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Purchasing Dogs


ToffeesDad
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I can't go back the 20 or so years I've had border collies, but in the last 13, let's see-

 

Amy (deceased at 13.5) bought from David Rogers in MS (working lines)

Gaelic (imported bloodlines, ISDS registered) rescued, deceased at 8.5

Bryn, imported ISDS,bought, now almost seven

Molly, bought from Karen Lacy,now five

Jack- rescued (deceased)

Grace, Dot & Beau- "made"

Zeke, the Boxer, rescued, still alive at 11 years of age

Duchess- rescued,rehomed

Bella- rescued, rehomed

4 cats- "come heres"

 

I buy from working lines when I want a working dog and rescue when someone calls me.

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Originally posted by Caroline:

Having witnessed said sheep flying exhibition today, I will add that it was more impressive than just Luke's demonstration of "Look Mom, I can hold them on the fence, Look at me!"

Caroline

Hey now, Luke did quite well I thought! He looked lovely out there, very serious. Whereas Piper merely had a cartoon thought bubble over her head that said "WAHOO!"

 

RDM

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What I have are little satans, or demons on their good days. :rolleyes:

 

Ginger - (wkw dog) was given to me at just under a year old from some people who were her third owner and did not want her (I was #4). She spent her time alone on a dog run outside 24/7 and was a spastic, lonely, unhappy, terrified worm warehouse. The second owners had bought her expecting a purebred chocolate lab, but wound up with a little brown 35# who-knows-what (she wasn't treated very well from her first and second owners). She is now 6 and my heart dog.

 

Bree - (BC Mix) she was given to us by some people at a candle shop on our honeymoon at 8 weeks old. They were advertising "free Christmas puppies". She was supposed to be a "blue tick hound mix". hah. She is now 13-1/2 months and I have just begun to reclaim my underwear and socks.

 

At whatever point we decide to get another dog (whatever it may be) we will go through rescue. Too many wonderful dogs in bad situations.

 

Oh, and NO MORE PUPPIES. Period, paragraph.

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Purchased Piper from a farm in upstate NY for $150 at 9 weeks (3 years ago) and started training her as a SAR dog at 5 months.

 

We did try rescue but since we lived in Alaska, didn't have a fenced yard, etc., we couldn't get past the application process...next BC though I hope to adopt/rescue.

 

Adopted two kittens 10 years ago, who are now, fat, lazy, sedentary, strictly in-door cats (one is pre-diabetic, he is now on a strict diet and exercise plan-trying to head off the diabetes by making him to lifestyle changes... ).

 

RDM...I'm now convinced that your Piper and my Piper are nothing alike, although she did raise her lip to a 9 week old black Lab puppy the other day, because it had a hold of her tail :eek:

 

Also, wondering what the point of this post is too, ToffeesDad, since you started the other one of breed snobs...

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We have three permanent dogs between my parents and I; 6 dogs have been temporary fosters so I won't include them.

 

Oreo (Cattle Dog mix): 9 y/o, from a litter of pups born to a stray who showed up in someone's barn very pregnant - our vet told my parents about the litter and I got to pick Oreo out at 4 weeks; she came home w/ us at 7 weeks.

 

Maggie Mae (Border Collie): 5 y/o, adopted from local shelter at 11 mo the day she was due to be PTS because she was going 'kennel crazy'; I'm her 4th and final owner. She's turned into a good agility dog, beginning herder, and great demo dog from her beginnings as a severely undersocialized pup.

 

Gryffin (Rottie mix): 2 y/o, originally a temporary foster, but he caught my parents' hearts and so he was adopted from the same shelter where we adopted Maggie.

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wonderful to see that so many people on this board have rescue dogs!!

 

like RDM, i see no reason to purchase a border collie, at least in this area. we have so many fantastic dogs available through rescue.

 

be it puppies (i currently have 8 week old puppies available) or adults, any color (i currently have a red sable and a blue merle, plus blacks and reds), calm pet types, or working maniacs, they are all in rescue.

 

this last year i placed several fantastic working and trial dogs (not to drop names, but pat shannahan said of one "for a working or trial dog, you just can't GET any better breeding than this dog has"). additionally, we also recently had an alisdair maccrae pup in washington border collie rescue. my point is that unless a breeder keeps track of all their pups, and takes them back if placement does not work out, any dog can end up in rescue.

 

this year, one of my former foster dogs won first place at the nadac national championships(20").

