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Where did everyone get their BCs?


(Jess)
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Sammie, our first, who is a mix and was our first introduction to Border Collies, came from the Hillside SPCA in Pennsylvania.

 

Speedy, our purebred, came from a breeder in Pennsylvania.

 

Maddie, our Border Collie/Lab mix, came from Angel Pet Services in Pennsylvania. We found her on Petfinder. It was a really good experience. We submitted an email to them expressing our interest and telling them about ourselves. We were invited to meet her, along with our two dogs. We spent an entire afternoon with her in a neutral area with her and then adopted her.

 

I like to rescue, but my husband likes to get purebreds from breeders, so we kind of "split" and have a mix of them.

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Since I did Rescue for close to 15 years, a number of my dogs are/were unwanted or Rescued Border Collies. My Jim, was part of an unwanted litter of pups that the backyard breeder/sheep farmer couldn't sell. I often wonder if that farmer would like to know that Jim turned out to be, not only my most trusted helper around my sheep field, but an Open trial winner and qualified for, and ran in the 2003 National Finals? Probably not. I've also purchased pups and a started dog or two.

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My first BC Allie came from a friend who safehouses for the humane society. We had no clue what she was or what we were getting ourselve into. I wasnt prepared to properly train her, I just thought I was getting a mutt.

And once you know how incredible the breed is, its hard to go back to "normal" dogs.

Jenna came from a breeder. I wanted a purebred. My son is four, and I wanted a puppy so that the dog would grow up accustomed to the crazieness in my household. Rescue is a good option, but with a young child, we felt like we couldnt take the risk.

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Originally posted by dogaholic:

quote:
Originally posted by GottaHaveBC:

I found myself today at a breeders house lookin at a litter of puppies (I went to meet the parents, not to get a puppy today) - as adorable as they were, I realized they would ALL be adopted...so, I think I am going to search only at rescues/shelters from now on, I know some papered bc's wind up in shelters even, so sad.

Please do those in rescue a favor that is very important to us. Please be careful to use the correct terminology.

 

Breeders breed their dogs and SELL the puppies. They do NOT offer their puppies for adoption. Not even good breeders, and there are some of those out there, place dogs in adoptive homes. They sell them. You do not adopt a dog from a breeder.

 

Rescue groups and individuals place dogs and puppies into well screened, qualified ADOPTIVE homes. We do not, in any meaning of the word, SELL them. When people ask us "How much is that dog?" every hackle goes up!

 

I realize that it may seem like an insignificant distinction to some, but words mean things. To a dedicated rescuer, it is a critical distinction.

 

And yes, approximately 25% of the dogs that end up in animal shelters are pure bred. Some breeds are more common in shelters than others. There are not a large number of AKC registered BCs around simply because BCs were only accepted/ dragged into the AKC in 1995.

 

Thank you.

Sorry, I guess I am used to the word "adopt" - I do nothing but "adopt" dogs out to families, never sell (and yes, I have cringed many times when folks come to me saying "can i buy him? how much does he cost??" Hello! he is for adoption and his fee covers all the care that was used to rehab him!), so I guess my brain is stuck on that word. I understand the difference, but have never really dealt w/ breeders so I didn't know breeders strictly used the word "buy" - I hate that word, it makes me feel like I am talking about an object, not a live puppy. But I will work on my terminology!
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Tag came from the local Animal Protective League. We found out later that they guy who ditched him there (sorry if I'm using too harsh of language, but that's what I feel it was) was a local guy that my husband actually knew at one point.

 

Molly came from Vicki (Sea4th). I guess you would technically say that Molly, also, was a rescue, as her former home returned her to Vicki after their two bitches got in a fight. Molly is my heart and soul.

 

I'm proud that both of my dogs are rescues. And God forbid, but when anything ever happens to one of these precious babies, another border collie will join our family, and it too will be a rescue.

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Nine years ago, I was taling to two rescue groups, interested in a BC mix. One was really uninterested because we don't have a fenced yard. The other one had several BC-chow mixes that were 2 months old or more and one litter of BC-lab mixes that were 5 weeks old and had to be adopted immediately.

 

We were committed to visit my husband's parents for a week - where we couldn't take a dog. I called my vet to see if I could board an adopted pup (I knew I could leave our cat at home with food & water & litter, because we always did. A cat will pee on the carpet just as if you were there.)

 

They were not really happy about boarding such a young pup. But the vet-tech asked if I had actually adopted this pup. I admitted that I was just looking. Several days later, she called me back to sy that she had a friend back on the Carolina coast whose BC had a litter. There were still 5 or so not adopted yet. We were not the only ones interested in BC mixes; so she could drive down and bring them back while we were travelling. We said we would be interested in looking but could not guarantee that we would adopt an unknown dog.

 

Got back from Florida, went down to the vet, met Fergie. Kismet! She was a tad older than we had thought we wanted, smooth-coated when we had thought of long hair, and a bit larger than we had thought we wanted. But she was perfect. And she still is.

 

The strange thing is that we knew we wanted to name our dog Fergie - for a BC we had met on a farm in Yorkshire where Alf Wight (James Herriot) had been the vet. This pup had been called Sarah by the faily who owned her mom. So she is really Sarah Fergusen - Fergie.

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Originally posted by Jen Lem:

I've noticed using the word adopt seems to be a new trend with alot of breeders.

On many classified sites on the net I look at alot of ads state "Purebred pups with papers only $800 adoption fee" I often wonder at this use of words myself!

