Welcome to Stregato Collies
It was always a longing for Wendy and her husband Eddie to have a Rough Collie dog join their family, but with work commitments they knew it was not feasible to buy one straight away and they made a promise to each other that when the time was right they would start their search for their first Rough collie. Eddie often spoke about his first Rough collie dog, a tri, which he owned twenty plus years ago as a family pet.
In 2011 they found a breeder in Falkirk, Alyson and Iain Rae (Paridel) and this is where the venture of Rough collies started. Simba joined Wendy and Eddie as their family pet in May 2011 and soon became a very spoiled and much loved boy who followed Eddie everywhere and was a big part in Eddie’s life.
In 2012 the decision was made to add to their family. Blaze travelled from Kent to Edinburgh from Di Collino, Imaginist Rough Collies and settled extremely well with Simba. The bond between Simba and Blaze is heart warming. We had decided to give the world of dog showing a try with Blaze and this young lad was a very quick learner. Wendy and I started to enter shows with both Blaze and Simba and this is when we caught the bug of dog showing. We have made many good friends and continue to make good friends. With their knowledge and help, we probably would not be where we are today.
In September 2013 Blaze's litter brother, Torin was available and looking for a loving home. Well I have to say, we did not have to discuss this much. Torin came to Edinburgh at the age of 10 months old and lived with Audrey who lived on her own at that time and they quickly became the best of friends. Torin entered the show ring on several occasions, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, the boy is a natural.
Wendy had always wished for a blue merle boy to join them; in July 2014 Brodie was born at the Wicani kennel, bred by Angela and Keith Harvey and in true Eddie style he bought this little bundle of joy for Wendy to celebrate their 15th Wedding Anniversary in October. We took the trip to Yorkshire and collected Brodie on the 22nd September 2014. Simba and Blaze lovingly welcomed Brodie into their home and Torin loved his visits from Brodie on a daily basis.
In October and November 2014 our lives changed dramatically. Audrey was diagnosed with breast cancer and Wendy’s husband Eddie tragically died. The following months were merely a daze. We tackled what was ahead of us, together (it's a twin thing).
August 15th 2015, one door closed and another opened and a new chapter began. We became the excited new owners of this wonderful cottage in the countryside, but still within commuting distance to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The cottage came with one acre of gardens and 2 acres of paddock which is what sold it for us, the dogs now had their very own space to run free, play, train and be happy dogs. We set to work straight away and the first thing on the ‘To Do’ list was to have kennels set up and a secure exercise area for the dogs. There are a couple of outbuildings which we converted into more kennels to suit all weathers and a very well used groom room! The little village of Tarbrax, where we stay is situated 1000ft above sea level - we had been told that the winters are harsh and the summers are glorious.
This was the start of our new life. We now have both home bred dogs and bitches here at Stregato and will continue our breeding programme to breed fit, healthy and happy rough collies. Every day is a learning day, in life and in breeding rough collies and we thoroughly enjoy every part of it.
Our hopes and dreams for the future are exciting and we look forward to every moment. Without the valuable help and support from the five fantastic kennels that have entrusted us with their lines of breeding, Stregato Collies would not exist. Our aim for the future is to breed Rough Collies that are fit for function with health being at the forefront. We know our journey will not always be smooth, but our passion for the breed and our eagerness to learn from the best will help us on our path.
