My wife and I just got a bright eyed and bushy tailed sheltie puppy we named “Wrigley,” bred from a small farm near Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was a bit of transition for Wrigley to go from a farm with three horses to a sleepy suburb of Chicago. But the puppy is a bundle joy and has become a beloved neighborhood dog in record time.

Years ago, I did an award winning poster for a sheltie breeder who opened a small local pet care boutique called “Heavenly Pet Center” in Park Ridge. I would later get our first purebred sheltie puppy from the couple and name her “Niko.” Niko was adorable and she loved herding my young children in the back yard.

While walking Niko on a trip to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill Kentucky, she spotted a flock of sheep. The herding instinct kicked in, Niko’s true destiny was herding these sheep, simply amazing. — Rex