Calabrone Show Dogs is owned by Jodie Strait of Davidson, NC. The name Calabrone is Bumble Bee in Italian and frankly Bummy is the heart and soul of our doggie world.
We are what you would call a small hobby kennel – emphasis on the small! Our dogs our pets first and athletes second. They also must adhere to the understanding that the Cat Mafia rules the house. Australian Shepherds are WORKING stock dogs, the most important aspect is their herding instinct. You can have it all – a pretty dog that can also work!
My first Aussie was a phenomenal working bitch named Arrow. She was a gorgeous black tri that everyone loved to borrow when they needed their cattle moved! She lived to 19 years young.
After over twenty years in horses, I decided a change was needed and decided to pursue the dog world. Because I was not sure if I wanted to do conformation or agility or obedience I wanted a dog that could do it all and obviously the Aussie was a natural place to go.
In a short time we have garned success in the show ring and the performance ring, but more importantly our dogs and their kids are wonderful ambassadors. We always keep up with the goings on of ALL of our Aussies. We are so blessed to have great friends and great dogs. Winning is just icing on the cake!
The great thing about showing dogs is that you get to meet so many different people and breeds and with that we are scaling back on our Australian Shepherds and beginning our newest adventure with a bred that has completely captivated me – the PEKINGESE. And now we added Tibetan Spaniels as well!
I mercifully lost my buddy of 15 years just before getting married 8/28/21. Lucas was more than I could have ever asked for….there was a young lady in Harrisburg, NC that had done the “hard work” (crate training, house training, leash trained, etc…), but she had just also given birth to twin sons a couple months after her training of Lucas. She was sweet enough to tell me that if she could’ve given back her twin boys and kept 9month old Lucas, that would have been her preference…but lucky for me, that wonderful lady/momma bestowed upon me my best friend for the next 15years of my life. We were inseparable – and any time a human asked me about Lucas, I was quick to respond, “he’s way smarter than the two of us combined!”
Its been just over a year now that he allowed me to carry him with dignity to his calling — there will never be another Lucas, but I am beginning to miss the looks of expectations and utterly frustrated rolled eyes, when our four-legged friends laugh at us! 🙂
My man was brown and white with hazel green eyes (that changed with the seasons) – i never bread him, but wish I would have. He was full bread and has doc’s to justify at Long’s Animal Hospital in CLT. Would love to discover his lineage and keep it going if others feel it would be the right thing to do.
All the best