Valorie

She is beautiful!!! Lucky her and lucky you. I too can't believe that the farmer let her get into such horrible conditions. The back of the truck looks a little rough in my opinion. I'm just glad you have her home now and she's safe. I think the photo of her under the table just looks like she's a little stressed and not quite sure what's going on. The fact that she approached you to possibly lick your face shows amazing progress in a very short period of time, in my opinion. I agree with just giving her some space and allowing her to feel comfortable at her own pace. Also, minimal vaccines I think are best, I would wait until you know her status for sure. What a lovely girl, I think she's going to blossom under your care. Congratulations and thanks for the photos!! Valorie

COLORADO Name: Valorie Best way to contact: email (mverion@sopris.net) or cell phone... please e-mail me to get number, prefer not to post publicly. Location: Silt Colorado (I-70 corridor between Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction) Distance willing to travel: 2 Hours, possibly more if needed/ case-by-case Vehicle: Volvo Station Wagon, Chevy Crew Cab Pick Up Extra Crates: One big enough for any BC Pull from shelter: Willing Hold overnight: Yes, hopefully they're healthy, if not I'll try to figure something out Times Available: Weekends are best, but I'll try to be flexible. Thanks for allowing us to post this info!!! [transferred to database]

I'm sooooo late but wanted to say Congrats! What a beautiful boy. So glad you saved him!!

Vicki~ Hi, I'm glad Joe is feeling better, what a relief. I wanted to post because I had a peach pit incident as well. Josie our first border collie was 11 at the time. She was getting up there in age, had arthritis and also starting to show signs of kidney failure. One day we came home from work, (my in-laws had just left from visiting - they're not dog people and I think she waited for them to leave), and found that she had thrown up in the house numerous places. In the closets, under neath tables, I think she felt bad for doing so, and was trying to hide each time. We have a doggie door, so she may have thrown up outside as well. Anyway, several calls to emergency vets and finally found a local vet who was willing to take her in that night. Put her on fluids, ran test after test, x-rays etc. I can't remember what all the tests showed, it's been three years ago now, but the x-ray showed nothing. This went on for three days... she wasn't really improving. On Friday night he asked us to take her home and see if she might feel better at home. She was miserable, up and down all night long, could not get comfortable, wimpering alot. I knew something was horribly wrong and I knew I could not put her through another night or day like that. At 6 a.m. I called him and I said either we open her up to see what's going on or we put her to sleep because I will not have her suffering like this. He was reluctant to operate because of her age and her kidney situation. Finally he agreed. About 12:30 that afternoon (a Saturday) he opened her up. Almost immediately his wife came out into the waiting room and said he found something... a peach pit. He could tell where it had gotten stuck and then moved a bit, gotten stuck again and then moved a bit more. Where it was then, it was not moving, and not going to move, no matter what. Poor thing, no wonder she was so miserable!! Surgery lasted less than 30 minutes. We went and sat with her in recovery, she was shaking so bad. Next day she felt better and Monday we brought her home. She was like a new dog again. We ended up losing her (pts) to kidney disease about five months later. I know that it took a horrible toll on her and she likely would have lived a lot longer, if not for the peach pit incident. The vet said it should have passed, but it was a large one and that sharp pointey end just kept catching on her. All those little holes in the pit are also a haven for bacteria, not a good scenario. We have a compost pile out behind the horse barn. It's not fenced or anything. I'm sure I just tossed a peach over there that was going bad and never thought anything about it. She found herself a treat. God knows how long that thing was in her. I'll never do that again. And I'll always remember a peach pit will not show up on an x-ray. Hope everyones dogs are healthy and passing everything just fine. Rest in peace sweet Josie!!

