The creation of every one of our essences has been accompanied by one or more of our border collies, so we thought you’d like to meet our team of expert helpers.

All of our border collies are and have been rescue dogs with very different background stories. They have all grown up with essences. And together, we have created these magical essences to share with you, from our beautiful country garden in Kent, England.

Gracie

Gracie joined us at 5 years old from a rescue centre in Wales, September 2020 after Sasha had passed peacefully in May of that year. She had lived in a cage all her life and been kept as a breeding dog on a puppy farm.

Gracie was very timid at first but thanks to lots of essences to support her, reassurance from Paddy to show her the way and heaps of love from us, she very quickly came out of her shell. She has a love of running like the wind and checking every tree she passes for squirrels. Gracie may be small in size but her spirit is very big indeed, she’s like a little nature spirit and loves being busy around us and our flowers.

Considering her past, she is a wonder to behold and a great teacher of the joy of living in the present moment. Support for all creatures great and small is Gracie’s favourite essence.

Paddy

Paddy was our big, fine, majestic boy. Our darling Paddy Paws, Paddy Bear. He died very suddenly aged 11 years 2 months on 1st April 2021 after a 4 day illness, diagnosed as a serious form of canine flu which became fatal pneumonia. Paddy was a gentle giant of a collie, a happy, friendly chap, who loved meeting people and other dogs. You could hear him saying 'Hello, my name's Paddy' everywhere he went. Always with us, right by our side every day from the moment he joined us as a 5 month old rescue puppy from Ireland, Paddy was the shaman of the pack. He would often sit a little bit apart from his pack, observing everything, seeing everything, missing nothing. He instinctively knew when you needed some big Paddy Paws love and healing too. He was the most amazing soul midwife to his dear collie friend Ruby (Paddy and Ruby came as a pair from the same rescue home, Ruby was also from Ireland) and his beloved Sasha too. Always in our hearts, his huge spirit will shine bright in our memories forever more.

Grand Master Bas

Basil joined us in January 2000 from the RSPCA. He was 12 weeks old, and all we knew about him was that he and his siblings were found on a busy roadside with their mum on a cold November day in 1999.

Basil already had his name when we met him, (as all of them have), and it wasn’t long before we started calling him Grand Master Bas. A very bright, clever young pup became a wise old dog, always sharing his gentle nature and big heart with anyone he met – with two or four legs!

Our dear Basil died naturally and peacefully in our arms in August 2016, aged 16 years and 10 months. Sasha. Ruby and Paddy were there too. Basil was a huge part of our lives and was present at the creation of every single essence. His wise presence was a tremendous support at all times, and is still felt strongly in our lives, our essences, and in the garden he had enjoyed so much.

Basil was like the Big Chief who would sit quietly and share his wisdom with those who take the time to listen.

Purple Prayer Wheel summed Basil up, with Oxeye Daisy a close second.

Queen Sasha

Sasha was also present for about 90% of the essence creations.

Sasha LOVED to talk. She joined us at 18 weeks old in 2004. We were her fourth home in 18 weeks. As can happen with border collie pups, they look very cute when small, and very quickly their super intelligent mind needs lots of stimulation. They can all too easily be very misunderstood and thought to be naughty or a nuisance when in fact they are trying to tell you they want to stimulate their massive brain and get active. After all, a working collie runs 75 miles a day and their mind is working all the time. So why would anyone keep such a clever dog locked inside?

Sasha was definitely the boss. And hit a ball for Sasha and she’d love you forever! But once you started, you couldn’t stop...

Full of joy and confidence, that was our Sash. Just like Sweet Pea and Apple Crown essences. Sasha died naturally and peacefully in our arms in May 2020 aged 16 years and 6 weeks, after a full life of fun and love.

Ruby

Ruby joined us in 2010 from the same rescue home as Paddy. We met Ruby and Paddy together when they had literally just arrived in the UK from Ireland. And that’s all we knew about their background, other than what we could see. Ruby was skin and bone, patches of fur missing, in very poor health with severe kennel cough. We had no idea of some of her wilder behavioural traits which manifested as she became more at home with us, clearly feeling she could let go a little.

Tons of essences and even more TLC and gentle training helped her into a place of feeling secure, happy and more relaxed. Very, very bright too, she chatted as much as Sasha and she took to her duck and chicken herding duties with great joy.

A gentle, loving dog who loved being loved and would have been much misunderstood by anyone not willing to take time with her, Ruby was full of life, but sadly we lost her in October 2019, aged 10 years 6 months, after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer - see the blog about her last days with us. Camellia and Forget-Me-Not were Ruby’s essences.

When making the essences

Basil was always there, plus one, two or all of the others. They all instinctively KNOW the moment to sit down and be quiet. That’s the time the essence is made. It’s always a moment of complete stillness and peace. Then off we all go to bottle our mother tincture, with dogs happily chatting, playing ball, walking steadily alongside Shelley, and shaman Paddy doing his work as we go.







About our Border Collies - essence helpers About Shelley Sishton About our Border Collies Gracie listening out for squirrels Grand Master Bas meditating with the bluebells Queen Sasha looking regal Ruby saying I love you Paddy Paws and his fabulous ears