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CUTE-O-SORUS-MAGG-A-LICIOUS

ADOPT 09 CONTEST

Here is Mom's story of how I came to live with them. It is her story, so I will let her tell it...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mom's Story~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My story is long, and I'll tell you right now, I did not start off with the idea of adoption...

We had little Chiweenie puppy. He was given to us by my husband's mother who's dogs had puppies. I was always a cat person myself. I thought dogs were too needy. But my husband wanted him so here we were with this little 2lb 7 week old puppy that needed to be taken care of and trained. I grew to love him and we found ourselves wanting to make an addition to our little family. We wanted to find a bigger dog. I had never cared either way about adoption or buying from a breeder. This world of dogs was all new to me and I had NO idea how many homeless dogs there were. All I knew was that there was no way we could afford to buy from a breeder so I began looking in all the newspaper classifieds that were within a four hour driving distance. I didn't want to get one from a shelter because I had not heard good things. The animals had issues, or they were sick or both. My coworker checked the local humane society and animal control shelter's websites several times a week for me. One particular day she saw a picture of a cute little puppy. I was in love. I ran right down after work to go see her. She was gone. Her sister was there. She was not as cute (I thought). She was hyper and she tried to bite my hair. My husband came as soon as he got off work as well. He thought we should take the puppy home anyway.

The following weeks were very long. Maggie came home with us that night. She started off by taking all of Taz's toys away. She did not want to share. She was bossy. She walked around with her little nose and tail up in the air. Taz had no idea what to do with her. He tried to be nice but quickly saw that wasn't going to get him anywhere. Then it came. We found out Maggie was sick. I spent the next few weeks doing nothing but going to work and coming home to clean up messes. She gave her sickness to Taz who had never been sick a day in his little life. $500 in vet bills later, we decided maybe we could have afforded a dog from a breeder after all. But there was more to the story.

When we got her, she was listed as pitbull/border collie. I quickly learned of all the pit prejudice. We took Maggie everywhere and people would dote on her and say how cute she was. Then they'ld say "what kind of dog is she?" We would readily tell them, Border Collie/Pitbull. Often, they would quickly withdraw their hand, take a step back, get a dissapointed look in their face shrug their shoulders and say "well at least she's cute" and walk away. I did all sorts of research on pitbulls because I personally did not know much about them. I found them to be loyal & loving. I also found alot of misinformed people. All of the sudden, I found myself very protective of her.

We had Maggie DNA tested for insurance purposes and general curiosity. The results were Border Collie/Boxer/Daschund. It's possible there is still some pit in there, but it would be a very small percentage.

We have had Maggie 4 months as of yesterday. She gets bigger and prettier every day. She is one of the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. She will not eat her dinner until she's got a hug. Her and Taz get along well. They even cuddle occassionally even though she doesn't really like to cuddle because she gets too hot with all that fur. I love Maggie so much. She just looks at me with those knowing eyes. She loves unconditionally. She is so happy to meet everyone she sees. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her too.

All the initial vet bills and cleaning I had to do in the beginning now seem so trivial for the wonderful addition to the family that we found. I could not have asked for a better dog.

Somewhere along the way I found Dogster. On Dogster, I have met many people who have rescued/adopted dogs. Some of the dogs came in horrible health, with bad behavior issues. But with training, time, patience and in some cases, a few vet bills, they too have found a wonderful pet and friend.

Since Maggie, we have gotton yet another dog. He was not technically an adoption, but he was likely on his way to the pound and I feel very good about saving him from there.

After having the "Maggie Experience" I recommend and openly advocate to anyone who will listen to adopt. I know it's more work, and maybe even more money, but it's worth it to save a life. There are so many good dogs in shelters on death row. All they want to do is love us and make us happy. It's up to us to save them. Some people do buy from breeders, and they have their reasons for doing so. But it is my hope that more will adopt from shelters or rescue places. And it is my determination to help as many homeless dogs as possible.

There are alot of cat people in the world, people who are self assured, confident and ready to do their own thing. These people I applaud. I aspire to be that myself, but I have come to learn that it is the people and dogs who love us, who remind us to play, to put the joy of others ahead of our own and to just be... that brings that something truly special to our lives.

And as a side note.. Maggie no longer bites my hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Until there are none, adopt one ~~~~~~~~~~~

The Eye

I saw this in a group thread and thought it was hilarious and had to share.

The Truth About Border Collies
At first glance, the Border Collie (BC) looks like a typical working dog. Border Collie aficionados have graphically described the BC as a well-proportioned chunk of muscle. His coat is short to medium with color combinations that include black and white, red and white and merle with white. The ears do a variety of things from standing up to tipping over and pointing north and south. Many casual dog owners have mistaken this for an ordinary dog and taken it home. They spend an average of six weeks in rehab getting over the experience.

A few do survive owning a BC. There have been no formal research studies describing the characteristics of the successful BC owner. However, anecdotal reports would suggest that these people:

**Have very strong egos that are not threatened by a dog smarter than themselves;
**Have superior verbal skills that allow them to explain to the neighbors why all of their children are standing in a tight group, pinned against the house, under the watchful eye of their BC;
**Are able to substitute other activities for the BC's desire to bring bikes, motorcycles, and cars to a standstill; and
**Believe in a Supreme Being.

Let me explain that last, controversial comment. It became clear to me in my reading and observation for this article that ownership of a BC ceased to be about owning a dog at some point in history. It became a religion. In order to see if the relationship between BC and owner does in fact meet the criteria, let's start with the Webster definition of religion:

A belief in a divine or superhuman power to be obeyed and worshiped as the creator and ruler of the universe

Expression of belief in conduct and ritual


A specific system of beliefs involving a code of ethics and a philosophy.

Let's see if interactions between people and BC fit this bill.

Church of the Divine Border Collie.

Proof One:

Border Collie people believe, and possibly rightfully, that this is a breed superior to all others. They state unequivocally that they are the world's finest sheepdogs, that they have a stunning intelligence, and that even in a world of technology, they will never be replaced by a machine. Clearly this dog is seen as superhuman. This belief exists despite documented cases of BCs trying for several hours to herd a stump.

Proof Two:

Border Collies have a trait called, "THE EYE." The eye is a hypnotic stare that the BC turns on anything it wants to control. BC owners talk about "THE EYE" with reverence and love to expound on the way the dogs use it to control sheep. It would be fine if these dogs used "THE EYE" only with sheep, but the BC turns "THE EYE" on anything it might engage to produce fun or work.

Recently I dog-sat a BC for the weekend. Two days. Forty-eight hours of being stared at. No blinking. Unwavering scrutiny. In human culture, staring is wrong. Parents invest incredible energy teaching children not to stare. Being stared at briefly is uncomfortable. Try an hour with a Border Collie if you want to experience serious discomfort.

Every time a BC stares, there is a single message embedded in the gaze. In the case of my houseguest, the communication was clear: BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL, BALL. After several hours, I could not stand the tension. I threw the ball until tendonitis set in. I had to take three Advil and a nap. The dog stared at me during the entire nap from approximately three inches away.

Learning to live every day in the presence of "THE EYE" without being institutionalized for a mental or physical collapse is at the heart of success in this religion. Other religions have hair shirts and Hail Marys. The Church of the Divine Border Collie has "THE EYE."