She's just beautiful, I'm so glad you saved her. What a precious girl. She reminds me of our first border collie when she was really young, her name was Josie (RIP). Congratulations, a very special girl. Valorie

For the Sweet little BC Puppy dead on the side of the road yesterday... many prayers, run free. He/she was so young. I hate to see any animal that has been hit by a car, but dogs affect me the most, and border collies even more, and this little guy/girl was so young. Only seen one or two border collies dead on the road, but they stick with me for years. I'm sure he/she belonged to someone in the trailer park across the street, who had no business owning a border collie. I didn't stop, I thought about it. Should I have stopped? I'm pretty sure someone had an unpleasant surprise when they arrived home from work. This one really bothers me. [/size]

Thank you Anda! I will get the photo thing figured out eventually. It was awesome to be there with all that talent (two-legged and four-legged) just a few feet away. I knew I had to get a photo for the BC Boards. I think the dogs are still looking for sheep as most of them are facing in the direction of where the sheep were during their runs. Happy border collies - there is nothing better in the world! Valorie

Hoping this will work. My first attempt at photos. Meeker Sheepdog Trials 2006 Awards http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n158/Va...06/DSC00509.jpg

Yes, Tommy Wilson and Sly won Meeker. I was fortunate enough to go as we live only a little over an hour away from Meeker! We have attended several years in the past. It seems the quality of the dogs and handlers gets better every year! While we missed Tommy and Sly's run (they were second to go in morning while we were finishing up chores and driving to Meeker) We saw them go last year when they finished 3rd. Sly is only 3 years old, so I can only imagine what he will be like in a few years. The last run of the day was Derek Fisher and Heidi. I must tell you that I will never forget that run as long as I live. It was the epitome of team work, patience, skill! At several different times during their run it seemed as if everything was going perfectly. Then there was one ewe who was constantly challenging Heidi and would all of the sudden bolt. Heidi was calm, cool and collected - ran out brought her back and in a moment it was like nothing ever happened. Derek had to separate the collared ewes from the uncollared ewes in the "shed" three separate times because of this errant ewe. You cannot believe how calm he remained. At the very end he was just about to get them penned, was shutting the gate and the ewe bolted again and time expired. He never lost his cool and Heidi was just unbelievable. Heidi is 10 years old and Derek is only 23! You could have heard a pin drop during the entire time of the shed and penning the sheep. The entire crowd was captivated by Derek and Heidi. When it was over they got a standing ovation - boy, did they ever deserve it. Derek and Heidi finished fourth. After the awards ceremony a number people wanted to talk to Derek. I was lucky enough to get his autograph. He seemed a little bit embarrased. I will carry that run with me the rest of my life and when things in life seem to be getting out of control I will think back to that day and Derek and Heidi and hopefully hold it all together as well as they did. It was really unbelievable. Valorie

Josie our 11 year old border collie is afraid of cameras and hates having her picture taken. She has owned us since she was 6 weeks old and has always been this way - never outgrew it. She also is very afraid of thunderstorms but those are the only two things she is afraid of. Valorie

Tracy, I understand what you are saying. I am a native also. It is very hard to see the growth and not get upset by it. I can't believe they are putting those huge developments in Elbert County. I remember my Mom driving us from Littleton to Castle Rock in the early 70s and you were totally out in the sticks for about 30 minutes. Now you never leave the city between those two destinations. I think it is sad that you can't wait to move away - but I understand as I have had those feelings myself at times. I am a little removed from the growth over here, but it is slowly catching up with us too. Valorie

Hello Bart, I am glad your border collies want to take you with them! My husband and I and our 2 border collies, german shepard mix and horses live on the Western Slope of Colorado. Anywhere in Colorado would be good for you except for maybe the immediate Denver area. The Western Slope typically has milder temperatures than the Front Range and not quite as much snow - but it varies year to year. If I were you I would look around Delta/Montrose or the Hotchkiss area. There are alot of organic farms in those areas. All of these are south of Grand Junction. There are more herding type events and people in that area. Even just west of Grand Junction would be good. Our area is still pretty good but there is a lot of natural gas drilling going on and it is devastating a lot of properties owners. I would hate to see you get mixed up in that. Prices would probably range from $250,000 up to $500,000 depending on improvements, water rights, etc. Best of luck and welcome to Colorado.