.  The panels and fencing for the sheep arenas were up in a flash. The deck boards that needed replacing were replaced. The gate alarm was repositioned to catch all traffic (deer too) and a solar light was placed on the south facing window. The north wall of the barn was covered with metal. The willows and lilacs were trimmed out of the way of the wind fences. And the fifth wheel trailer was winterized and towed to Lethbridge for winter storage and some work, well before the winds came. 

The sheep were allowed to remain at winter pasture as was my wonderful 30 year old standardbred mare, all in the care of my friends. 

And then the contractors took over and fixed the furnace and the water pump, the chimney flashing and the vent that flew off in the 186km/hr. wind.  The wind fence had panels repaired and replaced, ready for winter. And when winter came, we were ready. 

So many worries taken off my mind....💜