Hat's off to The St. Louis OES Club! Great Sheepiepalooza!
  
I was great to meet so many 'sheepie lovers' and put faces with the names on the forum--and of course meeting all the sheepies was just the best!! 
Baley and Baxter already have put SHEEPIEPALOOZA on their calendars for next year they can't wait!    |
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Agreed! Once again, the St. Louis OES Club have organized and executed a fabulous event!! We had a blast and are already looking forward to the next one.
 It was wonderful seeing old friends again and meeting new ones! |
| I add my thanks as well.
And we had a great time, the host hotel was very friendly and gave us a great price, the venue were wonderful, and food - Fabulous!! Even though I helped by remote, it is no where near what the St Louis club and organizers Judi and Val put in for work to make this a great event. Thanks! |
| No other regional OES club puts on an event anywhere close to this magnitude or level of fun, and it's not like the St Louis Club is huge. An indescribably incredible event
I can't thank you guys enough. Don't tell anyone, but I enjoy it more than nationals, and it's not just because my guys give a big thumbs up to all that incredible sheep poop to roll in
It's the most fun thing they do all year, and these guys get out and about a fair amount. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You guys are incredible. 
Kristine |
Charlie's family had a GREAT time! We've never seen so many sheepies and Charlie was truly in awe of all of them. It was great to meet everyone and put faces to the names. Thank you St. Louis OES for a great time! We really appreciate how welcome you made this group of Utahns feel!! Hope to see you all again one day!!
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| Thank you guys for the nice comments!!
I again had a blast this year!! We could not have done it without everyone of you coming, participating, donating and enjoying!!! I loved seeing everyone and I hope we can make it bigger next year! Thanks to Judi and Val who work so hard year round to make this a really fun event to be a part of!! Julie & Addie |
| I too want to thank St Louis OES Club for hosting a wonderful Sheepiepalooza - it was all much more than we expected and so well planned and organized. And to top it off, Patch passed her CGC test.
Your events kept us on our toes so much so that Patch has slept the entire day (Memorial Day) only waking to change sleeping positions in different rooms of the house. Again, THANK YOU to Becky, Val, Judi, and to all the others who collaborated in making our time at the Sheepiepalooza so enjoyable and for making us feel so welcome. And thank you for all the work you do for the orphaned OES in need of a home - work that is so invaluable, especially to us who are fortunate enough to share our lives with a rescue. |
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Just wanted to add our special thanks for an incredible weekend. Judi, Val, Becky and all the other fantastic volunteers made our trip to St. Louis a memorable one. Hopefully next year we can bring along some more Canadians and their sheepies! |
Great job, Judi, Val and everyone who helped make this the best Sheepiepalooza yet! 
Nelson is so worn out that he can barely move. We had a great time and hope get together again with everyone next year (or before!) Nita & Nelson |
| ^^^^^^^^^^
Awww...thanks Nita...we ALL had a ball..although I DID take a 4 hour nap this afternoon...  ((I am too OLd for this....)))))
YOU did a wonderful job with the grooming demo!!!! Thanks for 'abusing' poor Nelson in an effort to educate us on correct line brushing and proper scissors holding!!!!! It was so informative!!!!! |
| My family and I also want to add our Cudo's to a fantastic well planned weekend.
It was cool everytime we left our hotel room to encounter a sheepdog either in the hallway, lobby or parking lot. The drive was not bad for us only 7hrs-ish. and TJ and Addie loved it! Thank you all once again for putting this all together! |
| Two paws up!!
I LOVED the addition of the live auction on Friday night! Judi, you did an excellent job as the auctioneer!! It was so nice to see ya'll again! |
| We got home a couple of hours ago; and Adam and I and T onks and Luna want to add our voices to the chorus of "Thank you's" for another amazing Sheepie Palooza! We all had a wonderful time, and really appreciate how much effort you guys put into the weekend!
See you all next year!!!! |
Sammi and I just got home (we flew...); Bob, Maddi, and Charlie are in Kansas City. Another two days for them. It was so worth it!! I wish we were still there!!!!!  |
Amazing undertaking guys. Nice to see so many sheepies being introduced to some of the performance events as well - even if Judy didn't arrange better weather  
Marley and I got home about 11:30 last night - I may never get her in the car again!!! Thanks for arranging this - what a challenge for other areas to live up to! |
kerry wrote: Thanks for arranging this - what a challenge for other areas to live up to!
