My first encounter with the Rough Collie was in 1992, when we were living in Germany. An American couple who moved in across the road from us owned a large American-type tricolour called Sam. I was smitten, as he was elegant, smart and gentle, and I loved taking him for walks in the local area and showing him off.

Once my family returned to the UK the following year, we contacted Gill Unstead of the Atendus Kennel and purchased our first family dog, a beautiful blue merle female called Misty (Atendus Wot Brings The Blues). We had many years of joy with Misty, who moved around Europe with us.

Our second dog was Misty's nephew, whom we named Prince. He was also a beautiful blue merle with a lot of character. We sadly lost Prince at the end of 2019, and this left a Rough Collie-sized hole in the hearts of our family.

After searching for a while, I saw the most beautiful blue merle male on television while watching Crufts 2020. This beautiful boy was none other than the fabulous Ch Ingledene Mercury Risin JW.

After contacting Valerie and John Geddes of the Ingledene Kennels, I was very excited to receive my own tricolour male, sired by Ch Ingledene Mercury Risin JW, and I am so grateful to own such a wonderful dog.

My tricolour boy Dafydd (Ingledene Dark Moon Risin over DeTillio) has taught me so much about pedigree dog showing and has had success in the show ring, gaining his Stud Book number in 2024.

This male changed my life forever and is the foundation stud dog for the DeTillio Kennel.

My second Rough Collie male joined us from the Gemheid Kennels in 2024. He is a wonderful shaded sable called Owain (Gemheid May'd of Amber for DeTillio). I am thankful to both Heidi and Billy Gallagher for giving me the opportunity to own such a lovely dog.

He has also started showing, and I am excited to see where this adventure leads next.