Jen and Pippin

I just mistakingly use the term "adopt" because to say BUY sounds like your talking about an object (IMO) - adopt sounds more soft and embracing. But I guess it should be used correctly since there is a very very big difference between rescues & breeders.
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What about when you get an animal for free (from a backyard breeder)? Would that be "Buy" or "Adopt"? :rolleyes:

 

I'm not proud of it, but I got Jake from a non-reputable breeder, in Rocky Mountain House (in British Columbia). Momma was a purebred Border Collie (the kind that works sheep) and daddy was a purebred Aussie (Jake looks more like him). The owners were a couple with a teenage son. I know they weren't reputable because, for one thing, no reputable breeder breeds mixed-breed pups, and they didn't give us any contracts or anything. Just a $50 hole in our pockets and a "Good luck!" from the owners. So... But I was only 11, and neither parents (nor me) knew anything about the horrors of backyard breeding. But all future pets are coming from rescues or shelters, no doubt.

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Now that I'm no longer distracted by lost dog issues, here's the mix, in order of appearance in my life:

 

Indy (border collie x aussie): Pet Assistance League, an all-breed rescue taking dogs off "death row" at shelters

 

Willow: Appalachian Mountain border collie rescue

 

Farleigh: Private rescue/rehome

 

Boy: Given to me at age 5 by his breeder (he's working bred)

 

Twist: Bought as a puppy; chosen because I liked the way her sire and dam worked (and I wanted to raise and train my own working dog)

 

Jill: Given to me by her owner who had retired her from trialing--as an open schoolmaster for me

 

Kat: Bought as a trained dog (working bred)

 

J.

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We got BJ from my daughter's boyfriend's uncle that had kept him in his kennel about 90% of the day. He's only 10 months old and they just didn't want (or have time) to deal with him.

 

Since the BC world is new to me please don't get on my case about this. I've been trying to follow that posts about the AKC and their "ways". Anyway, his previous owner said that BJ's litter is AKC registered and he will be getting his papers to us this week. (We'll see.) That isn't the reason that we took him anyway. It just broke our heart to see how he was being treated.

 

He is a smart guy. This morning as he was lounging on the bed with me while hubby was getting ready for work. He decided that he wanted hubby's cell phone that was just out of his reach. He proceeded to bite and pull the covers to him until he could reach what he was after. Neither of our other two dogs would have figured that out in a million years.

 

Ok, so I'm a new momma just bragging. Sorry :rolleyes:

But ya'll know how it is.

 

Debbie,

Cody, BJ and Callie's Mom

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Debbie, no one is going to get onto you for having an AKC dog. It's not the dogs themselves we have a problem with. It's what conformation is doing to the BC breed. Several people here own and love their AKC BC's.

 

We're glad to have you here on the forum.

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No one on these boards should criticize you for giving a good home to a pup that needed it.

 

The general objection is to breeding Border Collies for something other than the work (for example, for conformation or sports). We object to puppy mill breeding and backyard breeding (both irresponsible and poor quality breeding).

 

What you have done is essentially to rescue a dog from an unsuitable environment. Thanks to you, he now has a good and loving, satisfying and content, forever home. You are a hero!

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I got Bree at 8 weeks from a candle store in a small town on main street. They advertised "free Christmas puppies" on a sign on the door. They said she was a blue tick hound mix (course there was an intact BC male running around the farm too). Boy were we unprepared. Not exactly our best thought out plan, but now she's 16 months and I'm glad we got her.

 

Our next BC will be a rescue.

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Our older dog (a Belgian Sheepdog) came to us as an adoption when she was 1 year old. To say "rescue" would do a gross injustice to the prior owner; the adoption was arranged through a third party, and the previous owner (who was suffering from terminal cancer) wanted to ensure that the dog would have the best possible home before he passed on.

 

The BC pup was purchased from an ABCA-registered breeder.

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Piper came from a working farm and since we don't have sheep here the next logical job for her was search and rescue :rolleyes: . She's up for her Level 2 Wilderness test soon.

 

I'd really like to rescue one next as I am a frequent BC rescue stalker on RDM's website and the Ravensgate one in Washington/Oregon (a stalker in a good way).

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I'm not stalking you, I'm stalking your BC's...my Piper could whip Tess back into shape and Piper also isn't a good "leash" dog either, so they could egg each other on while on leash...Fortunately, Piper is only on a leash about 5 months out of the year, when it is too dark to hike trails after work. Does she get along with cats? My parents are passing through Vancouver Island in April-they could pick her up and bring her to Sitka, she could sit between their two beagles...

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Originally posted by MrSnappy:

quote:
Originally posted by Piper:

I'd really like to rescue one next as I am a frequent BC rescue stalker on RDM's website

You're stalking me via my website???

 

If I give you a dog, will you stop?

 

Take your pick! We got lots.

 

RDM

Do you run that BC rescue in your sig yourself? If so, I am impressed. It's great that there is a strictly BC rescue We have one in TX that is full of wonderful people.
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I adopted both Skipper and Annie from Eileen at Ravensgate Border Collie Rescue (otherwise known here as colleydogge) www.ravensgate.net.

 

My daughter?s dog, Poppy, came from a shelter in Bellingham, WA.

 

My daughter?s other dog, Bailey, came from a rescue in Idaho. (My daughter is a live-at-home college student so all dogs live here, too.)

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Originally posted by Piper:

Does she get along with cats? My parents are passing through Vancouver Island in April-they could pick her up and bring her to Sitka, she could sit between their two beagles...

Oh Tess won't be around come April ... there are a million people interested in Tess. Sorry!

 

RDM

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