Page 113 - Aussie Magazine no1, 2023

out of one! - but nobody cared much if I lost or
won. I was alone. And so, when another family
imported a couple of Aussies from Finland to
Latvia, I was overjoyed! We had colleagues! We
had competition! We were finally, here in Latvia, a
real breed! To get the Australian Shepherd breed
recognition on the street in Latvia took me about
10-15 years.

A couple of years after Rikki we imported an
Australian Shepherd bitch, Propwash Catera,
call name Senga. I wanted a red merle, and so
my husband and I visited a few kennels in the
USA looking for a red merle bitch. I was offered
some really nice adult black tris, but no, I wanted
red merle. A fellow breeder told me that Leslie
B. Frank at Propwash kennel had a puppy bitch
that “might” be for sale… To Propwash Kennel in
New Hampshire, we went. We spent an afternoon
talking dogs. Leslie was unsure whether she
wanted to sell us the puppy or not, and we parted
that day without an agreement. I persisted and
kept calling Leslie once a month, and asking about
the puppy. Finally, we agreed, thanks to, in part, a
helicopter.
Breed. My Rikki was 2nd best male. I was in heaven.
Leslie’s husband was a retired pilot and he was I finally did find out how my dogs compared. It was
interested in Russian helicopters. My husband a great happiness and also a relief to see about
thought he had contacts that could help Mr 65 Australian Shepherds entered for World Dog
Frank with information. And so, a few months Show in Helsinki. I finally had competition. Finally
later over the phone, we reached an agreement. had colleagues in the breed. I was no longer alone.
I was to get my red merle puppy bitch, and Mr I still have dear friends that I first met in Helsinki,
Frank was possibly to get a helicopter. It seems in Summer of 1998.
totally absurd today, but back then in the 1990’s
it seemed reasonable to promise a helicopter for a I shall always be grateful to Diane Peters (Linerider)
puppy. Thankfully for all involved, the puppy deal and Leslie Frank (Propwash) for my first two
did happen, and the helicopter deal did not. Australian Shepherds. My kennel name SENTIKKI
I realise now how fortunate I was to find a comes from the call names of my first two Aussies,
wonderful bitch for a trivial reason – I was looking Senga and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. A few years after I
for red merle. Propwash Catera “Senga” was a bought Rikki, Diane Peters stopped breeding, and
world-class bitch, literally. She had wonderful we kept in touch for a long time. With Leslie we
movement with powerful reach and drive, a lovely have happily continued cooperation to this day.
head with the correct almond-shaped eye and
correct high-set ears. She won numerous Groups Why did you choose to become a judge and
and Specialty Shows. when did you start your judging career? Was
it difficult to qualify to become a judge in your
At the World Dog Show 1998 in Helsinki, Senga country and how long did it take?
won Best Opposite and the title of World Winner I first qualified as a FCI judge in 2017. The process
1998. Richard Hellman’s lovely blue merle male, was long and I would say difficult, it took a lot
CH Sundew Blazing Star Lite, Blaze, won Best of of time and effort. The hardest part for me was

A Worldwide Magazine for the Aussie • Issue 1/2023 | 113