Braveheart: ‘The little dog that could’
Fragile pup grows into strong competitor.
This article was originally published in the April 2025 OVERview digital magazine.
Many agility handlers get into the sport to give their dogs an outlet for extra energy, and Karen Siebeck is no exception. Karen got her first Shetland Sheepdog puppy, Finn, from a small breeder near Tucson, Arizona, in summer 2017. When he was just over a year old, the duo began training and competing close to home in Phoenix.
“We had just started competing when the dreaded COVID hit and we had to take two years off,” Karen said. “I started this journey with Finn when I was 61 years old, and I soon realized that I wanted to continue with his offspring. That’s how Braveheart (Running with Braveheart) came into our lives in August 2022.”
The fourth of five pups from Finn’s second litter, Braveheart was a breach birth weighing only 3.2 ounces. She had bald spots on her forelegs and head, was too weak to nurse on her own, and was immediately named “Tiny” for her small size. Although the veterinaria
n said Tiny failed to thrive due to her location in the womb and that she might not survive for long, Karen gave her additional care, including bottle-feeding her every two hours until she could have solid food.
Tiny did survive and grow with the individualized attention, and Karen decided to keep her and her sister, Fiona, to become her next agility partners. Tiny became officially known as “Braveheart,” after the Scottish name meaning “warrior” or “courageous.”
“While Fiona had a true aptitude for agility like her father, there was some worry that Braveheart was too small and fragile for the sport,” said Norm Smith, Karen’s boyfriend. “But the ‘little pup that could’ enjoyed her individualized training sessions and loved taking the car rides to formal classes. She has a fierce love of life and people, and she firmly believes that everyone who glances at her wants to be her friend. She’s become a great pet, companion and fierce agility competitor.”