New family member - 4 legs, wet nose

[Nic in Western NYS]

No good photos of him yet, home from rescue yesterday.  Heard a very dramatic story of his first 2 years but what appears beyond dispute is the fellow was picked up by neighbors after his family moved out and left him chained, went to the shelter, was chipped and neutered (botched procedure) so he could be shipped to Connecticut to a no-kill shelter but he failed the heartworm test.  So Cathy and the small kids and I were at a PetSmart getting some fish and walked by the lineup of dogs up for adoption and at the end of the line was our fellow.  He got a full grooming, looks like a movie star and is sleeping a few feet from me now.  He's been as gentle and sweet as any dog I've known.  We'll see if he takes liberties as he realizes we won't give him back!  Turned around to see my 2 year old girl taking food from his bowl and putting on the floor (not good to do to a dog who's been malnourished) - he just looked at me like, 'no worries.'
He's a 2 year old border collie mix, we call him Birdie.  Sorry for the repeat info for those of you who heard it already.

[chuck peterson]

 ...love the paint job!

[oldbike54]

 Dogs are the best people 

 Dusty

[kidsmoke]

Can't do much better than a border mix.  Congrats to you guys.

Had a relative of his (non pedigreed Aussie) drop in my lap 5 or so months back.  They're a blessing. 

[BigBlock]

Congrats on the rescue.  They are the best.   

[Nic in Western NYS]

Thanks.  He's quite a fellow.  The heartworm treatment starts soon and I've never had an animal go through it.  Hoping very much that the infestation is not too severe - it can be dangerous killing those worms.

[britman]

Congratulations Nic, very good deed.  Shelter rescues make the best pets, I have always thought they somehow remember where they came from and make a point of thanking you everyday with endless affection.  We have had as many as five, but are now down to our last old timer.  Enjoy the new family member, he will make himself at home fairly quickly........ 

[webmost]

The little feller needs a red neckerchief and a frisbee. See to it come Spring.

[fotoguzzi]

Great.. get one of those rubber Frisbee's made for dogs..

[RANDM]

My first pooch was a Border Collie - great people.
Em ............ You know they get manic over the ball stick
thing eh? I remember once getting frustrated after about
30 mins of chucking a ball and picking up a brick and chucking
that thinking "retrieve that you mad bugger", only went about
10 ft - I was 11. He looked at me, went to the brick and tried but
couldn't pick it up ....... And rolled it back to my feet, sat and
looked at me again.
Dog 1, Kid 0.

Maurie.

[lucian]

Good for you for giving him the life he deserves. I'm glad you found each other. Rescue's  are indeed the best breed. I too have a rescue that was starved her fist year, better watch your bacon.

[Lannis]

Great.. get one of those rubber Frisbee's made for dogs..

It's odd ... my last two Border Collies loved Frisbees, but our Jack won't chase even the first one.   He loves to herd, play tracking games, walk with you, guard .... but if you throw something for him, he looks at you like "What am I, an idiot or something?   I'm not going to get that unless you really want it, then I'm going to bring it 5 feet from you and lay down with it so you can't do it again ..."

Personalities just like people.

Lannis

[tris]

I was looking at our rescue dog last night as she was chillin' upside down in her basket legs akimbo 

It struck me at the time that we should lobby Laup for a DC (Dog Content) message ikon for all the dog threads 

[giusto]

Great news and congratulations.

We also have a wonderful resque...Stella
She is. as all dogs.... Just wants to be your buddy.

Giusto :) my namesake and wg photo was her best bud....it's been a year and we're thinking she needs another dogfriend

[Githianki]

I volunteer for a rescue and it always makes me happy to see these happy endings! 

We just placed this guy after a year in the shelter just wasting away.  He showed awful in his kennel, but outside he was a rockstar.

[Nic in Western NYS]

I volunteer for a rescue and it always makes me happy to see these happy endings! 

We just placed this guy after a year in the shelter just wasting away.  He showed awful in his kennel, but outside he was a rockstar.

I tell my young son, we're not his 'owners' - we're taking on the responsibility for his care and bringing him into the family.  Great photo!  What smiles!

[Perazzimx14]

Good on you and your family for saving your newest addition.

As a owner of a high energy Frisbee addicted GSP may I suggest a Chuck-it over a Frisbee. Much easier to throw long distance less wear, less sloppy an wear and tear on your arms is reduced. Glow in the dark Chuck-its are also fun once the sun goes down. Watch the green ball dance all over the yard.

[groundhog105]

post image online



Here's a picture of my cattle dog.  We got her as a rescue 6 years ago.  She will run all day chasing her frisbee or herding a large ball around.  Doesn't know how to quit and I wouldn't give her up for anything.  Congratulations on the rescue.

