Wasabi (Molly)

Happy Forever Home, Molly-Wasabi On January 21, 2009 I welcomed a young, highly reactive border collie/cattle dog mix from your rescue group into my home. Her name was Molly. One year later, I’d like to give you an update on this wonderful dog I now call Wasabi. Wasabi lives in my southeast Michigan home with my eleven year-old cattle dog Touk and Thumbs the cat. Soon after her adoption, Wasabi and I enrolled in an obedience class that used positive reinforcement training. In the beginning she was extremely reactive around other dogs, barking hysterically and lunging at them if they got too close. When strangers approached, she jumped on them and growled. The trainers knew that Wasabi’s behavior was due to anxiety, and with a lot of patience, clicker training, and Touk’s good example, Wasabi learned that new people and dogs result in treats and praise. As her confidence improved, we enrolled in an agility class, and have been training together for over eight months. Recently, we registered with C.P.E. so we can start competing! Wasabi gets a lot of exercise in her new home. In the winter, we go to a local park and she plays with Touk in the snow. In warmer weather, she runs beside my bike on the dirt roads in my town or on the local metro park trails. Before the snow fell, we were up to six miles a day! Wasabi is an excellent travel companion, and loves to ‘herd’ the waves of Lake Michigan. As our bond of trust has grown stronger, she has taken to snuggling with me on the couch. She is learning to greet people politely, and new situations aren’t so scary anymore. It has been very rewarding to help her grow into a happy, confident dog. I’d like to thank Come Bye Border Collie Rescue for saving this little dog’s life. Sometimes it is hard to see the potential that a damaged, anxious dog has within them, but you gave her a chance. I also want to extend my gratitude to her foster family, Susan and Robin. Look for Wasabi and I in upcoming agility competitions…We are quite a pair! Thank you so much for my little Wasabi, Lisa Melling Willis, MI

Royce

On January 3rd, Royce will have been with us for one year. When I first saw him in Chicago Animal Control, it broke my heart that someone could be so cruel to a animal. He was under weight and missing a lot hair on most of his hind end and tail. His eyes were very hard. He did not know what toys or treats are. My vet believed that he had lived on a chain most of his life. He had no hind end muscle strength. Over the last year, he has healed both physically and mentally. A diet of TimberWolf dog food and Coconut Oil brought back his coat. In June, we tried sheepherding but he was too weak in the hind end. My neighbor suggested that I send him to her doggy day care. In July, I encouraged him to swim and he loved it. He swam six hours, twice a week at day care until the end of October when the pool closed. This quickly increased his strength and stamina so we tried sheep herding again in August. He now sheepherds once a week - he knows his flanks and is starting to feel balance. In the beginning of December, we dropped the line for the first time. He totally understands he needs to bring the sheep to me. When we came out of the round pen, he jumped up and gave me a bunch of kisses. He was so happy doing what he was bred to do. Between the swimming and the herding, he has stopped the nervous pacing he use to do. He has also stopped herding birds in the sky. Royce is a lovely dog. He is respectful of his place in the pack. He loves to snuggle and give kisses. He loves to play ball and swim. He is a talker - he has little grunts, growns and growls that he uses to communicate. I was not looking for another dog but he found me. We could not be happier.

Bella

I'm attaching some pics of Bella, who has become a very beloved member of our family. The girls absolutely adore their dogs, and are fond of dressing them up for fashion shows. The dogs are very accommodating, luckily! The beach shot is from this past summer, in Cape San Blas, FL - Bella is on the left, next to Layla (our golden/black lab mix rescue we had about a year before adding Bella to the family; they're only a few months apart in age and look remarkably alike). In the swimming pic, Bella is the one with the retrieve toy in her mouth - she was timid of the water when we first got her, and now she's the first one in. The last pic is from the summer before last, in the Great Smoky Mtns. Bella is the one closest to me.

Sonny

He is doing just fine. I have attached a few pictures from his recent visit to my work. He likes it here (is it just me he wants??) throwing the ball over acres of dirt! Sniffing more (reading the doggie news) when we walk. Loves that frizbee. That’s the only thing he thinks about. Sleeps most days in MY bed, then energizer bunny comes out after work. He won’t sit with me while I am on computer at home…lies in my bed or at the top of the stairs waiting for me to come out of the office. We are now working on our basement walls and he sits down there with me while we work. He was shedding profusely Aug/Sept, wound down in October. Is this normal? I thought he would put his winter coat ON in the fall, not shed it. It was all his undercoat. Then I thought because he is kept indoors, he won’t shed like this every year since he doesn’t spend hours upon hours outdoors.

Zip

We adopted Zip on September 13th. He has been a wonderful addition to our family. He is a sweet and smart boy. Zip loves to play ball and catch the Frisbee. He would play all day if he could! We decided because he is so smart, we should also exercise that little border collie mind too! We have taken up clicker training and have seen amazing results (minus the fact that the actual dog training class scared little Zip quite a bit!). Using all positive reinforcement and the clicker is like magic! Zip now knows sit, down, settle, twirl, shake, high 5, wave, and targets with touch--- which means I now have my little guy weaving between my legs. Zip is shy with new people, but warms up pretty good with treats and a little time. He loves to play with other dogs and can get a little too excited when he sees a canine buddy on a walk. Again, the clicker works magic in reinforcing that good behavior when is calm, so he has come a long way! Zip is such a good natured dog and the best boy I could have asked for! All is wants to do is please me and he is constantly looking for my feedback. We enjoy mixing in trick training with ball throwing! He works for that tennis ball! Our biggest challenge has been our two 7-year old cats, but it’s not what you would think! Zip is terrified of them. He has never gone after them, rather, they totally keep him in his place and can actually keep him confined in a room (we are working on getting to a place of pleasantly ignoring each other!) if we don’t intervene (don’t worry, everyone is safe!). ________________________________________