I held him when the surgeon passed him to me—a C-section puppy, the only live puppy his mother
ever managed to produce. And I held him when he died. In between were fifteen wonderful years when Dustin
was my enthusiastic teammate in four completely different dog sports, earning championships in three of them.
I was always excited about this boy, the first male I ever considered good enough to keep. I should have known
from the freckles on his face that he’d have an exuberant, confident personality. He never met a person he
didn’t like, he never met a sport he wouldn’t try.
Dustin thought everything was fun, especially fast-paced sports like agility and herding. The conformation ring
provided Dustin the opportunity to show off how great he thought he was. Most of his winning was done under
judges who appreciated movement, but he had some nice wins under breeder judges. He has four Best of Breeds
and numerous wins over specials. He earned a class placement at the 2007 ASSA National Specialty, made the
first cut in the BOB competition at the 2010 National Specialty, and was Select Dog at the 2012 CSSC of Denver
specialty. Although used at stud very sparingly, he sired three champions, all with VCX titles. His
champion daughters are Ch Sagebrush Jolee Golden Dreamer PT AX AXJ JHD VCX,
Ch Lorra Lee's Sagebrush Making Memories HT AX AXJ MXP MJP VCX, and
Ch Sagebrush Girl In The Valley, CD RN HSAs AX AXJ VCX.
Dustin retained his health and enthusiasm as he aged. At the age of 12, he became the first breed Champion Sheltie to earn the Champion
Tracker title.
Good bye, little man. There will never be another like you.
Dustin & his champion daughters in 2017: L to R: Ch Lorra Lee's-Sagebrush Making Memories HT AX AXJ MXP MJP VCX, Ch Sagebrush Girl In The Valley CD RN HSAs AX AXJ VCX,
GCH CT MACH Sagebrush Little Big Man HSAs MXS MJS JHD VCX, Ch Sagebrush Jolee Golden Dreamer PT AX AXJ VCX
Photo by Dog Gone Digital
Agility:
Dustin is our second Master Agility Champion, following in the
footsteps of his grandmother Kerry. He was a wild child in agility until he was four years old, but then settled
down to be a consistent performer. We competed successfully in the 2014 AKC Agility National, and he finished his
MACH shortly before his ninth birthday.
Dustin's Masters JWW run, BCA trial, 09/27/2013
Dustin's Masters Standard run, GDSCWTC, 12/31/2012
Dustin's Masters Standard run, Terry-All KC, 10/13/2013
This was the first run of Dustin's 20th Double Q
Dustin's Masters JWW run, Terry-All KC, 10/13/2013
This was his MACH run.
Dustin earned his Herding Tested (HT) title at
the SSCNC herding tests, Junior Herding Dog (JHD) on sheep on,
and his Pre-trialTested (PT) on sheep all in 2006.
Dustin's intense focus on sheep made him a fast and hard to
direct dog in the herding arena. We took a break from
sheep for several years to concentrate on other activities. He returned
to sheep to earn his started title in 2014.
Dustin's first run at an AKC herding trial. He was in the Herding Started Course A class.
Dustins's run at the PPHA trials, when he finished his
Herding Started title.
Dustin didn't think tracking was nearly as much fun as herding and agility. But he
worked willingly, and in November 2016, shortly after his 12th birthday, he became the first
breed champion Sheltie and only the seventh Sheltie overall to earn the Champion Tracker title.
Reg 