That's what I spent the entire drive home (significantly less distance than yours obviously ) thinking... 
Glad you both made it home safely. 
Naturally, Judi fretted about the weather like it was her fault. I don't want to speak ill of anyone who works that incredibly hard, but only a control freak would take responsibility for less than optimum weather! (oops! Did I say that out loud??!!  )
Actually, agility weather was pretty darn good. And at least we had no rain. Good job packing all that rain gear to ensure non-rain weather compliance guys!!
Kristine |
| Thanks for the complimentary comments about Sheepiepalooza.
It is the reason I have these good friendships with some of the forum people. We discussed this at a couple of meals over the weekend. And each year I have met someone new that I wouldn't otherwise have got to know. So I really do hope that it will be able to continue. Unfortunately, my family has reached their limit on my involvement with the event the last three years. Not to mention that the work they get recruited to do. I cannot really blame them. The worst part for me though is the amount of time spent working to Harry being abandoned during what is supposed to be fun for him. It had been my hope that the local club size and initiative would grow to accomodate this event. Please keep your fingers crossed for some sort of resolution. |
| I had a blast meeting everyone and putting names to faces. Unfortunately, there were so many people I missed meeting as I was busy trying to be helpful. I got to babysit a lot of sheepies, so my missing my guys at home wasn't as bad. I will post some pictures when I get home as I am still in Colorado until Thursday. I loved meeting Michelina and Alison. It was really fun to visit with some fellow artists and shop at Michelina's booth.
I still think Sybil gets a bad rap. She was such a sweetie and I enjoyed all of Kristine's dogs (and Kristine). Thanks for putting on such a fun event...just getting all thoses sheepies in one place was amazing. I hope you can get the club participation you need to do it again next year. Thanks Val and Dino for taking me into your home. I can't wait to go through all the pictures.
(Sybil is a lovely sheepie...don't listen to the nay sayers) |
| Judi-
-I can only imagine the LONG hours you all invested just working on all the LITTLE things that you all did to make this event top notch! I KNOW what it take to tie all the ribbons on the bags--gather all the items--get them organized etc. Designing and ordering all the shirts and towels... getting all the registrations in... It is always the little things that make a difference and are so time consuming! Then arranging all the activities and all the details and hours that are involved there- arranging and organizing the auctions- ordering all the food and making sure it arrives--the maps and directions... And THEN--the Rally--the Agility and all that goes into that with the equipment etc! Then actually working the event and trying to make sure all 'bases' are covered for 3 days!! And of course YOU ALL never really get to enjoy the activities from the attendees point of view! I am sure that families are involved by necessity!!! I did not meet all of the members of your club--but observed you and Val in action! Wow!
Keeping fingers crossed that all of you know that you have created a unique and wonderful event and can continue... 
Sometimes the good news is that when the systems are truly in place it begins to get a little easier because you know what to expect and can delegate more!! I wish some of us could help you more! Rest UP! |
| Phoebe and Winston had a great time. It's Tuesday and they still had a hard time getting up this morning.
Hat's off to everyone who worked to hard to organize this great event. Nancy |
SheepieMommy wrote: The worst part for me though is the amount of time spent working to Harry being abandoned during what is supposed to be fun for him.
Actually Judi i thought about that on the way home - I can see the issue there, definitely, and did some thinking about whetherr is for the dog sor us. I am sure its half and half, but i am not sure the event is always that much fun for all the dogs. I saw some very unhappy dogs (probably not forum members dogs ) this weekend. I know many of us travel long distances with the dogs and the instinct is to want to include them in everything, but that can be overwhelming. I understand now why many dog clubs have events without the dogs , or meals at events etc. It is very hard to even be an attendee at the event and meet and talk to many people when your dog has to be your first concern.
