Dr. Mary Belle Adelman
Dr Mary Belle Adelman has been involved with Australian Cattle Dogs since
1971 when she got her first one for her husband, Frank. She initially took
interest in the breed when she saw a double mask, blue bitch with a Bentley
mark and thought that the dog would not only be pretty to look at, but a
useful partner for
Frank to work on his
cows. Well, Frank is
not a "dog" person, so
Mary ended up
working with the dog.
Dingo, as she was
named, went on to
become very good in
herding and
obedience, and earned
her CD and CDX titles
as an ILP. Mary's first
ILP Cattle Dog that
became a foundation
AKC registered ACD
was Fisher Jarmo High Aussie, a double mask, blue male that she "ordered"
from a breeder in Washington State. And so began a long and varied history
for Mary with the Australian Cattle Dog.
Mary was one of the first 100 members of the ACDCA, and has been a
continuous member since 1974. She served on the board for 14 years, as
well as several committees, including National Trophy Chair, Herding
Committee, and Nominating Committee and is currently the AKC Gazette
columnist. Perhaps her most notable contribution to the breed is the creation
of the Register Of Merit program. Not only was she the originator of the ROM
program, but she fought to see it put into action. Her intent was to reward
dogs that not only conformed to the standard, but also retained their herding
ability and trainability. Mary's idea to push for points to be gained by health
testing, would ensure that there was a larger resource of health tested
breeding stock available from which to purchase pups. This was, and still is,
a boon for our breed. The ROM program has endured many changes
through the years, but the increasing number of dogs and bitches joining the
ranks each year, attest to the fact that there are many breeders out there who
see the value in the "total" dog. Several breeders, including Mary, have
produced 3rd generations and higher ROM dogs to date. Mary originally
chaired the ROM Committee and after an absence due to health issues, has
returned as an active committee member and has been instrumental in
writing the latest ROM Proposal up for consideration at the 2008 Annual
General Meeting in Pennsylvania.
Mary has actively trained and trialed her Cattle Dogs in many events and in
several different venues. She has titled her ACDs to conformation
championships, obedience through Utility, rally through Excellent, herding
through Advanced, and several agility titles. Her first ILP ACD, Dingo, was the
first Cattle Dog to represent the breed at the Gaines Classic, plus she was the
top scoring obedience ACD by all systems one year. Glendhenmere's Muruki
UD, was Mary's
first ACD to earn
a UD title and
was the top
scoring ACD by
all systems for 2
different years.
In 1981, CH
Tallawong's Blue
Jeroa CD VQW
ROM OFA CERF
BAER, aka Trot,
was the first
champion to
enter the VQW
competition at
the National
Specialty, which
he won, and his