© An Independent Magazine
for all Bobtail Fans N 3/2001

When Colette Hornig asked if I would write about Missy for her excellent magazine, I agreed immediately. I feel Missy is such an incredible 'person' that she deserves to be written about whilst she is still alive.

Christina Bailey
kennel ZOTTEL`S (UK)

Missy achieved an amazing 51 CC's, 22 Reserve CC's and 14 B.I.S. She became the new Breed Record Holder during her show career, which since then has only been surpassed by her son, Ch. LamedaZottel Flamboyant. She produced five litters. Twenty-five of her puppies became
champions with fourteen winning B.I.S. at All Breed Championship Shows. Several others are also CC winners.
But let's start at the beginning. Missy was born on January 6th 1985 in a litter of 3/3 puppies by IntCh. Lohengrin aus dem Elbe-Urstromtal and Ch. Reeuwijk's Filmstar in Silver.

still in Germany

She was a fairly big puppy with a birthweight of 480 grams and in those first few days she didn't seem to have a neck at all. I can't remember why, but she reminded me a bit of the late Margaret Rutherford, hence her pedigree name: Miss Marple. This M-litter was to be my last litter in Germany and Missy, together with her litter-sister, Moonlight Serenade, her mum and my other two Old English Sheepdogs, Ch. Zottel`s Estee Lauder and Ch. Zottel`s Eagle Has Landed had to undergo quarantine when we all moved to England on April 1st 1985.
The two pups didn`t seem to mind the confinement. Unlike the adults who were quite badly affected and homesick. None of my dogs had ever been in a kennel before and leaving them all there, with only visits allowed, was very hard indeed.

But Marpie seemed to take it all in her stride. I`m sure those six months helped to develop her so very determined and stubborn character. By the time they were all released from their prison, she had already grown an amazing coat which I believe she inherited from her great grandmother, Fezziwig Silver Lining. This wonderfully coloured and textured coat on a puppy caused quite a stir here in England.
She won Best Puppy in Show under Mr. Steve Hall at her first outing, the Midland Club Championship Show. This win qualified her for her first Crufts. Again she took the Best Puppy in Breed award. The judge was Mrs. C. Pearce.

in Quarantine

Now one must remember that Missy and my other Bobtails were the first non-English bred OES to be shown in England. The impact this had on the OES scene was tremendous. Not everyone was able to cope with "those foreign dogs." Quite understandable in a way. After all we were still living in the eighties! Still none of this initial apprehension towards the "German dogs" seemed able to stop Missy from winnings at one show after another.
Sometimes even under judges, who had previously stated that they didn`t like her.
Her first CC and BOB came from Mrs. Jilly Bennett, the second from Mrs. Jean Borland and the third from Mrs. Betty Ince at Leeds Championship Show in July 1986. That made her a Champion at the age of eighteen months. Her most notable and impressive win to me was defrnitely her B.I.S. win in 1988 under Mrs. Ferelith Somerfield at the Championship Centenary Show of the Old English Sheepdog Club. With an entry of two hundred and fifty
Old English Sheepdogs it was also the biggest club show event I have experienced. I still enjoy watching the video from this brilliant show. It makes me laugh now, when I remember how difficult she was to show there.

first BIS under the late Lugiano Bernini

3 1/2 years of age

in the Working Group at Crufts

As I said in the beginning she was and still is, stubborn. If ever I had to leave her on the bench, perhaps to go to the ladies or elsewhere, I had to make sure someone, whom she liked, would stay with her. If she didn`t like the person, she would subsequently misbehave terribly in the ring. The same would happen if I had something to eat and didn`t share it properly with her. Again in the ring she would give me one of her special looks, saying "Remember, when you ate all those fish & chips on your own? Now you'll pay for it." I promise you, in those
situations no one in the world could have made her stand still. So I had to learn to share food 50/50 and basically not to go to the toilet unless one of her good friends would sit with her. I also had to learn not to leave her at home for too long with someone she wasn`t too keen on, as invariably she would show those people that she didn`t like my being away and the she`d pee on the carpet or worse, in their bed.
Maybe because of this so special character, she and I have formed a bond where each one knows what the other is thinking. She always knew when I was happy or unhappy and now she is old she likes to mostly sleep and eat only her favourite food, such as roast chicken and fish fingers and it`s my turn to look after her, making sure she herself is comfortable and getting the quality of life appropriate for her age.
We`ve had hiccups along the way. For instance, nearly three years ago she had two massive strokes. At first it looked as if she wouldn't recover, but with my brother-in-law`s ever present help and excellent medication, which she has been on ever since, she has made it. Until July of last year she used to walk at least twice a day for half an hour. Now we just walk outside the house with her. She has a good sniff around, spends her penny and comes back inside.
I know to treasure every day now and that soon she will probably join some of her lovely children who already are playing on different lawns. I am not sure how I will cope when that time comes, but I have promised her that
I will make it as easy as possible for her.

with her granddaugher Ch. Lamedazottel Hello Again, Missy in the standing