To The Starritt Family,

I can not tell you enough how you all have enriched our lives with not just one, but Two of your incredible Aussies. Theta, our female red merle, came into our lives in October of 2013. At that time, my husband was just getting home from deployment and our daughter was 4. Theta was just 8 weeks old when SHE adopted US into HER family. I say it that way because she didn’t see us humans any different than herself. She blended right into our family. I was nervous getting a “working” dog or “cattle” dog or a “herding” dog, because my family isn’t a farm/ranch/western family where we could allow her to exercise her “true nature”. But let me tell you what, she adapted to our lifestyle without any problems what so ever. She became an indoor house pet and became one with the family. She is so loyal and so obedient. In fact, she made such a wonderful impression that my military friends also wanted Australian Shepherds. She has such a unique personality for a dog and won everyone’s hearts over. She became my daughters “sister” and my extra hairy daughter. We fell so deeply in love with her that we couldn’t wait to get another Aussie from the Starritt family.

Along came Sigma, our male black Tri. Boy oh boy, how he is so vastly different from Theta, but still just as loyal, obedient, and smart. He has been in our lives for just about 3 years now. Both of these furry babies have made the best home security system, adopted members to the family, living entertainment, loyal companions, and best baby sitters. In fact, their favorite time of day is when that big giant yellow thing drops their sister off in the afternoon. They love that more than they love dinner time, though it’s very close. They are so amazing with kids. They have never growled or snapped at her, with younger children they are slow and gentle. With my daughter, if she is outside, they are outside with her. If she is jumping on her trampoline, they are up there jumping with her. They are the best, and so agile. They love to play Frisbee and fetch a tennis ball, they love to jump off the docks and go swimming, they even love going fishing. Theta’s favorite sport apart from Frisbee is diving for minnows, and she is actually REALY REALLY good at it. Cracks me up every time. These sweet babies have been such a dream to take out on adventures like hiking trails, gallery nights, festivals, the beach, and camping. They travel so well and are so well tempered, we get compliments anywhere and everywhere we take them.

There is something that is quite unique with these dogs that I haven’t ever witnessed with another breed, and I have been raised with a bunch of different breeds of dogs. That is, without “formal” training, these two dogs, incredibly, can sense if and when I am about to have a seizure. They have never had any kind of training on what to do, or how to act, or how to sense seizures. They just naturally picked it up. They have laid under my head so I wouldn’t beat it on the tile, they would alert my daughter or husband if I was going into one in the other room, and they would let me know when it’s time to sit or lay down because they knew when I was about to go into one before I even knew myself. It’s just absolutely incredible. There have been times when I have fallen and was unconscious, all to wake up to them licking my face to stimulate me back to awareness. I can say they have honestly saved my life on multiple occasions.

These beautiful dogs have been such an incredible and enriching blessing to our lives. I will forever be an Aussie fan after raising them from your line. Their tempterment and ability to adapt to lifestyle changes have been so impressive. I am forever grateful to the Starritts for the addition to our family. Thank you for the countless of smiles and heartfelt joy you have spread to our lives. We are forever appreciative to you and your beautiful family. God bless you and yours. Thank you again.