[Testarossa]

Good job, Nick.  Great-looking hound.

We accomplished a rescue this weekend. This guy showed up on the neighbor's porch in Paonia, yelling his head off for attention. We took him in. Vet says he's 3 months old. He's settled in happily -- we're calling him Zorro.


All our dogs and cats have been pound rescues. As soon as the move to Paonia is complete, we'll stock up.  Meanwhile all the neighbor dogs have stopped by, on their own independent patrols, to say hi, explore the barn, and offer to chase herbivores out of the garden. The visitors include a lab, an Australian, a nondescript hound, and a shaggy beast looking like a cross between an English sheepdog and a giant poodle.

[oldbike54]

                                                   A Shepoodle ?

 Dusty

[Nic in Western NYS]

and a shaggy beast looking like a cross between an English sheepdog and a giant poodle.

A Shepoodle ?

 Dusty

Giant English Poo Dog?

[oldbike54]

Giant English Poo Dog?

  Probably more of a descriptive term in this case 

 Dusty

[trippah]

At the risk of being banished, and I really do NOT want to offend those who work or utilize the rescue system but, I think it really just keeps the puppy mills down south in business; and the percentage of dogs I see that are fighting dog breeds is unbelievable.   I wonder about some of the "rescue" shelters here in central New York who charge $500. for a rescue dog -
are they not actually simply retail outlets for the mills?

[Lannis]

At the risk of being banished, and I really do NOT want to offend those who work or utilize the rescue system but, I think it really just keeps the puppy mills down south in business; and the percentage of dogs I see that are fighting dog breeds is unbelievable.   I wonder about some of the "rescue" shelters here in central New York who charge $500. for a rescue dog -
are they not actually simply retail outlets for the mills?

My view is that you've GOT to rescue them ... you can't just not rescue them, hoping you can hang in there long enough to put the puppy mills out of business.   There's too big a return on it.

Much as I would like to save a rescue dog, and as much as we tried, we just couldn't meet the requirements that we had to sign to get one.   Sitting here in the middle of 1000 roadless acres of family and timber-company land, I'm not going to commit to keep an active dog in a little pen or in the house or on a leash.    Jack carries a MarcoPolo transceiver to keep him safe, and has the best life a dog could have.

Now cats ... even though we haven't got one now, we've taken in a LOT of stray cats over the years.

Lannis

[Chuck in Indiana]

we're calling him Zorro

  Good choice of name..

[Testarossa]

I guess there's a difference between breed-specific rescue organizations and the local humane society. When I pick up a likely-looking mutt-buddy at the pound they charge $100 for shots and neutering.

[trippah]

Lannis - that is the other thing.  Here in Snowlandia (greater Syracuse) one of the locals require a fenced in yard, which my Home Owners Association prohibits (won't even let me have an invisible fence installed).  Geesh.  My wife, unfortunately hates cats, and the last one we had lived 18 years.

[Nic in Western NYS]

I guess there's a difference between breed-specific rescue organizations and the local humane society. When I pick up a likely-looking mutt-buddy at the pound they charge $100 for shots and neutering.

Yes, same here. $130 for Birdie and just a thank you, how can we help - no formal adoption interview.  BTW, he got spooked by the dishwasher in the middle of the night (it's on a delay).  Would have been funny at the time if not at 3am with me supposed to get up at 430.   Funny now though.

[Lannis]

Yes, same here. $130 for Birdie and just a thank you, how can we help - no formal adoption interview.  BTW, he got spooked by the dishwasher in the middle of the night (it's on a delay).  Would have been funny at the time if not at 3am with me supposed to get up at 430.   Funny now though.

I guess the reason that we ran into a "rescue requirements" problem is that we've always owned Border Collies that came from established breeders, and this time we wanted one but wanted to help out a "rescue" dog if we could.

Border Collie rescue places have pretty tight requirements (as I mentioned).    We couldn't or wouldn't conform to those .... but we did find a local woman who called herself a "breeder" although I didn't like the way she was treating her dogs, and we got the last male puppy (10 weeks) out of her last litter.   She had done some "glueing" thing to his ears to try to make them grow into a show configuration, and he wasn't housebroken at all.   

We paid $600, took him to the vet who cursed the woman for an ignorant so-and-so for glueing his ear tips, fixed that, worked hard on housebreaking him (he can go 10 hours between peeing, I've never seen a dog with such a bladder), and he couldn't be a better dog now ....

Lannis

[Githianki]

I guess the reason that we ran into a "rescue requirements" problem is that we've always owned Border Collies that came from established breeders, and this time we wanted one but wanted to help out a "rescue" dog if we could.

Sometimes the requirements they ask for do nothing more than keep an adoptable dog in a rescue or shelter longer...happened to us like four times.