My name is Sanna, I'm a 29 year old student from Kokemäki, 200 km north from Helsinki, the capital of Finland. I have 8 rough collies at the moment, oldest bitch blue merle Zinnia's Snow Goddess "Miisa", second oldest bitch Zinnia's Tangerine Dream" "Saimi", oldest male and the man of the house blue merle Zinnia's Showstealer "Leevi", 5 youngsters Zinnia's Don Desperado "Rocco" and Kiiramanna Blue Heaven "Iina", Pihlajapirtin Midnight Sun "Himmu", Roxier's Black Xara and the youngest Dispiritos Island Kiss. I have always had pets, I think the first one was a parrot when I was just a child. I've had three cats too. At the moment we have a cat, Iivari who loves dogs. I also used to ride horses. After them came Krista (Zinnia's Star Crystal). Me and my family decided to get a dog and I got to choose the breed and I fell in love with rough collies. Krista was 6 months old when we got her and adjusted well as our house was in a good area near the woods.

When Krista was almost nine, she got sick and we had to let her go. That was just painful and I felt like my heart was torn in two. I couldn't imagine any other dog to take her place. But that's what happened and a couple of months after she passed away I found myself surfing the net. I found the website of Krista's breeder and fell head over heels in love with collies again. Tears were running down my face when I was looking through the pictures and remembered Krista. That's when I decided I still have a lot to give and wanted a new collie. I contacted the breeder and asked for an adult collie as at that time I did not want to have a puppy. I heard about Miisa (Zinnia's Snow Goddess) who was looking for a new home. I was so enthusiastic when I went to see her and immediately fell in love. Soon Miisa travelled to her new home, to live with me. She was so lovely from the very beginning and very quickly made herself at home. She is such an independent dog and has good nerves.

It felt so good to have a new collie and now I know I always want to be a happy collie owner. I had been thinking about a new collie, even talked to my friends about that. I do remember that morning in the summer when the breeder sent me a message about newborn puppies, even male ones which I had been dreaming about. At that moment I was writing a message saying "I want a blue merle boy...". In the summer of 2002 I got Leevi (Zinnia's Showstealer), a mesmerizing lovely little boy. Miisa was excited about her new buddy , even still they are like peas and carrots. Leevi is a show stealer, you can't get into our house without saying hello to Leevi first. He is always the one who has to get all of the attention (and those youngsters too!) and he loves that as well as being with children. Leevi has such a great character, too.

When I got Miisa I was really interested in dogshows and go there as often as possible. And when I got Saimi (Zinnia's Tangerine Dream) it really became clear to me how high hopes I have for the future concerning collies. I just love seeing a beautiful collie! I never thought about breeding when we had Krista. When Miisa came I thought about it occasionally and when Leevi arrived I was sure that this is my future, to have and to breed these amazingly beautiful dogs, COLLIES. They have completely stolen my heart. First Dispiritos-puppies were born 2008. I'd love to meet new collie people and of course new collies too, so if you happen to be near us, contact me!

Thank you Merja Kennel Zinnia's, Merja Kennel Kiiramanna, Anita Kennel Roxier's and Terhi Kennel Pihlajapirtin for the dogs of my life. Many thanks for my friends Kitta Kennel True North, Minna Kennel Crinoid's, Tarja Kennel Malinallin, Susannah kennel Hartwell's and owners of my breeding.

Sanna Kinnunen