Purbred Shetland Sheepdog, blue merle coloring
Just over a year old
2 beautiful blue eyes
Soon to be spayed
Weighs about 18-20 lbs
Great with other dogs
Good with children over 10 who approach slowly and calmly
SEE VIDEOS BELOW
Sadie was one of a number of dogs rescued from abhorrent conditions at a puppy mill in Missouri that was shut down by the government. Through a rescue network she found her way to Southland Sheltie rescue where she was placed into foster care.
She was in total shock. She had spent her whole life in a cage, and had never walked on grass, never gone on a walk, never had a collar or leash on her. Everything was totally terrifying to her.
Fast forward 3 months. Under the care of two different foster homes, both of whom are experienced trainers, Sadie has made a dramatic transformation. Both Melissa, her first foster mom, and Diane, her second, agree that she has shown incredible courage and willingness to push past her own fear and constantly step out of her comfort zone. We can tell it's not easy for her, and the secret seems to be to go slowly.
She has proven her ability to learn to trust people and bond to both people and dogs. She loves other dogs, and her ideal home would have at least one other dog. Today, she seeks out touch and affection and play from us and you can see her conquering the fear and urge to run to her crate to hide whenever something new happens. I would expect that with continued patient work, in a year no one will be able to tell she was once a frightened, neglected dog.
Other characteristics of her ideal home:
- No children under 10 years old
- A household that is willing to continue her crate training and go slowly with her, giving her a few months to settle in.
- A home that is willing to supervise her so she can continue her housetraining. She goes in the right place outside when we take her out, but if we leave her unattended in the house she will still have accidents. Treat her like an unhousebroken dog for the first 3-4 months.
- She must sleep indoors, in your bedroom, in her crate. This is her routine, it makes her feel secure, and it needs to be continued.
- We would love to find someone who would be willing to learn how to train her using the positive reinforcement method called clicker training. She is responding to this beautifully, and we'd like her to be able to continue with this. It's easy, and her foster mom will offer to coach her new family as much as needed.
Today she is a bright, cautious, playful young dog who longs to relax and belong to a family. She has bonded to us, and has learned many things that we take for granted-- how to be touched without running in fear, how to hang out in the kitchen while we cook while she's tethered on a thin leash to a doorknob, how to respond to a clicker and start to understand clicker training sessions.... She even runs around the block with us while I ride my bike using a K9 Cruiser attachment. This is huge, the progress she's made deserves a gold medal. She has tremendous potential and is ready for her forever home.Sadie is being fostered in Palos Verdes. Applications for her can be submitted to Southland Sheltie Rescue. Click here for their website.
I sent in an application to Southland Sheltie Rescue. We would like to meet Sadie. We live in San Diego. We have friends in San Pedro and we come up for business regularly. We have two children and we have rescued two different dogs before. My kids are under 10 but they are experienced dog handlers. They had to clicker train each other before we got our current dog. Our dog, Gunner, is crate trained. He lives indoors in my son's room. We also have a great yard and dog run. Gunner is a 5 month old border collie mix that we adopted when he was 5 weeks old. He was abandoned by his mom. He loves other dogs. My son is working on agility training him as a junior trainer. My daughter is extremely good with dogs. Our vet and hospice nurse are amazed by her connection to and knowledge of dogs. I personally raised a sheltie when I was younger. She was the best girl! I want my family to experience the bond a sheltie has to its family. I am a stay at home mom and my husband and I own our own business. We feel a dog chooses it's family. Can we meet Sadie? Let us know. Please consider us for Sadie's new family. Sincerely, Elisa
ReplyDeleteDear Elisa-- let me check with Kathy and Judi and make sure they got your application. We have had situations in the past where younger kids who are really exceptional with dogs have worked out just fine (especially when they have very attentive parents, which I can tell you are!). Pls. stay tuned-- Diane
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diane. My family is patiently waiting... on pins and needles. Sadie's so precious. We're hoping to get to meet her to see how she'll feel about us. We really want what is best for her or any of the rescue dogs. It's important that they find their perfect forever home. Jumping from home to home has to be hard on them. We're so glad you have so much love to give as a foster family. She really is building her confidence because of the love your family has for her. Thanks for all you're doing to make Sadie happy and healthy.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard anything? I have not gotten any feedback from the rescue site. I even sent them an email asking for verification that my application was received. And nothing... are they unavailable? Please let me know.
ReplyDeleteSincerely, Elisa
Elisa, I'm sorry no one has gotten back to you, I thought they had. We clearly need to correct some of our internal processes. Although you guys sound like a great home, the other applicant doesn't have small kids and for this dog, if we COULD place her in a home without that, we would prefer to (even though your kids sound wonderfully dog-savvy). The risk is always there that their little friends would move too quickly. This dog HAS bitten someone who reached in to try to pull her out of her crate, I'm not sure if you knew that. So if we can prevent that kind of thing in the future it's just in everyone's best interest. But please don't be discouraged because we would love to help find a great Sheltie for you.
ReplyDeleteElisa, I just spoke with Kathy Parsons, who runs our group, and alerted her that we had not gotten back to you yet. She extends her apologies, and said that there was in fact a hiccup on our end which we are aware of and have fixed, and that Barbara or Judi are supposed to be calling you today or tomorrow. Please alert me if they don't, OK? We want to make sure we aren't leaving applicants (especially great applicants like you) out in the dark.
ReplyDelete