pearls pop

yes, i just made post in people's bc gallery.

thank you everyone. Colt is wonderful, he is every good thing his foster mom said about him and more. He is going to be joy to work with and live with. i took him to the dog park, he loved everyone and everyone loved him.

Good news !! today i met and adopted Colt from the Azbcr. http://www.azbordercollierescue.com/rescue_details.asp?rescueid=1922

I got my application in azbcr and emailed about a few others in az.and have a lead on a possible dog in my town. in my younger days i probably would have jumped in my car and driven anywhere to adopt a dog, but age has given me the sense to see that i should adopt closer to home. i went back to my local dog park yesterday and met a gorgeous 3yr BC girl, reminded so much of pearl. i hope to be posting about my adoptee sooner then later.

Thank you everyone for reading and answering. i will be filling out applications asap, starting with AzBCR. . i agree/believe that meeting a dog is better then choosing from a picture and description. my first intro to Pearl was a short video, i was not impressed. the next day I went to meet her, when i sat on the ground and she put her paw on my knee and looked in my eyes I knew she was going home with me. i dont know if i can make the azbcr adoption event this weekend but have marked my calendar for the next one. btw it was Brody that caught my eye and prompted me to post this question.

It's been almost 2 months now that my girl Pearl has been gone and i am starting to miss the wonderful companionship of a Border Collie. I find myself staying up late surfing the web for a dog to adopt. I am friends with a number of folks who volunteer at the local rescue, they have been hinting strongly that i should adopt a dog from our shelter.These are really dedicated rescue people who have rehabbed and found homes for some dogs(lots of pit mixes) that must have been very difficult to find good homes for. I would love to support their efforts, but I have my heart and mind set on a Border Collie. I would also like to support the AZ. Border Collie Rescue, but haven't seen any dog that seems right for me yet. Online, I have seen a few dogs that may want to adopt me. Most of these are in far-away states, there seems to be alot of border collies east of the mississippi. I am curious if it is possible to adopt a dog from a far-away state rescue? would they even consider someone not from their area? I'm feeling a little guilty about looking for a dog from somewhere not local, I know that if i wait long enough a close by dog will be available , but I dont want to wait more then a few months at most. Is this guilt justified? I figure a dog rescued is a dog rescued. Any tips on the adoption process?

Run free Pearl.! Thank You for being in my life. Love you, miss you. " do you want to race to the creek"?

We have had a few nights in the low 20's, the water bucket outside has had about 3/4 inch of ice on top. Usually when i let Pearl out in the morning(usually before sunup) I go out and break the ice in the bucket. This morning I didnt feel like going out until i got my coffee. While waiting for the water to boil I glanced out the window and Pearl was trying to drink from the frozen bucket. After a few licks she took her paw and batted at the ice until it broke, then had her drink. We dont get many nights this cold, so Pearl has not had alot of experience with ice, I am wondering if she knew to break the ice to get a drink or maybe she watched me break the ice for her or maybe she was just frustrated and batted at the ice the same way she would poke me to get my attention? Does anybody have a dog that does this? after 11 years i still am amazed at some of the things Pearl learns and does.

Pearl ate soap as a youngster, my vet said dogs go for soap because of the fat that is used to make soap. Pearl also ate a few candles, dont know what she found good in them.

three days ago I discovered a fatty tumor on the back of Pearls front left "elbow" about the size of a small walnut. She has had a fatty tumor under her left front armpit for about the last five years, this tumor was slightly smaller than the new one on her elbow and seems to have gotten smaller lately. I have had a number of dogs that had fatty tumors in old age and never did any vet suggest removal. Pearls current vet said the one in her armpit was not worrisome wwhen it was discovered because it was in a place where it would not get snagged ,cut and infected easily. I am sure my vet will reccomend removal of this new tumor because of its location and it sticks out quite a bit. I would like to avoid surgery if possible , first because Pearls personality is off for some time after every surgery she has had. Pearl has had cancerous tumors removed twice from the knee of her left rear. the second reason i would like to avoid surgery is funds are real low and for the first time in my life of never having much money I am beginning to question if I can afford a dog. no I would never give pearl away but may have to forgo something as potentially expensive as surgery if not absolutely necessary. Pearl goes in for booster shots in four or five weeks> I am hesitant to make a seperate appt just to have the fatty tumor looked treated. I guess the advice I am seeking is, should I be concerned that this may not be a benign (sp?) tumor considering the other tumors pearl has had? can I possibly drain this myself?, as suggested to me by a friend who grew up on a dairy farm and said it was common for his dad to do minor surgery/wound repair o n their animals. any other wisdom on fatty tumors?

I have had many great dogs, samoyeds , a wolf dog and some real great mutts. Pearl is my first Border Collie, I didnt know a thing about them before I got Pearl. The first week I had her I almost returned her to the shelter I got her from. After that we bonded and I fell head over heels for her and the breed after reading up on them. I wish I had known about BC's years ago, I don't think i can live without a Border Collie in my life.

The Bark Park has become a major factor in Pearls life. There is a new one in my town. Up until last april i had never been to a dog park with Pearl, instead i took her hiking almost daily on national forest land where she could run without leash, bounding over rocks and carrening after rabbits, javalina etc. Pearl is 10 and arthritis is slowing her down now, so I have cut the hiking down to an occasional event. So to keep her body/ brain stimulated we have started almost daily dog park visits, Pearl who is basically anti-social to most other dogs, has developed "friendships' with a surprising mix of other dogs. She has a BC friend and two Blue Healer friends, but has also played and hung out with boxers, labs , goldens and goes just bonkers with excitement when a certain red husky shows up. Pearl who lived with 6 different litters of golden retreivers in her life never had any interest in fetching, now fetches. She is also known as the "monitor" at the park because she will break up any intense rough housing between other dogs. Most of the people at our park are real alert to what their dog is doing and make effort to see that everyone gets along and has fun. If someone's dog is overly aggresive that person is told to tone it down , if not most people will avoid them and they get the message. If afternoon has rolled around and we havent gone to the park Pearl will stand by the door and wimper then come nudge me until i go get my keys, then she is out of the house and waiting by the truck before i get to the front door. so thats my vote for Dog Parks.

An oldtimer once told me that dogs eat bar soap because it is made with fats/lards and emulified oils. Pearl stole a few bars when she was young, I caught her in the act a few times and she sure looked happy about what she had just pilfered from the bathroom, sort of the same intense look they get when the find something highly desired, like road kill or a rotting carcass.

The popcorn smell of BC's feet was one of the first things my vet told me about BC's when I took Pearl in for her first vet appt. when I got her 9 years ago. Her feet still smell like popcorn.

it only snows a few times each winter here and it melts usually within a day, Pearl has no qualms about walking or laying in the snow. neverless a few years back my mom got her felt booties for x-mas, i think you can tell from this photo how Pearl "felt" about them. A few minutes after this photo was taken she went out in the snow and shook her feet until they came off, next time i brought them out to put on her she went under the bed and would not come out. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/pea...op/ffe147c9.jpg