 

so no matter what "job" you have in mind for your dog, that dog CAN come from rescue. plus you can see what your getting right from the beginning.

 

fencing is a dog-by-dog issue with me. you are no more refused for not having a fence, than you are automatically approved by having one.

 

except for my oldest (skye and corrie are 15 and 14 years old), my dogs are rescues (foster dogs that have stayed).

 

 

eileen

www.ravensgate.net (photos of some former fosters are on this site, along with available dogs).

www.green-bean.com/bcrescue

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In order from the beginning of time (my "personal" dogs only - I can't recall for all the "family" dogs)

 

Merrik - private rescue

Maggie - private rescue

Cougar - private rescue

Buddy - private rescue

Pepper - belongs to the BF (temporary rescue due to landlord issues, returned to his care when he bought a house)

MacKenzie - purchased

Finn - purchased

Ali - private rescue

 

Both "purchase" dogs were purchased from clients, each of whom owned both parents, so I'd met all parties involved repeatedly. With the exception of Merrik, who was rescued before I went to vet school, all of the rescues have been ones that came through the clinic in one way or another. Merrik came from my then-BFs family; she was the last unhomed puppy in the NINTH litter (grr!) of an ELEVEN-year-old (GRR!) mini poodle and (evidently) the same travelling-salesman schnauzer. (Gee, I wonder why they couldn't place this last puppy? They'd only had about FORTY other puppies to place from the same bitch before Merrik came along.) :rolleyes: Anyway, Merrik ended up with a family member and did fine until the divorce, but after that she was clearly not in the right place. It took me two years and some careful diplomacy and finagling, but I did finally get her placed where she truly belonged: with me. To date, she's still the best dog I've ever had. To be fair, she died at 14, and none of my subsequent dogs have lived that long (hence have not had the same opportunity to achieve equal greatness.) I have high hopes for the current crew, however. :D

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Jake came from a breeder in Rocky Mountain House in August 1998. I didn't know anything about backyard breeding back then (I was 11 and we didn't even have a computer back then). Momma was a purebred Border Collie and daddy was a purebred Australian Shepherd (Jake takes after his sire, except that Jake's tail isn't docked). And it seems both dogs didn't have any health issues, since Jake's never been sick a day in his life (not including injuries he's sustained, from bloody noses from playing with brooms to playing around with a brand new porcupine at a park)

 

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Willow is termed under "Free Kittuns" from some place a couple hours away from home. We lost our previous cat to a cat trap and were still grieving, and I personally would have preferred to wait some more and get a cat from a shelter, but my sister was anxious to fill the house with a cat again. Willow was also only 6 weeks old, and we're suffering for it now (she's territorial, her mind is scrambled, etc.). We got her sometime in July 2001 (2 months after our previous cat disappeared)

 

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Buffy came from the pet hospital on May 21, 2003 (I remember the exact day we met her, which was also a Monday). She was only 4 weeks old, and her mom and siblings had all died (to an illness, I think, caused from their lives on the street, seeing as how they were strays). She was going to be put down on May 22 unless someone adopted her, so we took her in. Willow hated her at first, but after a week or so, she became Buffy's new momma. They aren't as close as they used to be (I think Willow "weaned" Buffy off of her when Buffy was almost a year old), but they definitely still love each other. Just this morning, I was rudely awakened because they were wrestling on and next to my body. Then they nearly sent me flying off my bed as they kicked away from me and played "tag" down the hall.

 

 

and one extra pic just for the heck of it, lol

Jakesnarl.jpg

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Nik.JPG

 

This is Nikolai, my heart dog. He spent 7 months at a no-kill shelter before finding us, and is the best dog I could ever have. He's about 6 or 7, and he's been with us for about 3 years. This pic was taken during some exasperating puppy days.

 

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This his her royal highness, Sasha Wigglebutt. She was rescued at about 6 weeks old. Someone had dumped her in a field and my neighbor found her and a littermate covered in ticks and very weak. She's about 20 months old now, and is thankfully outgrowing some puppy tendencies.

 

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And last but not least, our Sassy Lassie. She was surrendered by our neighbors, who were pretty much neglecting her. She's a Setter/Lab mix who "was too much trouble." She's a love sponge, and a lapdog. (And that's Ion the cat in the background. He and his sister Ginger came courtesy of the KC Humane Society.)

 

All Adoptees/Rescues here...

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