arf2184
Well-known member
This is Meagan, aka Meg. She is a 1 1/2 old Border Collie (mix?). She has no tail. We're not sure if it was docked or if she was born that way.
Meg has been passed around quite a bit. Sometime last year she ended up at the Canyon County Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho (the city where my dad was born). We don't know what her puppyhood was like, but the shelter estimated her birthdate to be June 2008. She spent three weeks in the shelter before she was pulled by the Pacific Northwest Border Collie Rescue, which is basically a bunch of foster homes that work together.
Meg then traveled 260 miles to a foster home in Kennewick, WA. I'm not sure how long she was there, but she was adopted by a man in Bellingham, WA (another 300 miles away) that intended to put her to work herding.
Meg lived in Bellingham for five months. In the end, it didn't work out so she was sent back to the Border Collie rescue. Rather than ship her all the way back to Kennewick, WA, she went 55 miles south to another foster home (Ravensgate Border Collie Rescue) on Camano Island, WA where she lived for about a month, until last weekend when we drove to go meet her and bring her the 360 miles back to her forever home in Deer Park, WA.
I've wanted a Border Collie for years. I've been watching the rescue's website since last fall. After losing Matty my lab mix to bone cancer not long ago, it was the right time to add a new dog to the family. She had to be a special dog though...past teething, housebroken, under 50 lbs, not a big barker, good with other dogs and cats, not one to intently focus on small animals (**chinchillas**), not insanely active like some Border Collies are, but a good candidate for agility. Meg is that dog!
She's very sweet, a little shy and lacking in confidence, but we're working on that. She's had very little training but is an incredibly fast learner. She came here knowing 'sit' and 'leave it'. When she wasn't sure what you wanted (which was most of the time) she'd sit. Since arriving here a week ago, she has already learned 'in your crate', 'lay down', and 'shake'...each command only took about 5 minutes for her to pick up. Now when she doesn't know what you want, she sits, shakes, lays down, then goes in her crate, turns around and looks at you like 'was that it?'...silly girl.
We're working on 'stay' (almost got it) and 'drop it'. Her foster mom in Camano Island was working on her recall which is improving, but still needs work. She's very eager to please and loves learning something new!
Shes a bit afraid of Dad (possibly men in general, but Dad is the only one she's been around since she got here)...especially when he's wearing his coat and when he talks. Not sure why. I'm sure eventually she'll learn that he's the push-over that will give in to whatever she wants.
She gets along great with Bear, my big lab mix. The cat likes to torment her already and she willingly takes it. When she follows me into the chinchilla room she shows some interest in the chinchillas, but not in an 'I want to eat you' sort of way and she's quick to 'leave it' when I tell her to. The chins are interested in her too and come to the front of the cage to sniff her.
She's just the perfect dog for us. We're glad to have her as a part of the family. We start our first obedience class in June, will do a second obedience class after that, then hopefully will start agility training in the fall (if she's ready)!
Bear -
Meg has been passed around quite a bit. Sometime last year she ended up at the Canyon County Shelter in Caldwell, Idaho (the city where my dad was born). We don't know what her puppyhood was like, but the shelter estimated her birthdate to be June 2008. She spent three weeks in the shelter before she was pulled by the Pacific Northwest Border Collie Rescue, which is basically a bunch of foster homes that work together.
Meg then traveled 260 miles to a foster home in Kennewick, WA. I'm not sure how long she was there, but she was adopted by a man in Bellingham, WA (another 300 miles away) that intended to put her to work herding.
Meg lived in Bellingham for five months. In the end, it didn't work out so she was sent back to the Border Collie rescue. Rather than ship her all the way back to Kennewick, WA, she went 55 miles south to another foster home (Ravensgate Border Collie Rescue) on Camano Island, WA where she lived for about a month, until last weekend when we drove to go meet her and bring her the 360 miles back to her forever home in Deer Park, WA.
I've wanted a Border Collie for years. I've been watching the rescue's website since last fall. After losing Matty my lab mix to bone cancer not long ago, it was the right time to add a new dog to the family. She had to be a special dog though...past teething, housebroken, under 50 lbs, not a big barker, good with other dogs and cats, not one to intently focus on small animals (**chinchillas**), not insanely active like some Border Collies are, but a good candidate for agility. Meg is that dog!
She's very sweet, a little shy and lacking in confidence, but we're working on that. She's had very little training but is an incredibly fast learner. She came here knowing 'sit' and 'leave it'. When she wasn't sure what you wanted (which was most of the time) she'd sit. Since arriving here a week ago, she has already learned 'in your crate', 'lay down', and 'shake'...each command only took about 5 minutes for her to pick up. Now when she doesn't know what you want, she sits, shakes, lays down, then goes in her crate, turns around and looks at you like 'was that it?'...silly girl.
We're working on 'stay' (almost got it) and 'drop it'. Her foster mom in Camano Island was working on her recall which is improving, but still needs work. She's very eager to please and loves learning something new!
Shes a bit afraid of Dad (possibly men in general, but Dad is the only one she's been around since she got here)...especially when he's wearing his coat and when he talks. Not sure why. I'm sure eventually she'll learn that he's the push-over that will give in to whatever she wants.
She gets along great with Bear, my big lab mix. The cat likes to torment her already and she willingly takes it. When she follows me into the chinchilla room she shows some interest in the chinchillas, but not in an 'I want to eat you' sort of way and she's quick to 'leave it' when I tell her to. The chins are interested in her too and come to the front of the cage to sniff her.
She's just the perfect dog for us. We're glad to have her as a part of the family. We start our first obedience class in June, will do a second obedience class after that, then hopefully will start agility training in the fall (if she's ready)!
