Seven Villages, Janet Joakim

In a time when we struggle to make ends meet, when people are losing homes and he cost of heating oil and gasoline are causing us rearrange our budgets and priorities, the needs of neglected, abused and discarded animals are not at the top of many lists.

But there are so many pets out there, waiting to become a part of a family.  I have seen a TV ad for the SPCA that is repeated on cable news stations that shows neglected and abused animals in shelters. This time of year too many people who have unexpectedly received a dog or cat or guinea pig or bird for Christmas are realizing they are unprepared for such a gift and will be dropping the animal off at their local shelter…..

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WE LOVE OUR SHELTER DOGS!

The past few days I have been home-bound, working, cleaning up after college students home on break, and getting caught up on several writing projects.

Throughout each day I am flanked by my two dogs. Both are work-dogs. Both were rescued. Each is a gift that gives every day.

One has a wide body, shorter legs, big brown eyes, a stump for a tail and continuously looks to each face in the house in hopes that there might be a glimmer of Frisbee in their eyes. Each new person he encounters means a new potential Frisbee flinger. This Australian Shepherd, or Aussie, is the most recent addition to our family. He came to us by way of the local (Centerville) MSPCA.

The history of some rescued animals is limited, and in this case we were given an estimated age. One of the few definitives of his history is his name, Bogart. The story we were told was that he was left behind when his owner(s) moved from an apartment. He was taken in by the landlord’s friend who eventually gave him up.  His age was estimated at between 4-7.  We learned during our first meeting that his temperament could be described as exuberant and obedient. As soon as he saw us take an interest in him through the bars of his cage, he brought us a ball.

Someone spent a lot of time with this dog.  We knew he would retrieve a ball when we got him.  The fact that he would actually bring it back was already a plus for us as the dogs that had preceded him in our home seemed to have missed that piece of the that important original puppy training

But it got better. 

When we got him home one of us threw him a Frisbee. This is something we attempt to train our dogs to do as it is a great way to approach agility training and it makes for fun interactive exercise. We were thrilled when he chased that first Frisbee and brought it back, and we were all ecstatic when he jumped up – off of all fours – and grabbed that disc in mid flight!  Clearly he had done this many times before.  Clearly someone worked with him.

Who trained this dog? Who loved him and taught him to be so gentle? Where did they go and why did they leave him behind?

He lives for the time spend in the back yard jumping to catch a Frisbee in mid-air, second only to scratches behind the ear. His leisure is spent spread out on top of the feet of the closest family member. It is always amazing that a dog who is bred to herd cattle and follow short commands, can find so much joy in a life divided between Frisbee aerobics in the back yard, and finding his place in the cramped and crowded living room.

We eventually learned his flaws. They are flaws we can live with or, even better, work with.  He has been a bit overweight since we got him and his weight is something we need monitor. (His nickname is BFD…care to guess what that stands for?) And the first time we took him for a neighborhood walk we learned that he has that dangerous need to chase after each and every car that comes close, the louder the vehicle, the harder he pulled. Unfortunately, I had him on the leash that first time and he nearly pulled me over going after a neighbor’s work-truck. That challenge was something we address with “gentle leads,” a miracle product for most dogs with any leash issues.

We never (intentionally) let our dogs run free. They spend a lot of time in a fenced in back yard running, sunning, and monitoring neighborhood activities.

Our other dog is a border collie. He came with limited details of his first 18 months. All we know is that he came from a family with lots of kids and he would get out and run loose frequently, to the point of being picked up by the local dog officer 14 times in his first 18 months. He was surrendered to an organization familiar with the fact that border collies are so often given up because people who buy them in pet shops or from unscrupulous breeders don’t understand their special needs. Dogs who are rescued through these organizations are usually fostered in homes where people are trained to identify issues and special needs.