I was thinking a great service to find before i come out again would be somone to dog sit in my room for a nice dinner out. I have seen my co-owner use someone to sit her dogs at Westiminster so we can go out and eat and visit and realize the experience and wisedom that led to that. Even dogs that seem to be having a good time are overly stressed by being front and center 100% of the time. as for Miss Marley she wouldn't come out of her crate this morning - and I didn't put her in it!!! Although I thought she might not want to ever get in the car again, she ran to the garage when I picked up my keys and sneakers to run an errand this morning so I don't think any of the damage was permanent. Still great event and i hope your club members realize the value it brings to them and figure out a way to continue it. (My family would have quit after the first year ) |
kerry wrote: SheepieMommy wrote: The worst part for me though is the amount of time spent working to Harry being abandoned during what is supposed to be fun for him. I saw some very unhappy dogs (probably not forum members dogs ) this weekend. I would say Harry running away from me twice on Sunday when I called him was a great indicator. He did not want to go into his crate again while I spent time with other people's dogs. kerry wrote: Still great event and i hope your club members realize the value it brings to them and figure out a way to continue it. (My family would have quit after the first year
) |
SheepieMommy wrote: I would say Harry running away from me twice on Sunday when I called him was a great indicator. He did not want to go into his crate again while I spent time with other people's dogs.
As I recall, Harry has never been overly fond of the whole crate concept, period, including at agility trials. So his reaction isn't too shocking. But from organizing various events at various nationals I know the Orphan Organizer's Dog (OOD, not to be confused with OCD) syndrome well
I remember one year they were calling Belle's number for the veteran obedience class while I was still on my phone giving directions to the following day's rally judge and hadn't spoken to Belle for hours, much less pottied the poor wench.  Much to her credit she took it in stride. None of my younger dogs would have been that forgiving. I'm sure Sybil would have taken it upon herself to pee on the judge's foot.
It's a tough balancing act. Delegating more helps, but it isn't always feasible. I've been darn lucky two years in a row now that kindhearted California people who flew in dogless have taken pity on my dogs and hung out with an assortment of them (brave NY residents have even run the occasional dog for me in agility when I got overzealous in my entries )
That may be why my dogs were happy as heck to be there and none too excited about going home. Well, that and the sheep poo I let them roll in (they were on vacation - some dogs want to go to Disneyland, mine want to go to Purina Farms to roll in sheep excrement - to each their own) But if you're part of organizing an event, your dog(s) will always be shortchanged on some level. I don't think Harry felt the entire weekend was wasted. He looked darn happy doing agility and smoozing with passerbys when we ate outside Sat pm at least.
But, yes, I see your dilemma. At least with nationals even though I'll work every year I go, it's not a given that I'm responsible for all or even any of the performance events every year. Burn out. It's almost inevitable if you don't have any relief. 
Wendy - so happy I finally got to meet you!!!! And thank you again for taking the time to dog sit my looney tunes. (But why is it I'm the only one who sees Sybil for the Devil Dog she is???   )
Kristine |
| I feel your pain Judi; Luna was VERY upset being left alone at our chairs and crate while I rean Tonks' Agility course and Adam video'd it. I can only imagine how Harry must have felt. Luna was really only left out of the fun for about an hour. |
Darth Snuggle wrote: I can only imagine how Harry must have felt. Luna was really only left out of the fun for about an hour.
The worst part Allison is that Harry is used to being crated all day at a trial but he could tell this was not a trial when there is a big play area with dogs running in it, etc. When he sees that he knows he is getting screwed. |
SheepieMommy wrote: I would say Harry running away from me twice on Sunday when I called him was a great indicator. He did not want to go into his crate again while I spent time with other people's dogs.
Can you blame Harry for not wanting to be confined after having his crate peed on multiple times during the weekend??? |
SheepieMommy wrote: Darth Snuggle wrote: I can only imagine how Harry must have felt. Luna was really only left out of the fun for about an hour. The worst part Allison is that Harry is used to being crated all day at a trial but he could tell this was not a trial when there is a big play area with dogs running in it, etc. When he sees that he knows he is getting screwed. You might be projecting just a little - they are dogs you know and they don't quite make the quid pro quo decisions that we do. But seperating osme of the play times from the activity times next time might eleveate some of the dilema Judy And Alison - Morgan will bark and bark when Marley runs with sheep - when its his turn he is not really interested. Its a training issue we are undertaking. He just has to learn to be patient and wait when he isn't the center of attention. |
| Hello all,
Sir Kodiak and I want to get our 2 cents in as well. Thank you so much for the fun weekend. Great people, super dogs, lots of things to do, wonderful food and tours of St Louis I never expected thanks to the confused GPS. Seriously, thank you Judi, Val, Becky and all the other club members that gave all of us such an outstanding weekend. Very obvious that many, many hours went into planning and preparing for the event and then non-stop action once everyone started to arrive. What a neat surprise to meet Kerry and Marley and to see Cindy Parks after so many years. We enjoyed all the events and particularly the folks who were courageous enough to let their dogs try agility. We need more OES in agility! Glad to hear so many arrived home safely. I wish I had taken more pictures. Speaking of which, Judi where can we find some of the pictures after they are posted? Kathi and Sir Kodiak (who won't go to class this evening because he is still tired!)
