It was always a longing for Wendy and her husband Eddie to have a Rough collie dog join their family, but with work commitments they knew it was not feasible to buy one straight away and they made a promise to each other that when the time was right they would start their search for their first Rough collie.  Eddie often spoke about his first Rough collie dog, a tri, which he owned twenty plus years ago as a family pet.
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In 2011 they found a breeder in Falkirk, Alyson and Iain Rae (Paridel) and this is where the venture of Rough collies started.  Simba joined Wendy and Eddie as their family pet in May 2011 and soon became a very spoiled and much loved boy who followed Eddie everywhere and was a big part in Eddie’s life.  
 
In 2012 the decision was made to add to their family.  Blaze travelled from Kent to Edinburgh from Di Collino, Imaginist Rough Collies and settled extremely well with Simba.  The bond between Simba and Blaze is heart warming.  We had decided to give the world of dog showing a try with Blaze and this young lad was a very quick learner.  Wendy and I started to enter shows with both Blaze and Simba and this is when we caught the bug of dog showing.  We have made many good friends and continue to make good friends.  With their knowledge and help, we probably would not be where we are today. 
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In September 2013 Blaze's litter brother, Torin was available and looking for a loving home.  Well I have to say, we did not have to discuss this much.  Torin came to Edinburgh at the age of 10 months old and lived with Audrey who lived on her own at that time and they quickly became the best of friends.  Torin entered the show ring on several occasions, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, the boy is a natural.
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Wendy had always wished for a blue merle boy to join them; in July 2014 Brodie was born at the Wicani kennel, bred by Angela and Keith Harvey and in true Eddie style he bought this little bundle of joy for Wendy to celebrate their 15th Wedding Anniversary in October.  We took the trip to Yorkshire and collected Brodie on the 22nd September 2014.  Simba and Blaze lovingly welcomed Brodie into their home and Torin loved his visits from Brodie on a daily basis. 
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In October 2014 our lives changed dramatically.  Audrey was diagnosed with breast cancer and Wendy’s husband Eddie tragically died of a massive heart attack on the 18th of November.  The following months were merely a daze.  Wendy and I decided I would move in to live with her and we supported each other daily.
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​In May 2015 we made the decision that we would carry on with Wendy and Eddie’s dreams to move out of the town and into the countryside and carry on with our passion of rough collies. 
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August 15th 2015, one door closed and another opened and a new chapter began.  We became the excited new owners of this wonderful cottage we now live in, in the countryside, but still within commuting distance to Edinburgh and Glasgow.  The cottage came with one acre of gardens and 2 acres of paddock which is what sold it for us, the dogs now had their very own space to run free, play, train and be happy dogs. 
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​In September 2015 Di Collino (Imaginist) entrusted us with our first girl to join our kennel, Rhia.  Rhia is such a loving, trusting girl with the most impeccable temperament; she is a delight to have around.  Rhia joined us on the 6th of September 2015 at the age of 18 months and started off our breeding programme.​

Wendy and I spoke about bringing in a tricolour girl to the kennel to join our kennel.  In November 2015 the Wicani kennel entrusted us with Hettie.  Hettie arrived at Stregato on the 18th November 2015 at the age of 4 years.  Hettie, again, is the most affectionate, loving rough collie.  This girl oozes confidence and grace and is an absolute power house; she would put any border collie to the test.  Hettie has had previous experience in the show ring and did very well.  In 2016 Hettie gave us our first homebred girl, Amy who we absolutely adore.   
 
In April 2016 another little girl became available, this time at the Gemheid kennel; Freya.  When we found out this girl was available there were no second thoughts.  We contacted the breeder, Heidi Gallagher, and let her know we were very interested in Freya coming to join us.  Freya’s parents both were dogs that Wendy and I had admired for some time for many reasons.  Freya came to live with us on the 12th April 2016.  She has settled in fantastically and we look forward to watching Freya progress and mature into a wonderful lady.  Freya to date has done well in the show ring and in May 2017 at SKC Freya won the Bitch CC and Best of Breed.  In 2018 Freya gave a gorgeous tri girl called Bonnie and hopefully Bonnie will follow her mum in the showring.  
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Our hopes and dreams for the future are exciting and we are looking forward to every moment.  Without the valuable help and support from the five fantastic kennels that have entrusted us with their lines of breeding, Stregato Kennel would not exist.  Our aim for the future is to breed Rough collies that are fit for function with health being at the forefront.  We know our journey will not always be smooth, but our passion for the breed and our eagerness to learn from the best will help us on our path. 

Our Achievements
We are extremely proud of our achievements to date in the show scene.  
Gemheid China at Stregato ~ Freya was awarded Bitch CC and Best of Breed at SKC May 2017
Stregato Gemelli Amore ~ Amy was awarded Reserve Bitch CC at London & Provincial Championship Show November 2018
Imaginist Quo Vadis at Stregato ~ Blaze was awarded Dog CC and Best of Breed at SKC August 2019.  He was shortlisted down to six dogs in the Group!