In Memoriam Abbe Filip

Hi Sarah,

Last month we lost our sweet Abbe to cancer.
While we caught it very early with surgery, it was an aggressive sort that spread quickly, despite the best care we could provide, with meds and chinese herbs.

We adopted Abbe from MABCR, I believe in the fall of 2002.
I don't think we'll ever find as gentle and docile of a pet as she was.
She was an abandoned BC mix, possibly with Welsh Corgi, beagle or basset hound.

Abbe wasn't without her issues (especially food issues), but she was a perfect example of unconditional love, and we were a great match for each other.

So we thank you for that, and want to look to our future with another dog placement.

Connie and Tom

Adoption Update: Moss

Moss and I have just started out in the ranch class (sheepdog trialing), so I am thrilled to report that this weekend, he came home with an 8th place ribbon from the Long Shot Farm trial.

That's one good dog I stole from MABCR!

Ilene

Adoption Update: Roy

Thanks so much for your kind note, Barbara, and all of your help and advice. Ben and I are really over the moon about Roy. He is such a fantastic dog and the fit of his personality is really ideal for us. I have nothing but glowing recommendation for the whole MABCR process.

Thanks again, and all the best,

Kate

Adoption Update: Matty!

Hi, Sarah and Barbara,

What a blessing and delight and hoot is our Matty! Sarah, I hope this update will bring some cheer into your heart, seeing what a good work was begun with your Missy all those years ago.

Mostly to the credit of Woofies and his first week's 30 minute mid-day walks, Matty is a very confident walker - a trotter, almost, but still does not tug. He still gets distracted but not fearfully so. I can tell he misses the company of other dogs and we are making plans with dear old friends to walk and play Matty with their sweet Bernese Mountain Dogs, Claire and Hannah. There's a group a boys that play football in a common area near us and when we've seen them from a distance being all raucous and having a good time, Matty watches and wags. I don't think there is a living being he doesn't like. Barbara, you were right - there is no one who has met Matty who does not love him! He is very friendly to everyone he's met - and heaven forbid they stop petting him!

Matty and Bright Spot are getting along fine; I think Bright Spot really wants to snuggle up with Matty but is too proud, still. And Jer loves him very much - he is amazed that Matty is so laid back.

Matty is learning to play ball but, you know, he is most interested in being talked to and petted and fussed over. He's got a great sense of humor. He also, apparently, has a thing for cat nip and sometimes can be found slinking quietly to a corner with Bright Spot's crocheted catnip pocket! We are careful to put it up when we aren't here and Matty isn't crated. He is very good at dropping in and being nonchalant about it, too. I looked it up and catnip won't hurt him but need to be sure he wouldn't eat the yarn pocket.

I am thinking in the future, after he settles in and has commands down (and he is already an excellent listener and learner) he might be a good therapy dog candidate. We live right near Loudoun Hospital Center and also some nursing homes and I am sure he will be a good canine citizen.

So, we are very happy family of 4 again. I just can't thank you enough for accepting us into the MABCR family!

Kelly

FOUND!!!! Missing Dog Macungie PA

Shelby came to her owner as she walked their normal morning route this morning, so Shelby is home!

The Tao of Moo

About 6 months ago, I lost the dog that introduced me to the Divine Church of the Border Collie.

This morning I lost the dog that brought me my passion. I have lost my muse. My alpha. My friend. My ever constant and devoted companion.

Passion? I hear many of you wondering, aren’t border collies your passion? Well, yes, they are, I do love them, and they are my chosen breed. However, Rescue has become my life’s work. I hope to someday be remembered for my rescue work, and not simply because I am the crazy woman with the dogs. Missy was the very first MABCR Rescue dog. She led me down the road less traveled.

Missy came into my life 12 years and 8 months ago to the very day. On my birthday. I didn’t choose her, she chose me. Well, sort of. Friends at work and my mentor convinced me to take one of the feral dogs trapped the day before to see if I could rehabilitate and re-home one. They said I would be good at it. (I am such a sucker). I agreed to take one if I could touch one. Missy let me touch her. And, in return, she touched me…

She taught me so many things about dogs, about people, and about life. She was the welcoming committee at the farm. Anyone who came to visit met her, they simply had no choice, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Missy lived her life the way we all should. With honesty, love, and trust of those who earned it. She knew how to get mad, then let it go. She knew not to worry about the little things. She knew how to live in the moment and to take the time to smell the flowers.

She was feral when I took her in. A real survivor, she ate out of the dumpster, coveted Mickey D’s bags for what she could lick from the paper, refused to be crated without huge amounts of (food) bribery, broke out windows in order to escape being locked up when left alone. She always retained a piece of that wild dog, in tiny ways no one else noticed, but they were there.

Over the years, Missy learned to trust. She became a real Moo. She was a leader, a lover, and a devoted friend., as gentle as they come. She led the pack here at Victory Farm with grace and dignity, correcting only when absolutely needed, socializing each and every dog that arrived, and wished them well when they moved on to forever homes.

Many of you don’t know that once Missy was re-homed. When I pulled her from the shelter, my only goal was to place her into a forever home, not to provide her with one. Well, she would have none of it, and made such a mess in her adoptive home that she came back…and never left. My first placement failure, but my most successful rehab. She was happy here, she knew the rules, and was the alarm when others were not following them. When Missy barked, I knew I needed to see what was happening, because it was never good.

Missy changed my life as no other being ever has. She gave me a path, and instructed me along the way. A friend sent me a poem when Bandit died. There is a line that says “The best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master.” Today, a piece of my heart is gone forever, but in its place, is the piece of Missy’s heart she left behind.


Good bye my sweet la’ Moo. Say hello to your Old Man Bandit. Kiss his ears for me. And I’ll see you when I see you.

Adoption Update: Ellie

Hi Sarah --

Ellie seems to be doing just fine -- she's very adaptable, and I think she likes her new home. We've been on a couple of long walks, and she's very into the sights, smells, and sounds of the neighborhood. One indoor accident so far, but that's OK. She's a very sweet dog, and we're rapidly becoming very attached to her.

More later.

-- Charlie