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Maid Goes "Sheeping" Pt. 2


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Kudos, Geonni, for making such a tough decision, albeit a well-considered one. I am confident that Maid will blossom in Cindy's care, and more importantly, will find her mojo with the goat operation. Please keep us updated!

 

Amy

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Congratulations on securing Maid a good working home.

 

Please post any photos sent from her new home.

Thanks, this is what I've gotten so far.

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I cried about Maid going away, but we cry at happy endings too. Think "Lassie Come Home." What could be more sweet than the reunion of a boy and the faithful Collie? And I bawl like a baby every time I see it.

 

It was sad to say a last goodbye through the window of Cindy's truck - "I love you Maid." -and see her dwindling silhouette as the truck drove off down the street.

 

But I thought of her in her new home - standing outdoors, unencumbered by leash or long-line - ears swiveling, nose working, to take in the sights and smells of the country. Sheep! Goats! Earth and sky! Not a sidewalk or stranger in sight.

 

And she will have work to do.

 

Cindy said that Maid and Mitty romped hard for over an hour, in her big yard.

 

Maid is home. And with any luck she will grow happier and lose all her fear.

 

I slept in today. Last night I put Sugarfoot's toy basket on the floor in the bedroom before I went to sleep. It has been put away for four months, as no stuffie lasts more than 5 minutes if Maid spys it.

 

When I awoke I looked over at Sugar, dozing on her bed and said, "Sugar, where's your shark?" Sugar sprang up an pounced on the toy basket. She brought me the shark, chomping the squeaker all the way to me. Then one by one, I asked for Crab, Elephant, Big Bird, Lambie, Lamb Chop, Scorpion, Duckie, Monkey, Sheep, and all the rest. She brought them one by one - getting the right toy the first time, each time.

 

When the basket was empty and all the toys had been squeaked, quacked, grunted and thoroughly shaken, she climbed up into the bed with me and snuggled.

 

I will miss Maid, the "once and future stockdog." But Sugarfoot is my heart dog. And always will be.

 

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OK, no more pictures for now, but Cindy says Maid is settling in beautifully. She is best buddies with her other dog, Mitty, and has met and befriended the livestock guarding dogs.

 

Cindy has not put her on stock yet, but when Maid can see the goats, she is quite interested. She says she will send pictures when Maid goes on stock in a few weeks. For now she is just settling in, learning the ropes of waiting at gates, and all the other farm dog stuff.

 

Maid is getting lots of exercise and getting fit. She is getting chummy with Cindy, and seems to be much more relaxed. Oh, and she has a new name. Cindy is calling her Daily.

 

It looks like a match made in heaven, and I am so pleased. After a rough start and a series of detours, Daily is home.

 

Yay!

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Oh, I forgot to mention, Cindy said that her go-to trainer for help in schooling a dog is Suzy Applegate. I was delighted to hear it. Suzy would have been my first choice for a trainer, had I the wherewithal to keep Maid and to seriously go forward with her training.

 

As it was, I was primarily interested in adding as many hours of positive experiences for Maid with stock work as I could, to offset the bad experiences that she had had. Little did I know that an eligible prospect for adopting Maid would appear so quickly.

 

I had been advised by Joyce to contact Marina Harrison at "Herd It Through the Grapevine", a rescue that re-homes "herding breeds" and places a premium on good working homes. As fate would have it, Cindy had contacted them a short time before I did, looking for a young working prospect Border Collie to train alongside her current dog.

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Yes, this is excellent news.

 

I'm sure it was very hard for you to give Maid up but it was a selfless decision to make. In the end you were a wonderful foster home for her, making it possible for Maid to develop the confidence to become Daily.

 

I've shed tears for every foster dog I've ever had when they left, save one (don't ask). It's a bittersweet moment to be sure.

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  • 4 months later...

Heard from Maid's owner today. (Well, She's Daily, now) She has begun working. Cindy has separated the goats from the kids, and Daily is doing work with the mamas. She works well with the other collie there.

 

Good news. :)

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  • 3 months later...

I heard again from Cindy McCormick. Daily is doing well. She says she has a nice wide outrun now, works well with the older dog and is able to hold the goats off a gate now. I asked again for pictures, and she said to send her my e-mail again, so maybe I'll get some!

 

She says Daily has become quite affectionate and loves being petted. She was so spooky before, so that's great to hear. She says she's tireless - runs all day at work, and if it's a day off she runs after birds. I could hear in Cindy's voice that she's totally fallen for Daily. So great... Makes me feel happy.

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