Meghan was my long-awaited, and very first, Border Collie...  Quite a culture shock after life with Great Danes!  As a puppy she would entertain herself - while I worked at my desk in my training centre - by placing a tennis ball in my lap, and letting it roll off...  over, and over, and over again.  I knew at that point that I had my hands full.   Over the years, Meghan earned many awards & titles...  Her CD & CDX titles came in very short order - qualifying & competing in Novice at the 1995 Cycle Regional Obedience Championship.  Utility was more difficult, but I have to say that 2 of my most proud moments in dog sports, were when Meghan earned her 1st UD leg (with a placement  - at the Border Collie National Specialty in Missouri) and when she finished her Utility title (with a 1st place).  Meghan enjoyed agility and earned several titles (with wins & placements).  But of all the dog sports, her favorite was flyball...  She was a member of the CDTC LEAPS N BOUNDS Flyball Team (one of the early teams in the Houston area), and was key in that team becoming the very first regional champions (in 1995).  She was also an important part of the team that represented the Houston area at the 2000 Purina Incredible Dog Challenge (in Florida).  My little blue merle girl was also among the first to earn the Border Collie Society of America's Versatility and Versatility Excellent awards.   Meghan introduced me to herding, and while we sometimes did butt heads on just where the sheep should be moved to, her natural instinct frequently took my breath away.  She earned herding titles (with wins & placements), and even held her own at the herding trial at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (in 1999).  If there was anything that she loved more than tennis balls, it was sheep.   Meghan was an ambassador for her breed - my frequent companion when giving humane education programs at schools, etc.  She was a demonstration dog extraordinaire at my obedience classes, and gained the affection of many people.  Her photo graces 2 books on the breed:  THE VERSATILE BORDER COLLIE by Janet Larson (pages 184 & 186) and THE WORKING BORDER COLLIE by Marjorie Quarton (pages 176 & 187).  I am sure she could have accomplished much more had her career not been cut short by my cancer & divorce, and the resulting financial & logistical problems that kept us out of competition.   But more important than all of her accomplishments, Meghan was my friend.  She loved me unconditionally, and was there for me during many very difficult times.  She was greatly loved in return, and will never be forgotten.  She is buried (with a tennis ball) here at the home she loved, next to the pond were she enjoyed swimming.   Many thanks to all of the people who were part of our life together - with special thanks to her breeder, Linda Baron (for entrusting her to me), to Skip Fix, DVM (for compassionately allowing her to pass away in peace and dignity at home), to Liddy Kimmel (for being here for me and helping to bury her), and to Karen & Carter Metclaf, Karen Kramer, Kathi Sutton, Sam Schock, and Al Swarthout, as well as Meghan's canine family (Border Collies - Shannon, Sprite, Ivy & Dylan) - for helping me through a very difficult weekend.

There is a poem that I love, and the first line is painted on the bench next to where Meghan and my Danes are buried.  It is from THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupery...   Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there.  I do not sleep.   I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow.  I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.   When you awake in the morning's hush I am the soft uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft star that shines at night.   Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die.   Goodbye, My Sweet Girl.  That'll do.