Hi, we are Trish (dog momager) and Bailey (Sheltie) and we are here to celebrate the amazing bond between dog moms and their puppers!
This photo is a sort of testament to Bailey’s personality. I have been trying to get a good photo of us together since the day I brought Bailey home from Amish Country. She is just too wiggly and distractable, so I put this together and I even Will Smithed us.
Even though Bailey still has some naughty puppy behaviors (and we are working on them), I am so head over heels in love with her. I have been a dog mom to quite a few pups, but every so often there one comes along and there’s just something about them and your relationship with them. I’ve loved all of my dogs, but there’s just something about my bond with Bailey that stands out from most of my previous fur kids.
I was born and raised in New York City, but I’ve been a New Jersey resident since 1992, which is most of my life. You could say I’m a NYC born and raised Jersey dog mom. When I was in school, I attended John Bowne High School because of their animal science program. I love dogs so much I picked a high school where I could learn even more about them!
Despite being a dog lover, I never really had one growing up. I did have access to my two rough collies that were owned by my dad’s best friend, Richard. Honestly, it was Richard how truly ignited the dog parent fire in my soul because that man LOVED those dogs. And so did I. I credit those two dogs for my love of rough collies and Shelties. If my husband and youngest human child weren’t scared of big dogs, I would definitely have a rough collie too.
Bailey came from an Amish dog breeder. She was born on February 6, 2021, and she came home with me on April 16, 2021. It had been nearly 11 years since I had a puppy of my own, so my sanity was challenged a bit. There were a few times I even questioned myself about getting a puppy. I know rescuing a dog is a wonderful thing. My older dog, Nugget, a Pekingese with an attitude, is a rescue who I brought home three months after I lost my almost 10-year-old Pekingese to cancer. But rescuing and adopting a dog can be quite frustrating, especially when you’re looking for a particular breed. I lost count of how many adoption/rescue applications I filled out. We had a few false starts with some other dogs, but them along came Nugget.
Here are some fun facts about me (Trish) and Bailey:
I was born in Astoria, NY. I lived there until I was almost 10. Then I moved to Flushing, NY, where I stayed until I was 18. I then moved to Rockland County, NY, with my then boyfriend who has been my husband for almost 30 years. We spent a year there before moving to New Jersey.
Bailey was born on a farm, sort of. It was more like a big nursery. I drove a little more than four hours roundtrip to bring her home, and it was worth it.
The high school I went to sent me to a dairy farm for a summer. Apparently, in order to take their animal science course, you have to spend a summer on a farm. The farm I went to had a small rough collie, or maybe she was a large Sheltie. Her name was Lady and she was very sweet.
Because of that summer on a dairy farm, I think cows are pretty cool.
Bailey used to get car sick. In fact, she actually threw up hay on our ride home from Lancaster County.
Bailey was named after YouTuber Bailey Sarian and fictional Dr. Miranda Bailey from Grey’s Anatomy. I love Bailey Sarian because she talks about two of my favorite topics – makeup and murder. If my Bailey were a human, I’m pretty sure she would have tattoos, a couple of piercings and be an artist of some sort. Dr. Miranda Bailey is just amazing. She has a no nonsense attitude, but also a heart of gold. Just like my Bailey Boo.
My husband was not a fan of Bailey’s when he first met her. He was in the hospital when I brought her home, and I kind of brought her into our family without consulting him. He went on to say that had I consulted him, he would never have agreed to it, to which I informed him that’s why I didn’t consult him. BUT, Bailey has miraculously wrapped my husband around her tiny little paw because he is now straight up head over heels for her.
Bailey LOVES her older brofur, our senior rescue Nugget. But he doesn’t always feel the same. He’s a grumpy gus, so we tend to just let him live his best life, even if that means he takes long naps and has short bouts of zoomies from time to time. He’s quick to snap at Bailey, especially when she’s just being a puppy. Puppies are cute and all, but let’s be honest – they can be a handful. Especially a puppy with a natural herding instinct. But he loves her. I know he does. I’ve bested them cuddled up together napping, and when I took Bailey in for her spay, Nugget whimpered and whined as he searched the house for her. And when I brought her home later that evening, he stood guard by her crate most of the night to make sure she stayed safe.
I fell in love with the Sheltie breed back in 1992, when I owned my first one. I really wanted a rough collie, like the dogs my dad’s best friend Richard owned, but my husband was (and still is) not a fan of large dog breeds. So, I went for what seemed like a smaller version of a rough collie, my Sheltie Laddie. I named him after Richard’s rough collie, Laddie, who I loved so much and I remember being emotionally crushed when he passed away. He was a very sweet, polite and mild mannered pup who’s only flaw was occasionally eating his own poop.
I secretly have puppy fever. Bailey is almost a year old and I’m already missing Bailey’s little turnip days. I would get a male next and name him Angus, or Hamish…. Duncan? Maybe another Laddie. It won’t happen any time soon though. I won’t do that to my boy Nugget. He tolerates Bailey, but I have serious doubts about how he would put up with another male dog invading his turf.
My love for this breed was reignited in October 2018 when I started working with Rover.com. I signed up to be a dog walker, but quickly found out that most people who sign up with Rover.com aren’t looking for someone to walk their dog. They’re usually looking for affordable doggy daycare, and my first client was a Sheltie puppy named Maggie, who instantly stole my heart, along with one of my flip flops. She was a sassy pup, but she won me over and I almost instantly started thinking of a way to convince my husband that not only did with need another dog, it needed to be a Sheltie.
We live in New Jersey but I would love nothing more than to leave this carcinogenic state behind and move to the Sarasota area of Florida.
My dream car is a GMC Arcadia. Can you imagine how many Shelties I can drive around with in one of those? Oh, yeah, I guess my husband and kids can come along too.
I have been married to my husband since December 4, 1992. I grew up with a lot of dysfunction in my life, and never did I ever think I would be in a stable marriage and have three amazing human kiddos in the process. I also never thought I would live in a house, but we do and have been here since July 2000. I spent my formative years living in Latimer Gardens, which is part of NYCHA, and I hated every single minute of living there.
I have three human kids; two are fully grown and still live with us. My youngest is 15 and has special needs. I have no doubt he will be living with us for a very long time, and that’s okay.