The border collie is the true work-dog. Bred to herd sheep, protect them from predators, and follow very complex commands often with delivered with a whistle, these dogs live to work. They can be the most loving and friendly dogs, but they can also be the most difficult if you don’t understand them and are not prepared to try.

Our dog, Magic, (spelled Majik on his adoption papers), is so incredibly gentle with children I would trust him with a baby. He is of the longhaired and long eared version of the breed.  (Lots and lots of long white hair that shows up on all dark clothes!) He mostly white, which made him a reject as a show dog or for herding competitons. White border collies are considered invisible to sheep, I don’t know exactly why, maybe because they are the same color as sheep?

We learned very quickly that, no matter how much he seems to adore us, he has an overwhelming “wanderlust” (a term I actually found in researching this problem.) In the beginning if he was not the center of attention, he was exploring ways to escape and make new friends. After 5 years, he seems to only try this when he is left alone in a thunderstorm, or if he is out on a walk and the right circumstances allow him to run loose and extend his exercise without the leash…..

Trial and error, reading, and asking lots of questions helped us understand that this breed does best with positive reinforcement and is smart enough that in order to break a bad habit, he can be redirected. He is not ever going to be perfect. But even at age 6 1/2, he can still be taught something new. Old dogs can learn new tricks. And border collies without sheep NEED to be taught new tricks  — on a regular basis.

Magic spends more time with me than he does with anyone else and I am convinced he can read my mind and it seems he often predicts my moves. The intelligence of this breed is astounding. Tests of many breeds several years ago proved border collies were the most intelligent. I know that to be true, first hand.

Magic and Bogart are the third and fourth dogs we have adopted. Our first dog, Katie, was a stray poodle with all kind of medical issues. She lived only to age 11 which is a shorter life for a small breed. But, she was an important member of the family, was friendly and a lot of fun — perfect for the kids when they were young.

Our second dog was adopted from the local shelter. He had merle blue fur, big brown eyes, and a huge nose that made him either really cute or funny looking depending on the perspective. The sign on his cage at the MSPCA said…. “border collie -?- mix” ….. yet his name was Dundee. We suspect, after discussions with a vet, that he was part Australian Shepherd but we will never know for sure.  A stolen look at his two page information sheet– confidential information given by those who give up the dog – showed he came from East Sandwich.

We were told he had been owned by a young man who lived with his parents. The man had left Dundee behind when he moved out. We think he might have been abused, but he was definitely loved by someone. He was long and lanky and loved to walk and run on a leash. He feared strange men, unfamiliar children, and the vet, and any type of restraint beyond a leash. We got to a point that we couldn’t take him to a vet because he would struggle to get away to the point of injuring himself. But he became the sweetest dog, a “shadow” or “velcro” dog who would seek out the cat and hang out with him after he lost his buddy, Katie. When I first heard someone say that rescued dogs often seem to be more faithful and appreciative, I understood because of Dundee.

He developed cancer. We were never quite sure what his true age was, but he wasn’t any older than 10 when we lost him. We hired a woman, a vet, we had heard about to come to our house to put him to sleep when the time came. I would not have done it any other way with him, and if faced with that terrible choice again, I would only do it that way again.

For some people adopting a dog means full research on ancestory and knowing the complete blood line – by adopting from a reputable breeder.  Others will find a pup in a pet store. But the pet store option, along with giving a dog as a surprise gift or buying a puppy from a breeder without considering the breed or mix of breeds, seem to be why so many dogs end up in shelters.

For us, shelters and specialized breed rescues have meant sharing our lives with wonderful dogs. As our two work-dogs inch towards the older age, we are already talking about bringing a third, younger dog into our home. It will most likely be a border collie, and will most definitely be a rescued, adult or juvenile dog.

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Border Collie Rescue Organization

Glen Highland Farms (This is where we will get our next dog – we had some trouble with one of the local border collie rescue groups — if you are interested in knowing more about that, send me an email)

Austrailian (Aussie) Rescue Organization