The Belgian Sheepdog is the epitome of a hard-working herding dog. Highly trainable and extremely intelligent, it’s a breed that has been designed for hard work—but they have a sensitive, gentle temperament that craves human companionship, making them ideal family dogs.
A strong-willed, elegant breed, the Belgian Sheepdog is often referred to as “bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” and with good reason. They are exceptionally loyal dogs that tend to be workaholics who aim to please and are ready for any adventure. As such, these eager, athletic dogs will always give their all when participating any sort of activity or sport…or just playing in the backyard with their favorite humans.
In the late 1980s, before we knew each other Terry received a surprise gift from a friend. It was a puppy she named Magic. He was one of these Belgian Sheepdogs. Six years later I came along and married this beautiful woman and adopted her wonderful dog. He turned out to be the best and lived a happy life for 11 fun filled years.
When Magic passed we looked around for another Belgian Sheepdog. We found one at a breeder in Lone Oak, Texas and he was already named “River” so we kept that name.
When we returned home we went to the park one day with River. The organization German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County just happened to be at this park the same day. Terry sat on the ground petting one of the Shepherds when a different one came and sat on her lap. His name was Jack who ended up coming home with us.
These two became great friends more like brothers. It was such a pleasure to watch them grow up together. This dog story begins a few years later when Jack, the German Shepherd developed cancer. It was looking good for him after a surgery, but the cancer soon returned. About this time Terry had a dream about a Belgian Sheepdog that said his name was Spirit and he wanted to come be in her life. In the dream she tells him no. She can’t take him because she already has River (the Belgian Sheepdog) and Jack. Soon after this dream River started acting funny. Now we start to think he might also be sick. So we took him to the vet for a checkup, a little worried but hoping it was no big deal. It turned out he had a more aggressive form of cancer then Jack’s and he was suffering. It was so bad they wanted to put him down right there in the office after the checkup. We were both in shock. Not wanting our beautiful boy to suffer any longer we agreed. We said our tearful goodbyes and we both held him as he took his last breath. River was gone.
The breeder in Lone Oak did not have dogs available at that time. Terry Googled Belgian Sheepdogs and found a breeder near Sacramento who had just had a litter. We drove up and checked out the puppies. Breeders usually name their litters, and we were surprised to find out this was the Spirit litter. Just like in my wife’s dream. The puppies were all named for the color of the collar they were wearing. One puppy in particular, red collar, stood out because she had jumped off the back porch about 10 feet high and not only survived but wanted to do it again! So naturally we brought this cute little embodiment of a dream home with us. We named her, of course Spirit.
Her registered name is l’esprit du rêve de la rivière, or the spirit of River’s dream. When we registered her with the AKC we found out that the way breeding went, River was her biological uncle!
Sadly Jack had to be put down a couple of weeks after Spirit’s arrival. There was just no way you could keep River and Jack separated from each other. They were both good friends and great companions, not only to each other but also to me and my wife. We loved them so much. And their spirits live on through our little girl Spirit.
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