Country Livin’ Blog

I wrote yesterday about our rescue dog Chance getting a bath he ended up enjoying. I thought it was a good time to tell you as much of Chance’s story as I know.

One afternoon while I was at work, my husband sent me an e-mail with and attachment to a “Pet Finders” web page. The e-mail said there was a border collie in a Georgia shelter that was scheduled to be destroyed. My husband asked me to call the shelter and find out what I could. I called and asked about the dog on the web page. I was told by the shelter that the dog had been “arrested” because he killed the neighbor’s pet rabbit. I called my husband back and told him the dog in question had killed a rabbit and that was why he was in the shelter. His previous owner would have had to pay a $200.00 fine because their dog had killed another animal. The owner let the dog be taken to the shelter.

My husband told me to call the shelter back and tell them he was on his way to get the dog. He left here at about noon and drove to the shelter in Spalding County Georgia. My husband was appalled by the condition of the shelter. He found Chance in a dirty kennel and in terrible condition. He paid the $25 adoption fee and brought him home.

When I first saw him I wasn’t really sure he was even a border collie mix. He was filthy dirty, he stunk something awful, and he was horribly thin. The first thing I did was wash him. There was no way he was coming in my house the way he smelled! He was absolutely gross. When he was washed and dried we tried to take him in the house. This is when we realized he was probably an outside dog his whole life because he wouldn’t come in on his own. My husband had to carry him in. We gave him some food and water which he didn’t eat or drink and let him get in a crate. He stayed in the crate with his head down looking frightened and completely defeated. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in a border collie. If you know any border collies or BC mixes you know they are very proud of themselves. They are pretty dogs and they know it.

When my husband adopted Chance he agreed to have him neutered and to get his immunizations up to date. We asked a friend who does rescue to take him to her vet to be neutered because she could get it done cheaper than we could. After he was neutered the vet did some tests and was going to give him his immunizations when she discovered Chance was heartworm positive. Our friend called us and gave us the bad news. At this point we were committed to this poor boy so we told them we wanted to treat him. Before he could be treated he had to be healthy. We took him to our vet and he was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, a respiratory infection, and heartworms. After he was on antibiotics for two weeks and he was feeling much better we decided it was time for the heartworm treatment.

Heartworm treatment in border collies is very risky. For some reason they can be sensitive to the ivermectin that is used to kill heartworm. Border collies have been known to die from the treatment that is supposed to cure them. Chance came through with flying colors.

I wish I had taken a picture of the sad dog my husband brought home that day. You wouldn’t know the animal living in my house is the same dog. His fur was hard and brittle with no shine to it. His tail was sparse and was perpetually tucked between his legs. Now he is silky and shiny. In a year and a half he has become a very handsome dog. He carries his tail proudly and wears a border collie smile most of the time. There are still times he isn’t sure what he is supposed to be doing, but he’s come a long way.If you are thinking about getting a dog, visit your local shelter. Change a life for the better.

Y’all come back!

Fay

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