Rescue Journal

what you see...

Carol  ·  Feb. 11, 2012

is not necessarily what you are going to get.

just because oden is currently a super sweet, quiet, lay about dog..does not mean oden is going to stay that way. oden is currently a sick and starved, profoundly physically and emotionally neglected dog...in an overful animal shelter with a bunch of other dogs...he is keeping a low profile because he is overwhelmed....by everything.
oden is not that old..i would guess around 8..i know he has border collie in him, and i bet he has a good whopping dose of kelpie....and healthy, happy border collie/kelpies...are very busy!

oden is looking for the kind of home that not only fits him when he is frail and ill...he is also looking for the home that will fully meet his physical and emotional needs...when he is well. and that may very well mean...finding someone who enjoys jogging 3 miles a day, flyball or agility...or if he is super busy... maybe all three!

odie is another example..but on the other side of the fence. just cuz odie is a pain in the ass at saints does not mean he will be a pain in the ass in th right home for him. odie is a blind, young vibrant husky living with far too many other old and frail dogs. the fact that he can actually live in the main house with everyone else...speaks volumes about him with his blindness..he is not living in the mp room with the other blind and cannot handle the chaos dogs. odie's ability to live here blindly as well as he does..is pretty unique..this is an amazing dog and his potential in the right home is equally amazing.

in the right home with maybe one other large tolerant, younger/playful dog..odie will be great. he is fun, he is adventurous, he is loyal and affectionate...he has a ton of character..he will fill that home with joy and laughter. he one of those larger than life personalities who will bury himself in deeply, take over our hearts, and our lives will never be the same.

and that is where i come in...i match not only the current dog to his or her new family..i match the potential dog to his or her right family.

we humans have a tendency to fall in love with what we see...but what we are seeing is not always the real or forever thing. when i adopted june...i adopted a dog who would not come near me..now i have a dog who i sometimes seriously worry is going to break some part of me. i am almost too old for a 3 yr old, 120 pound, joyful oaf who throws herself into..on top of..full speed up against...my poor arthritic/osteoporotic body.

quite frankly..if i had been thinking clearly...esther is now more my speed.

Comments

Carol

its fine ryan..we found it..i was looking for caroline's med for tomorrow morning.

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ryan

Hi, Carol Renee said u wanted to talk to me i phoned you but you didn't pick up, leave a msg on the blog or phone me @ 604-289-1803

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Cricket

Carol, I love the image of June tackle-hugging you :) So much love in that 120 pound body!
I have a year-old border collie, kelpie, aussie mix that I absolutely adore- but he's a HUGE pain in the ass. He's extremely affectionate. To the point where if he could crawl inside you, he would, and as such you cannot be away from him. His feelings get hurt quite easily, and when his feelings are hurt (ie- his sister gets ANY attention, you run upstairs for a cup of coffee, or go to the bathroom without him) he gets back at you for it- opening pantry doors to get at the food, destroying his stuffies and parading them around the house, or, if he's outside for 5 minutes and you're not watching him, he'll single-bound leap our 6 foot fence and go terrorize the neighborhood (with licking and play-bows). He's well-behaved, so long as you're in the room, and he's fine when crated with a bone and some toys, but you can't walk away from him. I guess that's what I get for getting a dog that's possibly smarter than I am :). While a big part of Oden's neediness is likely neglect, I can also attest that this particular mix has fur of velcro!

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