Kodi says thanks to Harry for taking him on the boat and hanging with him. |
| Kathi - many are getting posted under the "pictures" heading.
Val posted the link to her son Nick's website also - I think in the pictures section as well. Another option is to go into the picture albums directly and just view pictures without the narrative found in the posts. They should be under the "Sheepiepalooza 2009" album if we uploaded them correctly! |
sheepiemom wrote: I wish I had taken more pictures. Speaking of which, Judi where can we find some of the pictures after they are posted?
The club's pictures will be on our website hopefully by the weekend at www.stloes.org I will post here to let people know when they are ready and I can try to remember to send you an e-mail. Thanks again for your help on Sunday Kathi. I saw a lot of promise out there. Harry did not do a very good job of sharing Kodi's paddleboat - let's just say that Kodi definitely was left with less than 50% of the back bench. |
| Here is the link for the Nick Pics....
http://www.iephotographs.com/ |
| I only see Sat's events? Think he will post Sun's to?
He took an AWESOME pix of Savvy I can't wait to see... I stuck her in the play area Purina uses for the herding events, and she shoved her head and front legs under the gate and was just stuck there looking at me to come let her out.  |
| ^^^^^^^
Nick will get the Sunday pictures up ASAP...I will post when they are up!!!! |
| Just want to make sure all the volunteers know that we appreciated all their hard work especially Raymond and Carol who made us feel so welcomed at the hotel to Mary who baked all the delicious cookies (Oakley sends big sheepie hugs and wet sloppy kisses...Sydney was nice enough to share hers with him this morning) to all of Judi and Val's family members. This event was so successful because of all of you! Hope we are invited back again next year! |
We had a great time and I think Charlie enjoyed it as well; although, he seemed a bit overwhelmed at times seeing so many dogs who looked like him! He's only seen one sheepie before! Thanks again for all your hard work! 
Bob, Maddi, and Charlie are still trying to make the trek home...the truck broke down in Nebraska last night and they had to be towed to the nearest podunky town. The Ford dealership (only place in town that can fix it) said they think it's some oil pressure pump thing and it will take 5-6 hours AFTER lunch and a mere $500 or so... and additional hotel room stays and time off work So much for an affordable trip!! |
| Oh no!
I hope they get the truck fixed with minimal expenditure and they can get back on the road. Nebraska - kind of boring spot to get stranded..... |
got sheep wrote: Oh no!
Nebraska - kind of boring spot to get stranded..... I know! They're sitting in the Ford dealership watching TV and texting...Charlie's hanging in there. The hotel is 3 miles away and no one will take them/come get them. So...LONG day!!!!!!! |
| Oh no! That's terrible. I can't believe no one will take them to the hotel. What a crock! |
Beaureguard's Mom wrote: Oh no! That's terrible.
I can't believe no one will take them to the hotel. What a crock! They finally started working on it and Bob talked someone into taking them to the hotel so they could sleep. He was awake all night...stressed...and then up really early! They're going to try to sleep now and drive a lot during the night. |
Oh how horrible. I hope they get it fixed soon. |
| I am so sorry that has happened to them--hope it is fixed soon and they can finally get home. |
| I'm finally getting around to the computer after we've had some power outages here in FL.
I don't even know where to start! This year's Sheepiepalooza was an absolute blast. So many wonderful people and tooo many adorable OES (like lil' Martha, omg)!!! From Friday night until Sunday afternoon it was non-stop fun. I loved the auction on Friday night and all of the little goodies that followed (esp that sheepie wool teddy from Nita). It was great meeting my fellow Artist's from the forum, Alison and Wendy, and watching everyone at the boathouse. What fun!!! Val, Judi, and all of the people that put this all together as a joint effort, it was done perfectly. All of the planning and hard work paid off!! You went out of your way to make sure everyone had a great time. Everyone was smiling ear to ear the whole weekend, and that couldn't have happened without all of the hard work and dedication you have for the club and more importantly, the breed!! People should take notice on just how successful and meaningful of an event you planned. It wasn't a sheepdog picnic, it was an adventure!! People will remember this for a long time to come! I was very glad to be a part of it. Matisse wanted me to tell everyone that agility rocks....LOL! Cozette is still sleeping.... Thank you for making EVERYONE feel special, and welcome |
| Michelina!
