Town & Country English Shepherds

Flashbar's Miracle Mia Under the Rainbow Embark/PRA6 Clear PennHIP DI (L/R): 0.39 / 0.46 Mia came to the farm after 5 years of admiring and hoping for the perfect girl from the Quigley family. She is the granddaughter, as well as 4th great granddaughter, of Quigley Downs of Under the Rainbow English Shepherds, her sire being his son and linebred on him. Mia loves and is incredibly loyal to the family, is guardian of the farm, and yet loves to visit with folks on trips into town and appropriate greetings. From the beginning, Mia has shown a lot of stock interest, which with her pedigree, I had both hoped and expected. As she has grown, Mia has developed that nurturing attitude towards our young stock, while maintaining the power needed to move both large stock as well as the goats and sheep, and knowing the amount of pressure to get that job done, whichever it is. To describe Mia in one word would be between “versatile” and “happy”! She is always happy. She loves walks in the woods, and is always staying nearby, whether the kids are playing in the yard, on a walk in the woods, or doing chores. I am still very much “her person” and she is my constant shadow and companion. She loves hunting any varmint. She is so versatile in that she can take up pretty much any doggie task and learn it quickly. From herding, to guarding, dog “sports” of all kinds, anything that is a challenge she is going to learn and do alongside of me. True to how smart she is, she is also titled NTD, NTD-M, ITD, ATD, and ETD through DMWYD. Mia was probably the hardest puppy I have trained, she had some bad habits, and I was always having to find new ways of training to fix them! She also was pretty independent spirited in her ‘teenage stage’, and went through the ‘selective hearing’ stage for a few months! I have grown through this dog and as a trainer in a whole different way. Thankfully, we worked through these issues together, and she matured. It made her just that much better of a dog, and was worth all the extra work. Mia loves to have fun! She’s fetched and brought toys to me from day 1, but as she got older we ventured into some agility and disc. What she won’t do for her frisbee is yet to be seen! She is all about working as a partner, and could probably do about any “sporty” thing asked of her. One of the things I have always appreciated about Mia is how she will appropriately alert us to incoming crows, hawks or buzzards (very important here in SW MO) and chase them away as best she can from the ground. I have a lot of stories of how Mia has protected the farm and stock in different ways, even while not an "LGD", per se. She looks out for and takes care of things, without being asked or taught. It's just part of her nature. Overall, Mia is really “my” ideal ES, well rounded and always my shadow. Sharing her through her puppies is a special gift :)