Roland is an Aussie mix born in May of 1995. He's sable merle in color, and weighs about 55 pounds. He is a very expressive "face actor".

Roland's mother is a working Australian Shepherd in California's Central Valley. She's a wiry little blue merle bitch with a hard eye. While shy around people, she's a great herder. His father's a mystery.

Roland has an AKC "courtesy" indefinite listing privilege (ILP) as an Aussie, though his sable merle coat makes him an unacceptable color for a show Aussie. Only because he's neutered and therefore unable to pollute any true Aussie breed line is the AKC willing to let him run in their sporting events as an Aussie.

This is Roland's third household. He was too much for his first owners, with high energy and a tendency to chase the ducks in the backyard pond. Karen McNally, who had three of Roland's sisters, took Roland when her brother's family had had enough. She offered him to us just three months after our dog Alexander died, leaving us dogless for the first time in 17 years. We thought we'd just take Roland in for a weekend visit; that was in June of 1997.

Roland's Photo Album

Click on any of the thumbnail photos in this gallery to open a new window with a larger version of the photo. [Note: This feature coming soon.]

Roland is retired from agility sport competition but still likes his practice sessions and an occasional "fun day" on the courses.

(He's been tested for herding instinct and drive, which he has in abundance. Since he's not as quick as Cayenne, he likes to work sheep from a greater distance. That gives him room to maneuver when they break.)

When Roland was still competing in agility sports (mostly before Donna trained Cayenne to run agility), he earned basic novice titles:

• AKC NA (Novice Agility): Standard agility novice
• AKC NAJ (Novice Agility Jumpers): Jumpers-with-weaves novice
• USDAA AD (Agility Dog): Standard agility novice

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