I can't find the "Talk to the Paw!" design on your website...am I not looking in the right places? It is already my all-time favorite shirt!!! Are you sure you didn't use Sybil as the model and just remove the mask to protect the innocent?
Kristine |
Mad Dog wrote: Michelina!
I can't find the "Talk to the Paw!" design on your website...am I not looking in the right places? It is already my all-time favorite shirt!!! Are you sure you didn't use Sybil as the model and just remove the mask to protect the innocent? Kristine I am laughing outloud over here @ the Sybil remark!! "Talk to the Paw" T-shirt premiered at SheepiePalooza. They were hot off the press when we left on Wednesday, literally. I'll have Theresa get them up on the site within the next few days. Thank you for the compliments on that shirt!! People seemed to enjoy it..... |
I Dream Of Sheepie wrote: Mad Dog wrote: Michelina! I can't find the "Talk to the Paw!" design on your website...am I not looking in the right places? It is already my all-time favorite shirt!!! Are you sure you didn't use Sybil as the model and just remove the mask to protect the innocent? Kristine I am laughing outloud over here @ the Sybil remark!! "Talk to the Paw" T-shirt premiered at SheepiePalooza. They were hot off the press when we left on Wednesday, literally. I'll have Theresa get them up on the site within the next few days. Thank you for the compliments on that shirt!! People seemed to enjoy it..... I will be wearing my "talk to the paw" shirt on Thursday when I teach my classes - I can't wait! Thanks Michelina for coming up here with all your fabulous art. |
sheepieshake wrote:
Nick is clearly quite talented!! So many beautiful pictures in there....I had to buy some....couldn't help myself!! LOVE the group photo.... Michelina~ |
Awww  thanks Michelina...I will relay the message!!!!! |
| Val, the pictures are just beautiful - Nick is very talented.
If I can again reiterate, thank you for all your efforts on making Sheepiepalooza such an enjoyable event. I do not know what next year brings if I am able to make the trip again, BUT, I would be happy to offer to help from Louisville - maybe if we all took a "job" your and Judi and Becky's and others' work would be lessened. Our common denominator is our sheepdog so we all have a stake in the fun. Your OES club is a great organization, I wish we had one in Louisville. |
| ^^^^^^
thank you so much for the compliments and the offer to help!!! I know the Club appreciates all the forum and the friends we have made the last couple of years. We love to have all of you as guests in St. Louis~~~ we have so many great pet friendly places and the more St. Louisians are exposed to our sheepies, the more they are asking us to return year afer year. thanks again!!!!! |
Mad Dog wrote: Michelina!
I can't find the "Talk to the Paw!" design on your website...am I not looking in the right places? It is already my all-time favorite shirt!!! Are you sure you didn't use Sybil as the model and just remove the mask to protect the innocent? Kristine The Shirt is on the website!! |
| UPDATE...Bob and Maddi will be home this afternoon. Repairs to the truck weren't as bad as we expected ($325) but it definitely wasn't in the plan... Thanks again for a great time! Hugs to everyone!! |
| WHEW!!!! I am so glad they are almost home!!!!! |
| I can imagine how they feel....We had issues with our trailer on the way home and that cost us about 5 hours and we were DOG tired....As long as they are ok, that's all that matters |
Whew! 
So glad to hear they're making it home safely. What an ordeal.  |
| Glad to hear it wasn't quite as bad as first thought--and that they are almost home! |
| Glad to hear that the rest of the family are finally getting home!
Michelina - I wore my "talk to the paw" shirt to teach classes tonight, and it was a big hit. I even got asked if there was a rottie one! (breed of choice with the puppy class teacher) |
| hahaha!! That's too cool!! I was asked if there was a german shepard one and a pug one.... Sheepdogs rule, therefore the shirt stays OES!!
I think I'm blushing....
Thanks for the compliments Michelina~ |
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